The end of the pandemic is in sight, but it’s not over yet. Nonprofits who have struggled to fundraise normally during the past year are likely to have a few more rough months ahead at the least.
While donations related to COVID-19 have remained high throughout the pandemic, many charities are struggling to raise funds, especially without in-person fundraising events.
While it may require a different approach, effective fundraising during the pandemic is still possible. These fundraising tips can help you recoup some of those lost donations and ensure you have funding for the services your organization provides.
1. Hold a Virtual Event
For many Americans, in-person events are still dangerous. While the CDC has said that it’s possible for vaccinated people to mingle with other people who have been vaccinated safely, most of the country still hasn’t received their first dose — and some, due to immune system deficiencies and other health issues, may have to wait for herd immunity.
As a result, it might not be safe to hold in-person events until later in the year at the earliest. Depending on the pace of national vaccination programs, it may take even longer.
In response to this problem, a number of nonprofits have held virtual fundraising events over the last year. These events — which have included virtual auctions, virtual days of giving and even virtual fun runs — are often an effective substitute for these in-person events.
In some cases, organizations have found that they’re even better than the in-person events they were running, due to the ease of online organization.
2. Make Online Events Accessible
One advantage of online events is that they can be highly accessible. No matter where a person is in the world, they can join an online event so long as they have internet access.
Taking full advantage of this accessibility can help you expand the reach of your organization. Online fundraising event strategies, like a low barrier-to-entry offering for newer donors, or a livestream that allows people to follow along with your event, can help bring in new donors and encourage those who are unfamiliar with your organization to join in.
3. Be Willing to Solicit Donations Virtually
Many charities have turned to virtual methods for major gift solicitation during the pandemic. According to data from CCS Fundraising, they’ve been successful — with 72% of organizations reporting that their virtual solicitation was as effective or more successful than in-person solicitation.
Virtual solicitation also offers some advantages over face-to-face meetings with donors — like greater convenience and little need for travel. If your organization has relied on gift solicitation in the past, using virtual methods to solicit donations can help you stay afloat.
4. Follow-up With Volunteers
Volunteer activity fell sharply during the beginning of the pandemic, and likely won’t recover until it’s safe to volunteer in person.
Volunteers that have stuck with your organization through the pandemic may be looking for other ways to give. If you can’t offer virtual volunteering opportunities, you may consider asking your volunteers for donations, instead.
While you’re not likely to receive donations from every volunteer, many may be happy to give if there are no opportunities to volunteer.
5. Don’t Leave Existing Donors Behind
When donations slow down, nonprofits often look outward, and start focusing on potential donors whose attention they haven’t captured yet. Advertising your mission is always a good idea, but it’s also important to remember the donors who have stuck with your organization.
According to a survey of American donors by Fidelity Charitable, most donors plan to continue giving to the organizations they already know through the end of the pandemic.
Personalized thank-you cards, recognition for donors and even a newsletter can go a long way in making these donors feel like they’re being “seen” by your organization. Keeping them in the loop is also a great way to show them the real-world impact that their donations are having during the pandemic. In many cases, this may encourage them to give again.
6. Focus on Local Donors
Donation patterns, like spending habits, tend to shift during a crisis. Not only do people donate less, they also tend to donate differently — and during COVID, this has meant a shift to donating to city-specific organizations over national ones, according to data from CauseMatch.
Focusing on area donors and emphasizing the work you’re doing in the region may help your organization secure funding as donors shift giving locally
7. Make Online Donation as Easy as Possible
If you haven’t reviewed your website and online donation process recently, now may be a good time. Online donations are up, likely because other donation methods — like checks sent via mail — are less practical right now.
Ideally, your online donation process is as frictionless as possible. The more complex, tedious or unreliable online donation is, the less likely people are to give online.
Streamlining your online donation process, or just making sure that it’s easy to give online, is a great way to boost fundraising efforts during COVID.
8. Optimize for Mobile Devices
It’s also a good idea to make sure your website is optimized for mobile devices. Mobile visitors make up a growing share of all web traffic, and it’s important that nonprofit organizations make it just as easy to give online if a user is using a mobile device or desktop.
Checking your site’s mobile optimization and making tweaks as necessary will help ensure that mobile visitors won’t have to deal with any extra barriers to giving.
9. Host Monthly Giving Drives
Keeping donors engaged during a pandemic can be difficult. Monthly giving drives and similar donation drives are online events that encourage donors to give at regular intervals. As part of the drive, you’ll keep donors in the loop with updates on your organization and the work you’re doing.
These drives are a great way to bring on new donors and ensure that you don’t lose communication with the donors you already have.
Strategies for Fundraising During COVID
While fundraising may be more challenging during a pandemic, it’s not impossible. With the right approach, you can fundraise effectively and bring in new donors.
Online events, good communication and simply virtual donation options can all help ensure that your organization continues to receive donations while you prepare for the end of the pandemic.
Eleanor is editor of Designerly Magazine. Eleanor was the creative director and occasional blog writer at a prominent digital marketing agency before becoming her own boss in 2018. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and dog, Bear.
The post Fundraising Tips Amidst a Global Pandemic appeared first on Enterprise Podcast Network - EPN.
