Adapting to COVID-19
Nonprofits are Finding New Ways to Live Out their Mission
Over the past few months, we’ve all had to dramatically change the way we work. There’s been a lot of adapting going on! While many of our teams are still working remotely, we wondered how nonprofits are reacting and responding to the new reality brought about by COVID-19 and identifying ways they can stay connected and relevant.
We spoke with Public Art Saint Paul’s Executive Director, Colleen Sheehy, about the changes they’ve made in response to COVID-19 that enable them to “meet the moment” in carrying out their mission.
Colleen Sheehy: Public Art Saint Paul has made some interesting pivots. We conceptualized what we could do online to stay connected to our audience, members, and donors. Before COVID we used our social media for communicating about our events and artist opportunities. Then we started thinking about it more as a public access space and using it to bring public art into the forefront. We invented a series of online programs under the umbrella name of “Public Plaza,” thinking of virtual space now as a convening space, like public places. We created virtual tours and events as well as curated video tours of public art pieces in Saint Paul. Our City Artist, Aaron Dysart, proposed creating short videos about public art pieces in Saint Paul. He talks about the piece and the artist and how it came to be. He takes his dog, Henry, with him, which has been a hit.
We also launched a series of Artists Conversations so that our audiences could meet some exciting emerging as well as established artists to hear how they are responding to the pandemic crisis and also the aftermath of the George Floyd killing. Another series is called “Future Past” for which we invited artists and people in the community to write something that reflects on this point in time, from the perspective of 2040. What should we do now to create the history we want to look back on? Many artists have lost their incomes. We provide a stipend to keep them going. And it provides an opportunity for our members to have a conversation with an artist and hear about their work and how they are adapting. Many are community oriented and are doing things for their neighborhood. We’ve also been working on a downtown walking tour. It’s on an app people can download on their phone and then walk around downtown Saint Paul to see art they might otherwise overlook. These are some of the ways we’re working to stay connected and to help the community enjoy the art around them..
To learn more, please visit: http://publicartstpaul.org/
Our Neighbors' Place, in River Falls, Wisconsin, has been a leading social service provider in St. Croix and Pierce Counties since 2009, providing clients in need with shelter, food security, housing, and a variety of other services. We spoke with Executive Director, Shelly Smith, on how they’ve adapted in response to COVID-19.
Shelly Smith: One of our most impactful programs is our Backpack Program that enables us to feed kids in need on the weekends and when school is not in session. When COVID-19 hit we had to figure out how we could adapt and get bags of food to families who need them. We partnered with the River Falls School District, and their transportation department was able to deliver food bags directly to families at their home. The school district was fantastic to work with! In addition, the school provided bagged lunches that were available to ANY family in River Falls and wasn’t based on the free or reduced lunch program or income level. At one point, over 500 bagged lunches were packed at the school twice a week. These bagged lunches, along with the food in our Backpack Program bags, helped sustain local families from the time school closed in mid- March through the end of summer..
The school district really stepped up to be a partner and enabled us to continue the program. We are so proud of them and the other organizations we partner with. We also are thankful for the support we’ve received from individuals, businesses, and churches who donated to our backpack program..
To learn more, please visit: http://www.ourneighborsplace.org/