Welcome to the coronavirus era and the New Normal

Has the coronavirus era have you feeling like this person in the picture? The you aren’t alone.

Hello God it is me, Erik.

Sorry to those of you who haven’t seen a blog post from me recently. It has been two-and-a-half-years since my last post. I apologize for dropping off the face of the planet so abruptly. It was rude of me. Please accept my apologies. And I hope those of you still tuned in and subscribed will join me as I try to breath life into my blog.

So, you’re probably wondering a few things:

• Why is Erik blogging again?
• What’s the deal with the Judy Blume reference at the beginning of this reboot post?

Well, I am entering my tenth year of business as The Healthy Non-Profit LLC. And the world and our beloved non-profit sector has been turned upside down in recent weeks by the COVID-19 pandemic. I cannot tell you how many phone calls I’ve received from non-profit friends and former clients. At the end of each of those conversations, I found myself thinking . . .

“Huh? That was a great question and a good discussion about all of this madness . . . I should really share some of that with others.“

It didn’t take long for me to conclude that I needed to fire-up the blog again.

However, if I were being 100% honest with you, I’d confide in you that all of this staying-at-home and sheltering-in-place is a little lonely. The extrovert inside of me craves connection. So, I’ve decided to let my “inner-writer” out of the box. The box that I put him in a few years ago as my workload became too big to sustain my blogging habits.

As for the Judy Blume reference at the beginning of this post, it signals a shift in direction for my blog. In Blume’s book — “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” — the main character is a young teenage girl, who is in search of a single religion, while encountering “firsts” in life as she enters puberty.

As I see our world entering into the coronavirus era, I see non-profit leaders like you also experiencing an explosive series of “firsts.” In the coming weeks and months, I plan on using my blog platform to spotlight those “firsts” and encourage you to share your thoughts in the comment box section (as I always have) about how you plan on moving forward into this “New Normal.”

Speaking of “New Normal,” this brings me to the point I really wanted to make with today’s blog post . . .

I don’t know about you, but if I hear one more “expert” or “thought-leader” toss out the words “New Normal” or “Take it digital” as a trite response to someone’s serious question about “Uh-oh, what should we do now?” I VERY WELL MIGHT JUST SCREAM!

Look . . . I get it . . . we are entering a “new normal.” And uncertainty is always accompanied by fear. But let’s stop tossing words around in an effort to sound smart.

Instead, please join me through this blog, and let’s explore how you and other non-profit leaders are going to define this “New Normal.” I hoping to look more closely at how the virus will impact fundraising, board governance, organizational development, and much more.

Finally, I should also mention one last change to this blog from how I used to do things in the past.

I’m going to be less prescriptive with solutions than I previously had been. My posts will be shorter (I hope). They will simply spotlight things I’m seeing, hearing, reading, etc. I will invite you to weigh-in with your thoughts and experiences. However, I will stop short of using this digital space to conduct free consulting and coaching work.

For those of you looking for help with your coronavirus era issues, I have been and will continue to roll-out new virtual services over at The Healthy Non-Profit’s website. Services such as “Coronavirus Coaching” and “Evolving Your 2020 Fundraising Plan To Survive Coronavirus” are just two examples. Please contact me directly if you want to chat more about these things or if you have services you want me to explore and develop.

So, until the next blog post, please stay healthy and safe!

Erik Anderson
https://thehealthynonprofit.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thehealthynonprofit/