This document discusses a masterclass on business continuity planning for nonprofits. It summarizes lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic about the importance of continuity planning. Key points made include: surveys found that few organizations were prepared for the pandemic's impacts, continuity plans have become a necessity rather than optional, and documenting pandemic responses can help organizations adapt plans for future crises. The document advocates that nonprofits highlight lessons learned to evolve continuity plans and ensure resilience.

1. M A S T E R C L A S S
Business
Continuity
Planning
Facilitated by Nonprofit Risk Mangement Center
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2. SESSION #3
Capturing Lessons
Learned from the Heart
of Your Agency: Your
Workforce

3. Across the globe,COVID-19 caught many
organizations unready for the plethora and intensity of
changes that would need to be made to ensure service
delivery.
An Ernst and Young survey found “only one in five board
members believe their organizations were very prepared
to respond to an adverse risk event from a planning,
communications, recovery and resilience standpoint
before the COVID-19 outbreak.”
Other studies point to why this number is so low: only half
of the companies (51%) worldwide have a BCP to respond
to a global crisis such as the pandemic.
SESSION #3 - CAPTURING LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE
HEART OF YOUR AGENCY: YOUR WORKFORCE

4. As the COVID-19 pandemic
spread, organizations of all sizes altered their
service delivery to support proper social distancing and,
when applicable, quickly pivoted their workforces to a
virtual working environment.
Many months into the pandemic, agencies are
experiencing new pressures and operational challenges
such as sudden fluctuations in demand and supply chain
disruptions.
The pandemic’s impact on agencies of all sizes has been
unprecedented, with some sectors more impacted than
others. Some agencies with racial equity and anti-poverty
focus experienced spikes in demand, while others have shut
down or pivoted their operations.
SESSION #3 - CAPTURING LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE
HEART OF YOUR AGENCY: YOUR WORKFORCE

5. Business continuity plans
have evolved from a “nice to have”
resource to becoming part of the strategic
initiatives, a critical necessity.
Agencies worldwide have learned how impactful and
disruptive a crisis can be to operations and,
importantly, the consequences of not having an up-
to-date business continuity plan.
SESSION #3 - CAPTURING LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE
HEART OF YOUR AGENCY: YOUR WORKFORCE

6. Opportunities
Ahead
A recent survey conducted by the Nonprofit
Leadership Center surveyed nonprofit CEOs
and Executive Directors over a six-month
period during the COVID-19 pandemic. The
study’s objective was to determine how the
issues of 2020 impacted the leaders and
their organizations.

7. Key takeaways from
the survey:
The top challenge of COVID-19 is fundraising.
Operating during a global pandemic has been
challenging but has required agency leaders to
grow and stretch in many ways. As a result,
the needs of leaders and staff are growing.
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Adaptability is seen as the most critical
leadership trait to survive in an ever-evolving
landscape.
Diversity, an essential quality in resilient and
collaborative environments, needs attention. Less
than 1 in 5 respondents reported board diversity
across race, gender, experience, and expertise.
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8. This study highlights the need for
agencies across all sectors to
evolve and learn from their crisis
preparedness plans to better focus
on continued organization success
and resiliency.
Further, experts suggest that leading
organizations carefully document
what they’ve done to date as part of
their response to assure they remain
agile and are able to adapt their
business continuity plans for the
next crisis.
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9. Highlight the Heart of
Your Agency
A well-developed business continuity plan can help organizations reassign
resources, communicate effectively internally and externally, and ensure
minimal impact on service delivery.
Organizations that maintain updated business continuity plans will reduce
the crisis to support continued operations and more easily resume service
delivery after the crisis has subsided.

10. Highlight the Heart of
Your Agency
Also, organizations that keep their BCPs up to date and implement lessons
learned are four times more likely to weather the crisis.
Agencies able to bounce back have attributed their flexibility to a widely
understood and clearly communicated business continuity plan, signaling
to participants and staff that the agency prioritizes their needs and protects
their health and safety.

11. Knowledge
Check! "What can a well-
developed business
continuity plan do? "
Question #1
MOVE TO NEXT ACTIVITY TO ANSWER