These are undoubtedly strange days. People are staying home and taking a much closer look at their finances in case of sickness and emergency. It just doesn’t seem like the right time for business-as-usual nonprofit fundraising — and it probably isn’t. When life returns to the new normal, it’s likely that history will show that the most successful nonprofits continued to ask for donations, although possibly in a different way. Those nonprofits who attempt to give their donors a break or simply don’t know how to raise funds virtually will suffer or even go out of business as a result.
During this time, we need to get creative in ways to reach and engage members and donors, as well as raise income, when we can’t physically host an event. So before you cancel any events, consider whether you can turn it into something digital or virtual.
You could either turn an existing event into something virtual or create an entirely new virtual event in its place.
So how should we fundraise during the COVID-19 pandemic? Here are some ideas from the American Fundraising Professionals, TechSoup, CauseVox, and others:
- Crowdfunding expert and local Rotarian, Devin Thorpe, published a book entitled Crowdfunding for Social Good, available for $0.99 as an ebook.
- Amy Eisenstein’s How to Manage Your Fundraising During the Coronavirus Crisis
- Breakthrough Fundraising Group’s How to (Quickly) Mobilize Volunteers to Maximize Nonprofit Fundraising During COVID-19
- Donor Relations Guru’s What You Can Do for Your Donors and Others in Times of Crisis: COVID-19 Edition
- Hilborn Charity eNews’ Your Unexpected Coronavirus Opportunity
- Network for Good’s Coronavirus Impacting Your Nonprofit? Here’s What to Do
- LinkedIn’s Fundraising from Home and also NP Engage’s 10 Things Fundraisers Can Do from Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Chronicle of Philanthropy’s 4 Ways to Engage Major Donors During the Covid-19 Crisis (requires a free sign-up). This article features something that many COVID articles advise: that fundraisers reach out first to show their donors that they care about their well-being. These initial interactions may help you continue to build your relationship during what may be a significant disruption in your donors’ lives.
- Try a peer-to-peer campaign to have supporters set up pages to fundraise on your nonprofit’s behalf.
- Shay Lessman’s Tips for Hosting a Virtual Peer-to-Peer Event.
- From Techsoup How to Broadcast a Facebook Live Event in 7 Easy Steps.
- Bloomerang 7 Easy Steps to Move Any Fundraising Event to Virtual.
- Causevox 14 Virtual Fundraising Event Ideas.