We are living in unprecedented times, when new “normals” are being introduced every day and advice given a week ago may already be outdated as governments try to manage the situation with ever-changing information. Their scramble is everybody’s scramble, and we are no exception.
As our clients and colleagues do their best to make the right decisions about their fundraising events, we want to add our voice to the chorus of those singing the “we’re going to be ok” song. Humans are resilient and clever. Your donors still want to help and support your organization as much as they did before this situation began, though the circumstances have changed. We at Bliss would like to address a few key areas of importance, as we understand them, in the hopes that our analysis will help others navigate the coming days and weeks.
Communication
Communication with your donors is as important as ever. As Penelope Burk made clear in her book, Donor Centered Fundraising, your donors want to be kept in the loop. The clearer you are in your messaging to them, the more they will feel like a partner with your organization and that will keep them invested in supporting you.
We have all been receiving email after email in our inbox from every company or organization we’ve ever given our email address to, whether they have anything helpful to say about COVID-19 or not. Because of that onslaught, we would advise our clients against emailing their donors at this time, unless they have something actually important to communicate. If you need to let your supporters know your event has been postponed, or that you’re performing some sort of action in regards to the outbreak (ie, collecting supplies for seniors who can’t get to the store, closing treatment centers temporarily, etc), by all means, please communicate that and soon! Hit them on social media, email, newsletter to make sure your message is getting across!
If you don’t have anything pertinent to say at this time, our advice is to write a post on your website and/or social media that says whatever you want to say about it: praise for health-care workers, encouraging supporters to stay safe and stay informed via the WHO and CDC websites, that sort of thing. Don’t email it! If your community wants to know how you are reacting to the current situation, they’ll visit your site or socials.
Solicitation
Unless your fundraiser has been canceled or postponed until a distant date, or your organization will fold without immediate help, now is *not* the time to solicit donations from your supporters. Many of them are likely focused on a million other things, like childcare, their incomes, their investments, the list goes on and on. If you had planned on sending out mailers soon, don’t. Let people figure out what their lives look like. See if there is anything your organization can do to help them, or if there are other NPOs nearby that are helping people impacted by these wild times- you can promote them and their mission to your network. Your donors will remember that you were there for them, and they’ll be there for you once the dust has settled from this.
Awesome-ification
If you had a live fundraiser planned for the near future and you are interested in still having it virtually, we have great news! There are ways of doing it using today’s technology, and we are prepared to help clients set themselves up for success.
Several of our esteemed colleagues around the country have been experimenting these last two weekends and have reported back their results. All of them had successful virtual events, with organizations meeting or exceeding the goals they had for their original live event, and a community grateful for an opportunity to still be able to support the organization while keeping themselves safe. In general, you’ll find that donors are game to be guinea pigs for these types of experiments during these extraordinary times.
We would be happy to discuss the pros and cons and technical details with any clients interested in pursuing a virtual gala, so please reach out if this applies to your organization.
In the short term, and the longer term, we wish you and your communities health and safety during these wild times. We will all get through this, together.
