Foundations pledge $2M to ramp up one-stop-shop for nonprofits in crisis

The Transforming Solidarity Collective — a consortium of five Southeast Michigan nonprofit support groups that first came together during the Covid pandemic — have rejoined to serve as a single point of contact for nonprofits in crisis, connecting them with legal, financial, operational and advocacy support before their situations become unmanageable.

The goal is to keep nonprofit services flowing to communities by strengthening their operations, identifying efficiencies through shared services and helping subsectors navigate what the future looks like if the funding doesn’t come back, leaders said.

Funders that pledged the combined $2 million to support the collective’s efforts through 2028 include: the Fred and Barbara Erb Family Foundation, Kresge Foundation, McGregor Fund, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and the Skillman Foundation.

“Across Southeast Michigan, nonprofits are operating in one of the most uncertain periods they have faced in decades,” said Shamyle Maya Dobbs, co-CEO of Michigan Community Resources, the administrator and fiduciary for the collective, in an email to Crain’s.

The other members of the collective are: Community Development Advocates of Detroit, Co.act Detroit, Michigan Nonprofit Association and Nonprofit Enterprise at Work.

Nonprofits are facing federal policy shifts and funding delays/cuts along with rapidly changing legal and regulatory conditions, Dobbs said. At the same time, demand and operating costs are rising, and workforces are strained, Dobbs said.

As a result, organizations are dealing with difficult decisions around staffing, programming, compliance, consideration of mergers and whether they can even continue to operate, she said.

“Rather than asking organizations to determine which intermediary, consultant or funder they should call or (to) navigate multiple intake processes, we are designing a shared front door and coordinated assessment process that connects leaders to the right expertise, at the right time, through the right partner,” she said.

“The goal is a seamless point of entry that assesses an organization’s needs holistically and coordinates support across the network.”

Over time, the collective expects to add additional funders and nonprofit support leaders and groups, Dobbs said.

The support organizations first came together to provide coordinated assistance under a memorandum of understanding in 2020 during the pandemic with $1 million in funding made to the groups individually and collectively.

The revived collective “is a long-term commitment to strengthening the nonprofit ecosystem’s capacity to navigate whatever challenges come next,” Dobbs said.

Nonprofits facing the most acute operational or organizational issues as a result of policy changes are operating in services including housing, LGBTQ, the arts, senior services and immigrant services, said Heather Nugen, director of systems transformation at MCR.

“Some institutions feel pressure because they can sense the change is going to come even if it hasn’t come yet. And (they) were already struggling with resources before the Trump administration took office,” she said.

The state and philanthropy can backfill some of the lost revenue for nonprofits, but they don’t have enough funding to sustain that long term, Nugen said. “Financial and operational stress are going up as the funding environment gets more challenging.”

By and large, impacted nonprofits aren’t yet at a breaking point, she said. “The reason for mobilizing now … is to sort of create the services, networks and relationships for resiliency before we hit that point.”

Collective members have begun working with a discrete number of nonprofits this year while developing the larger plan, Alisha Butler, co-CEO of MCR, said in an email.

As it begins to more broadly market the collective, the group will provide coordinated assessments of nonprofits coming for help and cross-referrals among themselves for assistance in areas like legal and governance support, leadership development, organizational planning, advocacy training, technology and cybersecurity expertise and staff well-being.

The agencies will also work with nonprofits to explore shared services models, looking at things like co-location and collective benefits packages for small organizations, Nugen said.

The $2 million does not include any pass-through to nonprofits, but the collective is continuing to fundraise and hopes to be able to offer stabilization grants to organizations in crisis in the future, Butler said.

Kresge provided seed funding for the Transforming Solidarity Collective’s joint work in 2020 because it saw the promise of a coordinated approach to strengthening Southeast Michigan’s nonprofit sector, said Wendy Lewis Jackson, managing director of Kresge’s Detroit Program, in a statement.

It recently made another $300,000 grant to support the collective.

“Today, nonprofits are navigating increasingly complex funding, policy and operational challenges. This investment will help sustain a trusted network through which organizations can access coordinated expertise, practical resources and peer support, allowing them to remain resilient and focused on the communities they serve” Lewis Jackson said.

“Nonprofits are the lifeblood of America, keeping our people and communities resilient and strong,” said Sarida Scott, vice president, program for The Skillman Foundation, which granted $700,000 to the collective.

“This collaborative effort seeks to return that favor by funding intermediary organizations that provide back-office support to nonprofits, allowing them to focus on their essential services.”