We’re back after a brief hiatus!
Unless you’re living under a rock (which, you do you), you’ve probably dealt with some fallout from the upheaval caused by the administration change, most notably perhaps, by the rescinded OMB memo freezing federal grants last month. This order most particularly impacted the nonprofit and government sectors, but we know that the social impact sector at large is facing some ominous uncertainty at the moment.
This month, we’re sharing some resources we hope can help nonprofits and others carry on. A particular thank you to Minnesota Council of Nonprofits for their excellent resource which inspired much of this content.
Whatever comes, Submittable is committed to doing what we can to support our customers and help your programs thrive. If you’ve got a resource you’d like to share with this community or a particular question you’re grappling with, please let us know.
Scenario planning and risk assessment tools
Scenario planning is a methodology used to describe and incorporate uncertainty into decision-making (definition borrowed from GLISA). Seems relevant right about now! Nonprofits and other organizations use scenario planning as a strategic tool to proactively identify potential impacts to operations, helping them to respond more effectively to possible future challenges. Here are some tools to begin or refresh your approach to incorporating scenario planning:
The Bridgespan Group offers a free and comprehensive scenario planning toolkit.
Too many scenarios to plan for? Tangelo Tree Consulting also offers a free (and refreshingly simple!) risk assessment template.
More resources
To dig into more resources—on Financial Modeling, Board Oversight and Planning, Nonprofit Advocacy, and more, visit the Minnesota Council of Nonprofit's growing collection of resources to navigate uncertainty.
Actions to take
Seeking community? If you’re a grantmaker interested in getting together with other Submittable customers, contact your account manager and let them know. To tap into a nonprofit network within your state, use this map from the National Council of Nonprofits.
Want to tell your story? The Chronicle of Philanthropy is seeking to hear from nonprofits that have been impacted by the executive orders and their ripple effects. Share your story here.
Submittable tools to help
We’re proud of Submittable’s strengths all the time, but particularly now. We hope you can rest a bit easier knowing you’re supported by these tools:
Forms you can edit for real-time responsiveness. If something changes unexpectedly and you need to collect a new piece of data, simply edit your form! Then, by bulk selecting the submissions you’ve already received and opening them to editing, you can collect that data point from your full applicant pool. Having trouble getting someone to submit the edits? Find another way to contact them, and make the edit yourself.
Audit logs to keep you compliant. Each submission has an activity log tracking everything, and it's easily downloadable—so if you are ever asked to show exactly what happened, you’ll be ready.
Fraud prevention tools for peace of mind. Submittable offers built-in Knowledge-Based Authentication and Identity Verification tools right within the form builder. If you’re not taking advantage of this feature and are considering additional checks on applicants, contact your account manager to learn more about adding Fraud Prevention to your plan. Keep in mind: these tools aren’t necessarily prohibitive. They provide an additional piece of information for you and your team to use according to your judgement.
We are here to support you as you face these and future challenges. If you have questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Customer Success team, or reach me and my team here. Thank you for your dedication and resilience. Your work matters, and we are in it together.
Before I sign off—wondering where Sam is? Sam Ellsworth, founder and author (until recently) of this series, has moved on from Submittable to an amazing opportunity at the Seattle Sounders/Reign FCs! You probably didn't know Sam is a former collegiate soccer player, so this move is especially fitting. I hope you join me in being excited for her, and that you won’t mind my visiting your inbox twice per month going forward.