Ten years ago I published a book, Nonprofit Turnaround, A Guide for Nonprofit Leaders, Consultants and Funders. The book was published in the middle of the Great Recession: the marked economic decline that occurred between 2007–2009. Over the course of 20+ workshops and presentations from my book tour across the US over the following year, one macro-economic theme emerged at every event; namely, that economic conditions e.g., government and philanthropic funding levels for nonprofits — were unlikely to ever return to pre-recession levels.
Fast forward to 2020: the emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our experience facilitating 26 nonprofit partnerships and mergers since the Great Recession provides important lessons to help guide nonprofits facing issues of viability post-COVID.