Youth INC’s landmark report demonstrates lasting impact of COVID-19 pandemic on youth development organizations

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Youth INC, a leading capacity builder of youth development nonprofits, released The Pandemic Report: Considerations for a Post-Pandemic Future for Youth Development Nonprofits. The first-of-its-kind report focuses solely on the experiences of youth development nonprofits and the young people they serve and reveals crucial data and insights about the knock-on effect of the pandemic over the past three years. 

The research is based on findings from Youth INC’s Partner Network comprised of more than 80 nonprofit organizations and provides a comprehensive overview of increased community demand, staffing challenges, and funding concerns that threaten the long-term stability and success of the youth development sector. Youth INC is proud to present supporters, funders, and policymakers with actionable intelligence to advance solutions. 

“The Pandemic Report not only celebrates the remarkable resilience, dedication and ingenuity of our Nonprofit Partners who responded to increased community needs while reeling from the impact of the pandemic themselves, but also shows how our community came together to support them through this incredibly stressful and uncertain time,” said Rehana Farrell, executive director, Youth INC. “We are committed to shedding light on these exacerbated challenges and uplifting the successful outcomes our Nonprofit Partners to raise awareness about the continued impact of the pandemic and showcase the how our Nonprofit Partners are essential to fortify thriving communities for young people across our city. 

Key insights of the report include:  

• Nonprofits have experienced a 65% increase in demand for services with only 32% being able to fully able to meet the demand, since the onset of the pandemic. 
• 71% of nonprofit leaders have identified raising revenue and managing finances as their most significant leadership challenge. 
• Pandemic-related revenue loss was driven by an inability to host in-person events (63%), virtual events producing less funds raised (40%), and lost fee-for-service revenue due to program cancellations (40%). 
• Of the organizations that experienced staff turnover, 30% of program staff and 15% of operations staff left the nonprofit sector entirely. 

To support its Nonprofit Partners over the past 3 years, Youth INC has disbursed over $3 million in general operating grants to its Partner Network while continuing to provide all its capacity-building services free of charge. This combination proved vital to the stabilization of operations and the financial viability of its Nonprofit Partners. 

“Thank you [Youth INC] for always giving us a voice and always looking for ways to support our mission,” said Lisa Recio, executive director, Roads to Success.  

Through its venture philanthropy model, Youth INC invests in hundreds of nonprofit leaders each year to help build the thriving organizations required to help young people thrive. Collectively, its powerful network of over 80 nonprofit partners champions more than 250,000 young people living in under-resourced communities across New York City that have been inequitably impacted by the pandemic.