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TME’s Helpful Tips During the COVID-19 Crisis

1. Ask your board for support! 

Now is the time to tap their talent, don’t go it alone!

A. We are all craving expertise, rely on your Board members that can help with financial planning, understand how to navigate the CARE Act, make sage decisions about staffing.

• If you find yourself without this kind of expertise, start recruiting new leaders who have experience in multi-facets of governance (Finance, Law, HR).

B. Have your outreach to donors be followed by a message from a Board member who also has a relationship with the individual.

2. Stay engaged – Communicate with Donors!

Smart stewardship starts with handwriting personal notes to mail to your donors. 

A. Have an official message from leadership along with examples of how your organization is staying engaged and helping the ones you serve that you can forward to your donors and add in your own personal note:

• Position the message to show concern for them during this crisis and also note your organization’s resolve to continue forward with your mission. 

• Don’t be shy to ask for help. If your organization needs something ask for it and you will probably be surprised by the acts of kindness happening all over right now.

3. Form new partnerships 

There is safety in numbers, fundraising is a team effort!

A. Look for organizations in your industry that have complementary services and start talking!  More great minds working together means great solutions.

• For example, if you are a military scholarship provider for children of the wounded, reach out to a complimentary Veteran Service Organization and discuss creating a Memorandum of Agreement to support each other’s services through cross-market advertising.  This will create goodwill for both organizations and possibly alert new investors to your organization.  

 4. Use this time to conduct a donor screening and clean up your database!

Do you have a sense of your top prospects?  

A. Take advantage of tools like BoodleAI, DonorTrends or DonorSearch and start mining your database for new prospects to approach.

• Or, review your existing portfolio and develop a game plan for your outreach based on who you reached recently and who needs to hear from you next.

• Draft emails in preparation for when it is appropriate to reach out for an introduction or the “ask”. 

B. Do you have mail that bounces back or old email addresses?  Or have call notes that haven’t been entered into the system.  Start Spring cleaning your data! 

5.  Keep planning!

Life will bounce back, get ahead of the game! Most major fundraising events take 8-12 months of planning, don’t put off what you can do today!

A. If you’ve postponed your event, don’t postpone the opportunity to tackle your task list!

• Develop your sponsorship package and start including virtual benefits

• Rewrite your sponsorship appeal to address current events

• Outline your event program and start writing the run of show

• Be in touch with your vendors!  

When life bounces back, you will be ahead of the game and ready to hit the ground running!