Unless you’ve been living under a pop-culture rock for the past few years, you’ve probably heard of “Hamilton.” In 2015, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical about American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton hit the stage with a force and a popularity almost unheard of. The show was nominated for a record 16 Tony Awards and won 11. Tickets became a hot commodity and you were certainly considered privileged if you were able to attend a performance. The show’s success has continued as the soundtrack has become familiar and the show began touring. In its crowning glory, a filmed version of “Hamilton” was to be released theatrically on October 15, 2021…then COVID-19 brought theaters – and the rest of the world – to a screeching halt.
In response to the pandemic shuttering theaters, movie production, and other entertainment opportunities, a decision was made to move up the release of “Hamilton” by more than a year and stream it worldwide on the Disney+ app. On July 3rd, I enthusiastically joined a watch party to view the show’s digital debut. And I wasn’t alone – while viewing numbers are not yet known, data suggests that “Hamilton” led to a whopping 74% increase of Disney+ app downloads in the United States alone. While the popularity of “Hamilton” may be difficult to replicate, it has helped open the door to the idea of streaming film versions of theatrical plays, providing new opportunities for the struggling theater community in a time of crisis.
In a recent Denver Post article about the impact of COVID-19 on higher education in Colorado, Tom Lucero, former CU Regent was quoted, “As the old saying in politics goes, never let a good crisis pass. Right now, there are huge opportunities in reform and restructuring. Now would be the time to move quickly and not just muddle through this and then look back 20 years later to realize we missed a huge opportunity.” When the world seems like it’s crumbling around your ears, it may feel impossible to focus on the future. But the COVID-19 pandemic, for all of its immense tragedies, has the potential to lead to new opportunities for you and your organization.
Think about the things that changed in your personal life when the pandemic hit. First, we struggled to come to terms with our fears, anxieties, and disappointments. We developed a new vocabulary – “safer at home”, “social distancing”, “new normal”, “self-isolating”. We learned to Zoom. We began taking long walks with our family. We dusted off old board games and read new novels. We waved to our neighbors. We watched children play in the streets and checked in more often with our aging parents. We supported our local stores and restaurants with curbside pick-up. We bought bird feeders. We were still.
Nonprofit organizations have likewise been forced to grapple with changes in this new era of COVID-19, and have the potential to find themselves in a different place on the other side. Virtual offices and staggered schedules, funding losses and PPP loans, postponed or cancelled events, and countless other challenges have led to major shifts in how nonprofits pursue their mission. Your organization’s response to this crisis will determine how the next several years play out. Think critically about your mission, your funding sources, your staff, and your role in your community. Are there programs that need to be discontinued or drastically changed? What new funding opportunities have arisen, and which ones are now out of reach? Are these changes temporary or permanent? Brainstorm these answers with your stakeholders and don’t discount anything. The world is experiencing an event that we would have thought impossible just a few short months ago, and your organization might need to respond to this crisis in a way that you couldn’t have ever imagined.