The non-profit sector during the spread of the new coronavirus infection: restrictions and mechanisms to overcome them

Abstract

Subject. The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for the healthcare system, people's daily lives, and organisations, which have faced new risks and restrictions affecting their stability and further development. The study examines the state of Russian non-profit sector organisations during the spread of the new coronavirus infection. Objectives. The article provides a description of restrictions for the development of non-profit sector organisations and various mechanisms to overcome them in the context of numerous restrictions introduced as a result of the spread of the new coronavirus infection. Materials and methods. The information base for the study included statistical data, analytical and reporting documents of non-governmental and governmental institutions, and the results of the studies on the subject obtained by Russian and international researchers. The following methods were used: secondary analysis of sociological surveys; content analysis of official documents; systematisation and generalisation of the data. Conclusions. The analysis showed that during the coronavirus pandemic Russian non-profit organisations as well as other economic entities faced a lot of challenges. The main restrictions for the sector were determined. They included financial and organisational restrictions. The measures of state support for non-profit organisations were framed into a unified organisational and economic mechanism and individual quantitative indicators were analysed: preferential loans, subsidies for activities to prevent the coronavirus infection, exemption from advance payments and insurance fees, the results of a special unscheduled contest of the Presidential Grants Fund for the Development of Civil Society. The analysis of quantitative indicators revealed that there is a demand for governmental anti-crisis measures among non-profit sector organisations. It was found that together with governmental measures aimed at overcoming the difficulties associated with the restrictive measures, a private organisational and economic mechanism was established to support non-profit organisations at the expense of business resources, which was studied by the authors based on the example of charitable funds. In conclusion, it was noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has enhanced the development of inter-sector cooperation aimed to solve common problems. Reliance on consolidation and partnership in difficult economic conditions will allow non-profit organisations to expand and select the most appropriate ways to support their activities.