As we pass what many believe to be the peak of the COVID-19 crisis, nonprofits must begin to look ahead at what comes next. Undoubtedly, all industries will be entering a period of extensive recovery as the global economy returns to its new normal, and the nonprofit sector is no exception.
TW&B consultants are sharing what trends they see in the field right now and how organizations can manage their priorities to recover sooner.
Our collective isolation leads us all to seek connection through stories and conversation. This means that donors who were not previously involved in an organization's social media messaging may now be seeking out and enjoying the content they share. This is an ideal time to strengthen your virtual relationship with donors and to share your message with a broader audience. Do you ever wish more people knew about the wonderful volunteers who give so much of themselves to help your organization? Reach out and ask if you can tell their stories on social media -- or better yet, ask them to record their own stories of why they volunteer and why they care about your organization. In recognizing your most loyal volunteers on a very personal level, you will also give them a powerful platform to share their passion for your organization with others. To create a thematic link between each story and connect the story project directly to your organization's mission, you could ask each volunteer to start their own story by completing a sentence that relates to your core values and why you do what you do.
Donors are loving the creative and engaging ways of connecting to their causes from their homes (like at-home art projects for art museums), but they are simultaneously developing the expectation that that level of creativity will continue. Organizations that wrestled through the shift to virtual communications using video, social media, and clever ways to engage their constituents in their missions while staying at home will be rewarded by being able to continue that level of creative engagement. People will crave in-person communications at the beginning of "the emergence," but over the longer term, they may be more comfortable with virtual conversations.
This is a great moment to revamp your current fundraising plan. Re-think your strategies in stewardship with existing donors, generate new ideas to cultivate prospects in your pipeline, re-visit with your ED or CEO to identify your most important and fundable projects moving forward, and take a look at your projected income in each area of fundraising activity for the next eight months. What might still work, what needs to be adjusted, and where are the areas for growth given the economic downturn? The more you strategize, the more you’ll see success.
Feeling like your organization could use some advice on crisis recovery? TW&B can help. Connect with one of our senior-level consultants here.