Future of Good: Online Programming Might Not Be Accessible to Everyone. This Organization Cracked the Code.

March 25, 2021

This is the third story in our series in partnership with Future of Good to dive deep into organizational adaptation during this time of uncertainty.

Changes social impact organizations make now will shape our country’s recovery — and our new normal. Are we adapting quickly enough? There’s much talk in social impact circles these days about what a post-COVID world could or should look like, but what we don’t often talk about is how we’ll get there. What adaptations are non-profits, foundations, and organizations making — or should consider making — to build a more resilient and equitable economy, and what should they be prepared for?

Online Programming Might Not Be Accessible to Everyone. This Organization Cracked the Code.

By Jacky Habib

Business strategist Manu Sharma says considering the accessibility of online programming should be a key consideration for social impact organizations who largely operate digitally.

WHY IT MATTERS

During the pandemic many non-profits have shifted their programming online, but without considering accessibility and accommodations, some of these programs have excluded some individuals from participating in virtual programming.

When the coronavirus pandemic shifted daily activities online, people like Steve Whyte found it virtually impossible to continue with their pre-pandemic life.

For two decades, Whyte, who uses a wheelchair and has challenges with communicating, had a board on his wheelchair tray with a variety of words that he would point to, when needing to communicate. At the Ottawa Foyers Partage (OFP), a non-profit that works with adults with multiple disabilities, where Whyte would frequent, staff members tried for years to convince him to turn his physical board into a digital one.