A NEW NEST

When Chris and Rebecca van Bergen opened a midtown Manhattan office a dozen years ago for their fledgling nonprofit, Nest, they felt like New York City was the place they had to be. Nest provides training to artisans whose handcrafts are their way of life and connects them with brands that want to incorporate fair-trade practices into their business. At the time, being in New York seemed like the only way that Nest could be a part of the philanthropic community and have ready access to their brand partners.

“I think that was really reflective of the way business was done,” Chris says. “If you didn’t have a presence there, you’d be asked, ‘Well, why aren’t you in New York?’”

Turns out, there are lots of good reasons not to be there. When the pandemic washed into NYC in March 2020, Nest’s office—like nearly every other one in the Big Apple—went dark. Moving to remote work was necessary, but once it happened,