ROMAN VANN JACKSON ON SHAKE THE COSMOS
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The demand for non-profit services has increased dramatically because of COVID-19. Are you a leader at a non-profit who is finding yourself trying to do MORE with LESS staff? What are 3 key things you can do to overcome and pivot in these times? I discuss these things with my friend and Bowdoin College alumnus, Roman Jackson, who is a Program Offer responsible for providing grants to nonprofit organizations. He offers what kinds of things can non-profit leaders do to in the current COVID-19 environment.
Roman Vann Jackson is a Program Officer. He acts as an agent for his employer to provide grants to nonprofit organizations on behalf of client foundations. He is a generalist, which means that he provides funding to support different causes such as animal welfare, economic development, housing and homelessness, education, youth development, etc. His two biggest portfolios are Arts and Culture and workforce development where he developed programming and participated on many panels regarding build the capacity of the field and ushered $10s of millions of dollars in grants to support organizational development to nonprofits in New York City and across the country.
His passion for the nonprofit field comes from his experience having been served by nonprofit organizations throughout his life, which has helped him to become the person he is today. Coming from a disadvantaged background the Harlem Children’s Zone was instrumental in helping him, and lots of others, to achieve academic and career success. There are many others across the county just like him who suffer from societal barriers that are helped by nonprofits.
According to Roman, Nonprofits were created to help individuals who are oppressed, mistreated and experience barrier to attaining a fulfilled life due to their ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, social-economic status, education level, physical and mental ability and any other condition that prevents them from attaining the basic American foundation of life, liberty and the pursuit of property and happiness.
To get in touch with Roman:
Some resources for non-profit’s shared by Roman with us are below:
Blue Avocado is an online magazine fueled by a monthly newsletter designed to provide practical, tactical tips and tools to nonprofit leaders. A small but mighty team of committed social sector leaders produces the publication, enlisting content from a wide range of practitioners, funders, and experts.
BoardSource, formerly the National Center for Nonprofit Boards, is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1988. Its mission is "to inspire and support excellence in nonprofit governance and board and staff leadership."
The Bridgespan Group is a U.S. nonprofit organization in Boston, Massachusetts that provides management consulting to nonprofits and philanthropists. In addition to consulting, Bridgespan makes case studies freely available on its website and publications.
CompassPoint helps leaders, nonprofit organizations, and movements committed to social justice realize their full power.
National Council of Nonprofits
The National Council of Nonprofits is a trusted resource and advocate for America's charitable nonprofits
NFF promotes the success of nonprofits by providing capital, strategic consulting, and using their knowledge and influence to transform the funding and financing landscape.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
ABHISHEK: Hi, everyone, this is Abhishek from shakethecosmos.com. My guest today is Roman Jackson. Roman and I met at Bowdoin College, actually. Roman is a program officer, and he acts as an agent for his employer to provide grants to nonprofit organizations on behalf of client foundations.
He’s a generalist, which means that he provides funding to support different causes such as animal welfare, economic development, housing and homeless education, youth development, and many more things.
His biggest portfolio projects have included art and cultural workforce development. And he’s developed programming and participated on many panels regarding building the capacity of the field, and has ushered over tens of millions of dollars in grants to support organizational development to nonprofits in New York City and across the country.
Well I’m excited, Roman, to talk to you about nonprofits and how they’re impacted by Covid. Thank you for making the time to chat with us.
ROMAN: Thank you for having me on. I’m always excited to talk to another Bowdoin alumni. Always excited to talk with you, as well. I know that our conversations throughout the years have been awesome, and I’m really excited to be a guest on your show today. So thank you for having me.
ABHISHEK: Thank you. I’m looking forward to learning a lot from you. We’re gonna dive right into it, and I think of you as a nonprofit expert in terms of a lot of things. But let’s take a step back. Where did you find your passion to be in the nonprofit field?
ROMAN: My passion for the nonprofit field comes from my experience having been served by nonprofit organizations throughout my life, which has helped me become the person I am today. Coming from a disadvantaged background, the Harlem Children’s Zone was instrumental in helping me and lots of others to achieve academic and career success. There are many others across the country just like me, who suffer from societal barriers that are helped by nonprofits.
ABHISHEK: I’m just thinking about that, your passion coming from other nonprofits helping you as a young person. That’s really interesting.
What are the nonprofits going through today? We’re in a very troublesome time with the Covid situation.
ROMAN: Covid has had a catastrophic impact on the nonprofit sector and their constituents. The demand for nonprofit services has heightened in this crisis, as people are either losing their jobs and in need of necessities such as food, shelter, and even money just to help pay their rent.
ABHISHEK: That helps me understand it a little bit, from a different equation. Because I see people needing a lot of services, and nonprofits provide a lot of those services. So you’re saying that it’s catastrophic. Is it because they have to do more work? The quantity of demand has increased?
ROMAN: Yeah. Demand for nonprofit services has increased dramatically throughout these times. The issue is that they have to keep up with this heightened demand while they have to support their staff as well, and take precautions. They have to be able to support this heightened demand while having less staff available, whether it be less staff because those staff members are home recovering from Covid or other illnesses, or because they’ve had to lay off those staff members. Nonprofit organizations also in this time are losing revenues.
A lot of the nonprofits I support are dependent on events as earned income. And throughout these times a lot of these nonprofits haven’t been able to have their galas or their fundraisers, which are typically a large portion of their overall income.
Another issue is a lot of nonprofits get supported by the government, which have already struggled to keep up with their reimbursement payments. Nonprofits were providing services, now these nonprofits are not only not getting paid from these services that they already provide, but many aren’t capable of providing the services that are needed to get the government funding.
ABHISHEK: Yeah. I’m thinking about a couple things you’re mentioning. One being they have to now support this increased demand with less resources. And this government funding is the second piece of it. That makes it much more tricky.
But I’m trying to think, how does that show day to day for a nonprofit? What does that look like, if somebody is getting more demand for their services? Maybe you could think of an example that comes for a nonprofit?
ROMAN: Yeah. I’ve had conversations with many leaders of nonprofit organizations who talk about having to lay off a lot of people, and unfortunately aren’t able to provide vital services that are needed to keep up with the demand.
Also, there are nonprofits, for instance arts organizations, theaters, who can’t do their performances, and the venues, because of social distancing. There have been some nonprofits who have been able to try to come up with creative ways in order to maintain their programs. The arts are still vital in this period of time. The arts are the thing that brings all of us hope. Without the arts, it’s really hard for a lot of us to get through this period of time. So there have been a lot of organizations who have been streaming live performances online, and are developing ways in which they can still participate in the art remotely.
ABHISHEK: Yeah, I see. The theater is a good example I hadn’t even thought about. People can’t go to the theaters now, so they’re impacted.
The funding aspect of it, too, comes to mind as you’re saying these two things because some nonprofits get funding from the government as well. How does that impact some of that, the work they’re doing?
ROMAN: In a lot of cases of how organizations get supported by the government is that they’ll have these contracts that work when they reimburse that model. So for them to get paid, they have to perform the services first. A lot of organizations aren’t able to get reimbursed for services that they haven’t performed, but they still have staff that they have to support. They still have consistency in community that they need to support in some kind of way, even if it is not the way that they’ve outlined in their contract to the government.
ABHISHEK: That makes sense.
ROMAN: Yeah. Also, even before this crisis, typically there are lots of delays in which organizations do get reimbursed by the government. I know organizations that were six months to a year behind, and getting paid by the government before the Covid crisis.
ABHISHEK: Oh, man.
ROMAN: So it would be really difficult for the organizations to get those fundings at all.
ABHISHEK: I’m trying to think. It’s almost like, if it was a for-profit, and the money is no longer coming in, that really impacts a lot of things. So for a nonprofit, if the government funding is delayed or not available anymore, then that’s gonna impact a lot of things.
ROMAN: Yeah. You have to also understand that usually we ask that nonprofit organizations at least have six months of cash on hand, which means that if they were not to receive any funding from any sources, they can at least continue their operations for six months.
However, most organizations already didn’t meet that level. Most organizations usually only have one or two months of cash on hand, liquid funds, in order to use for their operation.
ABHISHEK: Oh, wow. That’s an insightful thing, considering we’re in a time where the deadline for this thing is TBD, when this will end is TBD.
ROMAN: Yeah, I’ve heard a lot of organizations that say if this trend continues, they will be bankrupt in less than a month. This period has been really difficult on nonprofit organizations. Some have already had to lay off their staff or furlough their staff, while others are just waiting to see what happens. They are just holding out, hoping that things will turn around in the next couple of weeks. But more organizations are gonna have to make those difficult decisions as we continue to move forward without support.
ABHISHEK: I appreciate that. I didn’t know all these things, so thank you. I think it really helps me understand what’s going on in the nonprofit world right now. I get it, with the catastrophic that you mentioned earlier.
There are leaders of nonprofit organizations. What are some things they can be doing now to take action to address some of this situation they’ve got going on?
ROMAN: Recognizing that we’re in dire times. These are the times where dynamic leadership is key and important to sustaining an organization. Of course, making difficult decisions isn’t easy, but in order to think long-term about the organization and to think long-term about being able to continue the fight against the particular cause that the leaders are supporting, they have to be able to make those difficult short-term decisions.
ABHISHEK: So number one thing you’re saying is being able to make difficult decisions, like recognizing that this is that dire time to do that.
ROMAN: Correct. Another thing is you have to also be mindful of the opportunities that are coming about from this period of time. Thinking about how will this world be completely different moving forward? Whether that be, what are gonna be some other essential, vital services that the organization is gonna need to provide to support their constituents in light of Covid?
Also thinking about how to support those individuals in different ways than you’ve been supporting them in the past. During this time of Covid, video conferencing and video support has gone up tremendously, just out of necessity. So thinking through how you can use these resources in the future to continue to support your mission.
ABHISHEK: Yeah. So number one thing, it’s gonna be difficult, you’ve got to make some difficult decisions. Number two, there might be some opportunities. Let’s get deeper into that, a little bit. Are we talking like a pivot into something else? What can an organization do that they’re already focused on something, how can they be knowing there’s an opportunity elsewhere?
ROMAN: It’s thinking through how this situation is gonna change our society. Also thinking through how that change is also going to impact the mission that you’re advocating for. I think moving forward, leaders tend to think about the day to day work where they aren’t able to see the long-term impact of their work, or how their impact is truly changing our society as a whole. So I think having that long-term approach to your mission, the long-term approach to advocating for that mission, is going to be critical in these times.
For instance, I was just telling people that before these times, I think we’ve slowly, slowly gone to digital learning and digital education. And thinking about how digital education can be impactful to people who experience barriers to getting through high school or college, even community college. Right now, community colleges typically have less than a 30% graduation rate, so that means that nearly 70% of people are not completing community college or failing out. That’s because they already had traditions and barriers that prevent them from failing or not getting through these colleges.
ABHISHEK: That’s a good example, digital. Those things have been fast tracked a little bit by this.
ROMAN: Yeah. Just think about someone who has to travel two hours to get to a college. Imagine if that person already has a child, and has other barriers. Imagine that person being able to take their coursework at home. That means that person won’t have to travel, that person won’t have to worry about traveling back and forth. That person won’t have to worry about childcare. That person won’t have to worry about getting, here in New York City, a metrocard, or worry about the travel expenses or the expenses for daycare, or to take care of their kids while they’re at school.
So there’s a lot of opportunity that exists for those who have typically had barriers to education that can be broken down by the things that are going to be implemented due to this crisis.
ABHISHEK: I appreciate that, and I know what you’re saying about going back to the mission of the organization. Almost like these opportunities you’re talking about helps still serve, it might even expand to new customers of the mission that the organization’s after.
ROMAN: Right. You can even think about this similar to the stock market. The stock market typically has cycles every six to eight years, and this cycle took a little while longer to happen, but these cycles typically happen throughout our history. Typically what happens is after a recession the stock market comes back stronger than ever, and I think that’s because oftentimes people who have wealth or who have means are capable of thinking about opportunities in times of recession. Whereas people without wealth and without means, and with barriers, are typically not in a position to do.
ABHISHEK: It’s very interesting you mention that, too, because I was reading something that said the stock market is disproportionately owned by very wealthy people. So that makes sense, this whole bounce back you’re talking about.
ROMAN: Yeah. It’s harder for people experiencing traumas and experiencing disadvantages to think about opportunities in times of critical crisis. However, I think long-term thinking is ultimately key to getting through this. And it’s ultimately key to bringing yourself stronger than you were before this crisis happened.
I think for a lot of nonprofit leaders, they not only have to think about this within their organizations, but they have to think about it within their overall advocacy towards their mission, but they also have to think about it in regards to what they demand out of our government.
ABHISHEK: Great.
ROMAN: Nonprofits exist because our government isn’t able to fulfill the overall needs of the population of this country. So it is going to be critical for nonprofit leaders to understand that they cannot do this alone, and they need the support of the government in order to help fulfill their mission. So I think the advocacy efforts of nonprofit organizations have to get stronger through this period of time.
ABHISHEK: I appreciate that. As we’re wrapping up here, are there resources, or organizations, or contacts that would be useful for people to tap into? Any last minute thoughts that come to mind for you?
ROMAN: Absolutely. There are relief programs out there, whether they be relief programs by our government, or relief programs from other foundations or funders, and even nonprofits. I would recommend seeking out the resources that are available in your community. Also, understanding what resources are available through our government that aren’t necessarily advertised for a nonprofit filled, but nonprofits can take advantage of. The CARES Act and the SBA loans that are going out, nonprofits are eligible to apply for those loans as well.
Unfortunately, we heard the other day that the funding is currently not available anymore, as all the funding has been divvied out. However, we are anticipating for Congress and the Senate to pass another legislation to increase funding in that pool. And nonprofits have to be able to apply to those funds right away, because the demand is gonna be so high that ultimately those who act first are gonna have a higher chance of taking advantage of those resources.
ABHISHEK: Yeah.
ROMAN: Also, I would look at technical assistance agencies in your area, whether those agencies are there to help you support your capacity throughout these tough times, or agencies that are there to support your constituents while you are unable to support them. Just thinking through, what are some key partnerships that you can have in your region where you can fulfill the overall holistic needs of your constituents together?
I think out of this, a lot of organizations may have to think strategically about how they can pool resources together in order to survive, not only in this crisis, but also to be more effective and efficient around how to utilize resources moving forward.
ABHISHEK: That makes sense, yeah. Just a couple things there you mentioned, I’ll be sure to include the links to those in the podcast description as well, so people can look into those technical agent associations as well as some of those resources that are coming through the CARES Act, I think you mentioned, as well.
ROMAN: Also your local community foundation, or other foundations in your community. I understand these foundations are definitely getting hit with a lot of calls, but I would see if you already have a relationship with a foundation, reach out to them to see if they could provide some level of support. Whether that’s additional funding to support you through this crisis, or even if you already have a current grant with that foundation, ask that foundation if they can turn that grant into a GOS grant.
ABHISHEK: What is a GOS?
ROMAN: A General Operating Support grant is a grant that a nonprofit has full discretion over, and they can use for any purpose that they please. Typically, a lot of grants that are given now are project-based, they’re geared towards a specific project. I would see if that grant can be converted to a GOS grant, to help you support the Covid crisis.
I’ve had a lot of organizations reach out to me, and I along with my fellow foundation peers, have been very flexible in that regard. Also extending the grant period, so we recognize that you’re unable to provide the services at this given time. Usually foundations will be happy to allow you to report out your activities much longer than had previously been contracted to.
ABHISHEK: Well thank you. I really appreciate that tip there, converting funding to a general operating support.
I learned a lot today about what the nonprofit sector is doing, and I appreciate your suggestions as well on how the leaders can overcome some of that, what they’re going through right now.
ROMAN: One last advice I would give the leaders: Use each other as a support network. Leaders should be talking to each other, because I found in my past of doing leadership training in a nonprofit sector, the most valuable experience leaders got were able to come together and talk about the issues and challenges that they were experiencing in their own organizations and learn from each other on how to navigate those challenges.
ABHISHEK: Are there communities that come to the top of your mind that people can do that through?
ROMAN: In this time and day, I would say do it through LinkedIn. I would say reach out to peers in your community that have either similar organizations, or just other nonprofit organizations that might not be in your space but they still are going through similar challenges that your organization might be going through. And you can all learn from each other.
Some communities have the benefit of having leadership gatherings, whether they are through technical assistance agencies, that I mentioned earlier before, other foundations are putting those together. However, I find in most cases where leaders have come together on their own have definitely been beneficial to the community. So if you don’t have a group that’s already been convened through another source, I would recommend taking steps to creating your own networks.
ABHISHEK: Great. Thank you so much. I really appreciate all these tips and tricks for nonprofit leaders. I really appreciate your time today, Roman.
ROMAN: Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for having me, Abhishek. Always a pleasure speaking with you.
ABHISHEK: All right. Hey, everyone, thank you for listening. Please hit the subscribe button. We’ll be back next week.