The sobering reality is the coronavirus pandemic fatally damaged most non-profit’s 2020 fundraising plans.
- Social distancing makes special event fundraising difficult
- Annual campaign & major gifts fundraising typically rely on face-to-face solicitation strategies
- Foundations are now swamped with funding proposals
The reality is your 2020 fundraising plan likely is no longer realistic and needs to be re-worked. The best case scenario for a small handful of organizations is they have a lot of “tweaking” to do to their plan.
The most alarming challenge you’re facing is how little time you have to make these changes. And it is all complicated by the limited access you now have to donors and board members during stay-at-home orders and social distancing recommendations.
We’ve been telling clients the path forward is simple, but it is not easy:
- Don’t wait until the uncertainty to clear up; ACT NOW
- Engage board members, volunteers, and donors in respectful and meaningful ways
- Be vulnerable; it’s OK to let donors and supporters see you struggling
- Re-calibrate your internal case for support document
- Revise your 2020 fundraising plan and be realistic (not all things and not all organizations can simply “go virtual”)
- Most importantly, keep your revised fundraising plan SIMPLE (because no one has much bandwidth for complicated right now)
Again, this is simple, but it won’t be easy. If you doubt this statement, please take a moment to reflect on this question:
Question: What tasks and projects consumed your time last week that kept you from strategically re-thinking how you will secure the revenue you need to survive 2020?
Answer: You don’t need to rewire your 2020 fundraising plan by yourself. You need to hire The Healthy Non-Profit to be your planning consultant and facilitator.