Taking Time to Celebrate
Looking back on 2020, Maine nonprofit staff and volunteers likely feel many things, but hopefully one is pride. In a year that turned out to be nothing like anyone planned and amidst enormous challenges, nonprofits across the state scrambled not just to adapt, but to connect, respond, contribute, and innovate.
Many nonprofits ramped up operations and mobilized to meet critical community needs, keeping people informed, safe and fed. Others had to close their doors to staff and the public (at least temporarily), but flex their creativity to shift operations and programs to remote delivery. Our colleagues in philanthropy and our corporate partners mobilized to raise and distribute funds quickly, and loosen restrictions so money could be reallocated where it was most needed.
Nonprofits spoke up, championing the needs they were seeing first-hand and ensuring that policymakers recognized nonprofits as essential services, as employers, and as partners in rebuilding our communities after this experience.
At MANP, in addition to the incredible work by Maine nonprofits this year, we also take a moment to celebrate the hard work of the MANP team to help nonprofits:
Respond + Equip
- Launched MANP Connects offering nonprofit leaders a space for mutual support with 450+ attendees from 300+ organizations
- Recruited a Rapid Response Team with 21 volunteer attorneys, consultants and other professionals to support nonprofits with their pandemic-related questions
- Built and maintained comprehensive COVID-19 resource pages with 15,000 visits to-date
- Published free Reopening with Purpose guidebook — downloaded 565+ times
Adapt + Increase Access
- Provided pay-what-you-can pricing on programs and flexibility on membership fees
- Moved to fully virtual programming reaching 3,700+; of those, 2,350 at no cost
- Offered 115+ events and programs, leveraging state association partnerships — 40% more events than in 2019
- Boosted nonprofit governance capacity reaching 585+ leaders across the state through virtual board training programs
Advocate + Empower
- Fought for nonprofit representation in state and federal pandemic relief efforts
- Served on the Governor’s Economic Recovery Committee championing the work and worth of nonprofits
- Created a video to raise awareness for how nonprofits power the common good and are central to Maine’s economy and quality of life
- Acted as statewide resource for nonprofits to ensure complete count in 2020 Census
- Answered 500+ Nonprofit Help Desk requests — up more than 70% from last year
None of this would have been possible without our members, our Friends, our philanthropic partners, our board, and the many volunteers who donated their time and talent. THANK YOU!
