Fundraising in a time of social distancing
Julian Lomas
As the Covid-19 situation continues charities are facing tough fundraising challenges. Those who have traditionally relied on fundraising events and face to face meetings with major donors are seeing a significant fall off in income.
As we all adjust to home working and social distancing we are fortunate to live in a time where technology can help bring people together without them needing to be in the same room, or even on the same continent.
Many charities are struggling to work out how these tools could support fundraising, but there is already a lot of innovation and experimentation going on. We are seeing charities trying out virtual fundraising dinners, baking, exercise and book clubs, online paid for events and even online cycle rides (using exercise bikes ), all using video platforms such as Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, WhatsApp and many more.
Others, with more resources, are ramping up virtual challenge events using fitness tracking tools and, in some cases, setting video gaming challenges (JustGiving have some great tips and tools in their Gaming for Good hub).
Of course, there is a need to be sensitive to the financial challenges many supporters will be facing as a result of the impacts of the pandemic. While it’s important to communicate that fundraising continues (and needs to continue), it should be done sensitively.
Communications should recognise how supporters are likely to be feeling and be relevant to the current situation (we saw a newsletter from a charity recently that made absolutely no mention of Covid-19 at all!). Focusing on what your charity is doing to help people through the crisis and recovery is essential, even if in some cases that means getting out of the way of those on the frontline.
Saying thank you is more important than ever.
As we see more examples of experimentation with virtual fundraising we’ll share them and it would be great if you could share your ideas for the benefit of others. Families are also trying out new ways of sharing activities through video and these are likely to generate fundraising ideas as well, so don’t see work and play as too separate.
If you would like to know more about the services we offer or to discuss your fundraising challenges further please contact us at julian@almondtreeconsulting.co.uk.