OMG..Those of us in the Non Profit world are scrambling to come up with online alternatives to our spring/summer fund raisers..

I attended one last week and it was just ok...We have ours in June so we are using the time to learn from others..

Those of you who have orgs you support...What have you done? Do you attend online events? Do you just send extra money? Or nothing?

We are looking for ways to reach out (we are heavy on personal contact..we pick up the phone) to get the word out?

Non profits are often at the front lines in serving those in need, now more than ever...We are all talking about how we can keep our work going to continue to serve.

ANY and all ideas appreciated!

My daughter works for a Catholic non profit that focuses on refugee issues. They stay afloat by sponsoring a couple of big conferences each year. The conferences have been cancelled, drying up the revenue stream.

She’s not sure what happens next.

I have some comments, I sit on the development committee of the foundation for my disease and this is something we’ve been dealing with, of course.

I’ll comment later though.

Some ideas:

1) 'Crisis-driven fundraising'. Ever notice that when there's a natural disaster you see Red Cross fundraising ads on your FB feed? Or when the refugee crisis is in the news you'll see Doctors Without Borders, etc. It's a specific strategy some organizations use. (my own organization doesn't really do this, a chronic disease doesn't really have surges)

How about using the surge in unemployment as a crisis to urge extra spending on your org? Your message is that there has been an increase in food insecurity, your services are needed more than ever... people are looking for concrete ways to help people in need due to the COVID emergency, your organization could really take advantage of that.



2) Something my org is doing right now - having board members reach out and call major donors. We have many that have sent checks that we don't have a personal relationship with. We're calling them personally and offering them an invitation to a Q&A webinar with one of our research clinicians.


3) Have a virtual (but not online) walk. Set a nice day, maybe a weekend in May - where people are supposed to walk/run/ride for your org and raise money for it. Unlike normal walkathons there is no planned location - everyone walks on their own.

Have people send photos of their walk to a website where they can be published.


4) Finally, like small businesses, I believe non-profits are eligible for 'loans' that don't need to be paid back if the money is used for meeting payroll. Look into that.

Thanks, jon. We have planned or discussed all these things.

Right now,we have time. A recent online fundraiser I know did their best year yet just online. So many wanted to help.

We get most of our income from other sources, though the fundraisers allows us some unrestricted funds.

But our idea is to use this to bring the community together with less of a heavy ask. The upside is that we are saving $25K in expense to host a in person event (no caterers, tables chairs, liquor etc.)

We are already getting many donations in just as a result of an email that went out on Friday (I will have lots of work to do tomorrow!).

We are hoping to use our online event as a celebration of our work, our supporters and the future.