Early expectations in Spring 2021 were that the pandemic would begin to subside in the summer of 2021 because of widespread vaccination availability. However, in the third quarter of 2021, the Delta variant of COVID-19, which is more contagious and easily spread, brought new uncertainty about how the remainder of the year would progress. This uncertainty resulting from the Delta variant has impacted key areas of life, including travel, the return to the office for many workers, school reopenings, and the healthcare system in the United States.
As organizations prepare for the end of 2021, they continue to be resilient in the face of the Delta variant and shifting conditions. Staffing has emerged as a key issue, as the labor market has made hiring more challenging and organizations navigate policies about masking, vaccinations, and office reopenings. Financially, organizations are adjusting expectations and have more confidence about individual giving and government grants, but still have a lack of confidence around event revenue. These trends speak to the continually shifting nature of the pandemic and how nimble organizations must be.
