Lessons learned, practices changed as the pandemic diminishes

Both of these Capital Region nonprofits have adopted policies over the past 20 months that will be persistent and help them deal with future pandemics or times of deep crisis.

The Schenectady Foundation, Schenectady

As local jobs were cut, the Schenectady Foundation was on the front line, where the charitable trust worked with Schenectady County to operate a command center that led a team of volunteers and county employees to distribute dozens thousands of pounds of food per week at the family premises.

Within weeks, a constellation of nonprofits began working together to provide resources, from providing diapers to referring guests to social service agencies.

The operation took place on the fly. When the pandemic receded that summer and the hub scaled back its operations, the philanthropic organization didn’t just take a break.

“Let’s not let a good crisis spoil,” said Bob Carreau, Managing Director.

Carreau and his team analyzed what worked and what didn’t. They studied the logistics and relationships formed in the midst of the crisis. They wanted to guard against future crises.

“Let’s reinvent ourselves not only to be more resilient, but to be more agile and faster so that we can change when things happen – or even anticipate when things get worse,” Carreau said.

One result: the collective of non-profit organizations merged into a more formal operational structure. Several working groups have been formed to focus on food delivery, childcare, rent and utility assistance, and employment.

The Schenectady Foundation is convinced that these groups can come together more quickly to execute more effective and targeted relief in future challenges.

“We are all very dependent on each other,” Carreau said. “In order for us to work optimally, even within our own organizations, we need to know how to lean on others, how to fit in, and we don’t each have to do everything.

Carreau is particularly proud of the coalition’s efforts to bring together vocational training programs into a singular effort.

Several formerly independent workforce development programs, including those run by the SEAT Center and the Schenectady Community Action Program, now operate under one roof.

This unit is essential in the tough job market, Carreau said, and a stronger partnership dovetails with the organization’s stronger outreach to underserved communities to alert job seekers of opportunities.

Efforts are also underway to refine food distribution. Last month, the Schenectady Foundation awarded $ 450,000 in grants to six local nonprofits leading innovative projects to reduce hunger and improve access to “safe, nutritious and culturally appropriate food.” .

The grants – made to the Northeastern New York State Regional Food Bank and Messiah Lutheran Church in Rotterdam, among others – will build on the foundation’s early pandemic work by funding projects designed to push the county’s food system towards a fairer and more equitable system. .

Messiah Lutheran, for example, will expand its pantry, while Capital Roots will establish a new Capital Region Food Policy Council, a group designed to foster closer cooperation among stakeholders.

“I think directionally that’s where the food system is going,” Carreau said. “And for us, infusing capital will pave the way, help find the best way forward and how to support the users of the system for what they are looking for.”

Mohawk Hudson Humane Society, Menands

Animal welfare organizations were in the public spotlight at the start of the pandemic for the influx of pet adoptions from a shaken and locked up public.

Pet adoptions by the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society have actually declined by almost 40 percent last year. The inputs, for obvious reasons, were limited.

Still, meals provided by the nonprofit’s Furry Friends Pet Food Pantry have skyrocketed from 53,703 in 2019 to over 250,000 the following year.

The Menands-based nonprofit has also started partnering with well-established pantries to expand their distribution network.

“The need was there,” said CEO Ashley Jeffrey Bouck.

Other programs, including low-cost sterilization and sterilization and welfare services, remained available throughout the crisis.

Like other nonprofits, Mohawk Hudson has used the pandemic to tinker with and refine its policies. While they already had strict disease control standards in place, the crisis accelerated the shift to paperless forms.

Mohawk Hudson has stepped up staff training and started offering courses for workers with “compassion fatigue” alongside other self-care programs, often bringing in experts to facilitate the exercises.

Future classes will also take into account the unanticipated outcomes that have sprouted from the crisis, including changes in animal behavior due to their owners working at home – and then returning to the workplace.

“We have learned that like many nonprofits who have tried during this time, you have the right to try things without fear of failure,” Bouck said.

Also new: Mohawk Hudson’s line of free service advice will be extended to all pet owners, even if they are not current customers.

The association will relaunch its human education program in 2022, while virtual fundraising events are here to stay.

Bouck credits Mohawk Hudson’s success and resilience to humanity’s best angels.

“We’ve been through the hardest part and we know we can get through it again,” said Bouck. “We were there for the community and we know the community was there for us – and we’re just going stronger and better. “