A letter from Wipfli’s nonprofit leaders

Dear Community Action and Head Start Networks,

We have never seen such a sudden shift in our work and in our world, and our most vulnerable populations often suffer most — which is why the work you’re doing is more important than ever. You have always prided yourself on your knowledge and connection with the individuals, children and families in your community. 

In these uncertain and unprecedented times, we all need a little (and sometimes a lot) of guidance. When you’re ready for help, whether it’s handling stimulus funding or reshaping your operations, fall back on us.

Many leaders have asked, how do we respond to what is going on, with changes nearly every hour, while also thinking about the long-term health of our community and our agency? And what will the additional stimulus funding mean for us? In what way will we apply those dollars to our strategies and when? 

Hopefully this gives you some solace: You don’t have to know the answers. For that matter, how could you know even many of the answers? However, what you can do is think about these questions and put some serious thought into the various scenarios that could play out. 

Ask yourself:

1. If the current state lasts for three months, what will it mean for my organization and community? Six months?
2. When the stimulus funding becomes available, will I have a plan for how to spend it, and what will it be?

If you went through the time of the ARRA stimulus funding, you know that sometimes having money without a plan can be a burden. How will you ensure these stimulus dollars help you respond to the urgent needs in your communities? You have a few short days, maybe weeks, to be thinking through this question. To be building a plan. We know with all our hearts that you will respond, that you will show your resilience. This is our moment!

Over the coming days and weeks, we’ll continue to provide you education, tools and thought leadership on our COVID-19 resource page and in My Wipfli. If there’s a particular challenge you’re facing or question you need help with, reach out to me.

We want to know how we can be more helpful as you address the current crisis while also planning for your agency’s and community’s future. That has always been Wipfli’s role, and we promise to continue to fulfill it.

I also want to take a moment to thank each of you for the passion you pour into your mission.

And to celebrate that passion, we also want to share your moments of success.

Share your stories of inspiration by submitting a short write-up to me at GFPOnline@wipfli.com. At the end of each week, we will share an “Our Moments” story of resilience.

Sincerely,

Steve Lipton, Shereen Mahoney, Tammy Jelinek, Jean Christensen, John Hemming, Karl Eck and Brian Gaumont