Nonprofits in peril seek solutions from Community Resource Exchange

Katie Leonberger is the president and CEO of Community Resources Exchange. Photo courtesy of CRE

By David Brand

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact across the economy, with few sectors feeling the pressure more than nonprofit organizations that depend on government funding and dwindling cash from private donors. 

To contend with the crisis, nonprofits turn to the Community Resource Exchange, or CRE, a consulting firm working with organizations that serve New Yorkers in need. CRE is now working to help agencies navigate tough economic realities. 

“The sector was impacted immediately,” said CRE President and CEO Katie Leonberger. “So many nonprofits are doing essential work.”

Leonberger said CRE has helped the agencies plan for best and worst case scenarios while also addressing acute needs via a rapid response program and crisis advisory hotline. 

“Any nonprofit leader can call up CRE with any topic in mind,” she said. 

Organizations are often hamstrung because their funding is tied to specific types of encounters and services they can no longer fulfill during the pandemic, she said. In some cases, nonprofits hired staff to facilitate summer activities, but the programming money will never arrive.

CRE is now working to connect various nonprofits that can support one another and share some resources, she said. 

“It can be depressing,” she said. “But it can actually open up opportunities where we say, ‘We really do need to do XYZ and support organizations and figure out who they need to partner with.’”