The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
The onset of COVID-19 provided an unimaginable challenge to our community and created an overwhelming need unlike anything we have seen in our lifetime. There is not one neighborhood, not one corner, not one individual that hasn’t been affected by the events of the last 18 months. Furthermore, this pandemic exposed some of the inequities that exist in our community that left many of us, especially those already marginalized, in even more desperate situations.
At NBT, we immediately responded by creating the New Brunswick Commnuity Response Fund (NBCRF), infusing over $450,000 into the community to offset some of the immediate economic
and personal impacts felt by many in our neighborhoods. For many people, assistance came by the way of meals on the table, the ability to pay rent, utilities, groceries, formula for babies, and much more.
As a community-facing, resident-led organization, every part of our work has also been impacted. We are proud of the NBT staff, as they each pivoted their work to adapt to the new challenges we faced to help our families. It was an “all hands on deck” moment, from shifting programs that led meaningful interventions during these tenuous times, to adjusting to a new virtual norm for communicating critical information to our residents and business owners, and even raising needed monies to do it all to face this pandemic and its effects head-on. They were the leaders we needed!
We are also thankful for our partnerships, both those who have worked with us for years and new
ones we forged this past year. From community members, institutional partners, stakeholders, and donors, together, we have great strength and resources to move our community forward, and these partnerships are the foundation upon which NBT has always operated.