How to keep raising money even if your event has been cancelled

So, your major fundraising event has been cancelled, but those funds are imperative for your mission to continue. How do you keep raising money? Here are some tips and recommendations for how development teams can pivot their efforts.

E-Appeal Communications + Fundraising

Your event’s special appeal holds the largest fundraising potential at your event. So, without an event, consider ways to build an even-more imperative case for your work with an e-appeal to your donors.

The always-great Steven Screen and Chris Davenport from Work Less Raise More have shared a great video about what you should be talking to donors about in an emergency e-appeal. The communication should follow an 8-point outline that lets donors know the urgency of your specific situation and how their donations will make an immediate impact.

Watch the video here and get point-by-point instruction with illustrative examples, and start to create your own impactful e-appeal communications now.

Relationship Cultivation + Management

On a larger level, the truth is that this may become a climate where it becomes harder to fundraise. But something that is always good for fundraisers to spend time doing is cultivate donors.

• Spend some time in your database to identify your major donors
• Know the names of your top 25 so you always have them on your mind
• Reach out to talk to as many of these folks as you can in the next couple months
• Check on their wellbeing in this time
• Write them a note, thank them for all they do, wish them health and safety

While we can’t control the changing world, you can plan or the future and use this time to be thoughtful in your outreach to supporters.

Run a GoFundMe Campaign

If you have a specific need you’re funding, especially if it is in response to the outbreak, put together a contained GoFundMe Campaign on a fixed timeline to gather your community around a cause they can immediately impact.

Convert Your Live + Silent Auctions into an Online Auction

You’ve already done all the procurement for your event, so use those items to fundraise now by converting your auctions into an online auction. Communicate often with donors to let them know where to find the auction and to create buzz around some of the packages. But, most importantly, build the case that their purchase of auction items will fund your important work at this very crucial time. Use countdowns to the auction closure in your communications to prompt action on deadline.

Greater Giving is offering a discount to activate the mobile bidding platform to facilitate online auctions.

Go Virtual with Your Event

Consider reformatting your event into a virtual one. You can utilize all of your event elements (auction, videos, script) and arrange them into a much shorter event format and engage your key constituents in some immediate and valuable fundraising.

While you may not raise as much as your in-person event, you will be able to capitalize on the moment and let donors continue to be heroes creating impact and funding your work. Cancelling an event means no fundraising, but going virtual can help you continue to bring in funds.

Here are some things to consider about going virtual.

If you want to talk about taking your event virtual, we’re here to help. Please reach out to sam@swaimstrategies.com.

Most of all, the best way to get through all of this is by doing it together. Let’s keep the ideas going and support each other any way we can.