The resulting report contains responses from nearly 150 nonprofits and grantmakers representing organizations that serve or fund every county in Illinois. Respondents range from organizations with fewer than 5 staff to over 100 and those with annual budgets of less than $100,000 to over $10 million.

Forefront also asked respondents to indicate whether their CEO or Executive Directory identified as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color (BIPOC)* or African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, Native American (ALAANA)* to further track how the pandemic has affected organizations based in, serving, or funding BIPOC/ALAANA communities.

We found prevailing trends for both nonprofits and foundations:

• Nonprofits are staying flexible and financially optimistic, but they need more support.
• Foundations are not, on average, increasing their giving rates in line with their asset growth. 
• BIPOC/ALAANA-led nonprofits and foundations alike are trying to cover more ground with fewer people.
• Deep and meaningful communication between foundations and nonprofits remains critical.

Access the complete report.

*This article from the YWCA does a great job explaining why we chose to use the BIPOC acronym in this report. This summary from Grantmakers in the Arts provides similar details for the acronym ALAANA.