Post Covid Fundraising
During “Covid 2020” organisations fell into two categories. The first were those that kept to their fundraising plan and continued to engage with their donors. They called and thanked them for their donations no matter the size of the gift and they had honest conversations about how the organisation was coping during the difficult times and how the donor was coping. The second were those organisations panicked and ceased all fundraising and left their donors “alone” as not to bother them as everyone was experiencing financial hardships and uncertainty. They thought that it would be insensitive to as people for money.
https://kimberlydownes.com/post-covid-fundraising/
Are these questions your organisation has asked itself?
2020 was a challenging year for everyone. Particularly those in the fundraising sector.
During “Covid 2020” organisations fell into two categories. The first were those that kept to their fundraising plan and continued to engage with their donors. They called and thanked them for their donations no matter the size of the gift and they had honest conversations about how the organisation was coping during the difficult times and how the donor was coping. The second were those organisations panicked and ceased all fundraising and left their donors “alone” as not to bother them as everyone was experiencing financial hardships and uncertainty. They thought that it would be insensitive to as people for money.
Can you guess what the result was? Those organisations that fell into the first category actually raised more money than they did during the previous year. They built stronger relationships with their donors because they were treating them like family. Moving in 2021 these organisations will reap the benefits because their donors will remember that they cared.
Fundraising doesn’t have to be brash. It can be, and should be, sensitive. It is up to the fundraiser to make it human. Remember it’s about relationships not always about money.
Fundraising is defined as: “the seeking of financial support for a charity, cause” whereas a culture of philanthropy is defined as: “a set of organizational values and practices that support and nurture development within a nonprofit organization.” Fundraising is a part of a building a culture of philanthropy but does not make up the whole.
Fundraising will help you raise and achieve your short-term goals BUT a culture of philanthropy will assist you in surpassing those goals and ensuring the long term viability of the organisation. The culture of philanthropy at one organisation shouldn’t be the same as the culture as another organisation. It must be true to you and your vision, mission and values. A culture of philanthropy cannot be built without engagement. Fundraising and engagement cannot be something you switch on and off and hope the donors will still be there when YOU NEED them.
Research shows that donors desire transparency with the organisations they support. They want to build a relationship with an organisation whose cause they are passionate and they want to see impact. This isn’t new information. So during Covid, and as we hopefully move out of Covid, be honest with your donors. Tell them that 2020 was difficult and that the organisation wasn’t able to fulfill their objectives and why. Talk to them about the future goals for impact. ASK THEM QUESTIONS! 2020 was your opportunity to engage and build stronger relationships.
Seems obvious but you’d be surprised at the number of organisations that fell into the second category. If you stop engaging your donors during uncertain economic times, or because you think they may not be in a position to give, you’re doing two things wrong: first, you are making your donors’ decisions for them, and that is something we should never do (remember what happens when we assume!). Second, and most importantly, you have clearly signalled to the donor that your supposed “relationship” is really actually only about money, since you’re not prepared to engage with them at a time when you think that they can’t give. Believe me, donors notice this.
As much as pandemic-related economic disruptions have negatively impacted many of our donors and prospective donors, there are many others for whom the pandemic has actually been good for business. Amazon, skip the dishes, uber eats, Harvey Norman, manufactures of PPE, and many others, have seen business soar.
The correlation between fluctuations in the economy and charitable giving is weak at best, and sometimes it’s inverted. In many countries, over the years, economic downturns have led to increases in charitable giving. Likewise, booming economies often do not translate into commensurately significant increases in charitable giving. The lesson: don’t assume the economy will dictate the fortunes of your fund development program.
A simple way to think about fundraising vs a culture of philanthropy is: getting a gift vs getting a donor. A gift is one time, and it may or may not be repeated. Acquiring new gifts is almost always more consuming of resources than is renewing and growing an existing donor. Acquiring, maintaining and growing with donors always yields a lower cost per dollar ratio than does acquiring single gifts.
Research is showing us that donors want to engage with our organisations; they want to be kept informed of the good, bad and brilliant. They are more interested in impact and how you are spending your money than ever before. So if we are truly following donor-centric fundraising, stopping and starting doesn’t work for our donors, so it shouldn’t be done. No matter what stay in touch and find a reason to seek their advice, listen and THANK!
“Fundraising is the Gentle Art of teaching someone the joy of Giving”
Hank Rosso
10 Questions to ask when engaging with your donors:
- Why did you first give to (said organisation)?
- What interests you most about (organisation name)? Why? What is less interesting to you? Why?
- Why do you continue to give to (organisation name)?
- What does our work mean to you?
- What are the most critical results you expect us to produce?
- What causes are you passionate about?
- What do you tell others about us?
- Which other organizations do you admire?
- What specific information do you want from us?
- If you had 5 minutes with our CEO, what would you say? Why? If you were the CEO of (organisation name) for a day, what would you do? Why?
