5 Things Nonprofits Can Do Right Now to Stay Afloat
The COVID-19 pandemic is making it hard for so many of us to find our footing and figure out what we should do next—for ourselves, our families, our communities and the missions we care about. In a continued effort to bring resource to the nonprofit sector, here are 5 key things nonprofits should be doing right now to stay afloat—or at least take one step forward.
1. Talk to your donors.
Reach out and ask your donors how they’re doing. Talk to them about how COVID-19 is affecting them and share how it’s impacting your organization. Your donors are people who care deeply about your work—this is a great opportunity to show love and appreciation for the people who make your work possible. Here are some thoughts from Bloomerang about the question “To Ask or Not to Ask.”
2. Don’t stop fundraising.
Launch emergency email appeals and online campaigns to stay in conversation with your donor base. Stay relevant, speak to the context of what is happening and give your donors the opportunity to be the hero in your work right now. Steven Screen of Better Fundraising shares how to run an online event in this webinar.
3. Take care of yourself.
Use this time to learn, breathe and take care of yourself. Your organization is going to feel the impact of this for a long time, so you must prepare for long fight ahead. Empathy is not a finite resource, and love is the last thing we should hoard (thank you Brené Brown). Give yourself some love and empathy, and you’ll be better equipped to show up for others.
4. Get organized and look ahead.
This is an opportune time to take care of all the projects you haven’t had time for. Look ahead at your fundraising and strategic plan and adjust them to accommodate for this crisis. Clean up your donor database, think about future outreach campaigns and events, and tackle lingering to-do’s. Here is some great advice from Susan Taylor of Black Pearl Philanthropy about fundraising in a crisis.
5. Deliver on your mission.
Whether you’re on the frontlines of this pandemic or an arts organization whose performances have all been cancelled, this crisis is likely affecting your work and the people you serve. Share stories about how you are continuing to deliver on your mission or how you had to shift to accommodate new plans. Here’s an example of how an Oregon furniture bank came up with an alternative way to help those in need during this time of social isolation.
We believe in you, and we know that we’ll get through this together. For more tools and up-to-date resources, visit our COVID-19 Fundraising Toolkit.
Photo by Ahmed Zayan on Unsplash
