End of Year Fundraising in the Midst of COVID-19

End of Year Fundraising in the Midst of a Global Pandemic

In a year where so many are in need, how do you ensure your donors are aware of your increased needs?

If you are an organization who has helped provide food to those in need, you’ve likely seen an increase in giving this year. Our clients have seen incredible dedication from longtime donors and all-new donors who are helping ensure the hungry are fed.

But this doesn’t mean other missions are secondary. According to Charity Navigator, when our nation saw an economic crisis in 2008, there was a significant downturn in charitable giving. So how do we avoid that amidst an ongoing global crisis?

An Opportunity: Younger Donors

A study from Fidelity Investment Charitable earlier this year uncovered that nearly 50% of Millennials planned to increase their charitable giving in response to COVID-19. This is in contrast with 14% of Baby Boomers who said the same. If you are like most organizations, your largest existing donor audience is likely the Baby Boomer generation, so their donor health scores are likely high already.

But with MIllennials ready and willing to make an impact, and with a world ready for a reset overall as we enter 2021, this is an opportunity to drive new donors to your mission.

Symptoms to Treat: More than 30% of donors want to make an impact, but are not sure how they can most effectively support needs

Your team has been in it all year long. You’ve adjusted operations. You’ve closed doors to volunteers for a period of time, if not still to this day. You’ve had to change how you pack meals for the hungry, how you house the homeless and how you share your message overseas when airline operations are changing every week.

This year, the symptoms are so different. Serving the homeless has so many more challenges. Feeding the hungry is not only more challenging, but the volume of those in need in places like New York City has increased to levels not seen in decades.

This is our reality as a world in 2020. But this is also our time to depict the day-to-day challenges in ways not detailed out before in digital fundraising campaigns. Alongside this, when someone pursues helping everything, they often achieve very little.

It's time to showcase how your organization will specifically impact a group of people in this new era, allowing donors to stay focused and partner with you. Specificity drives trust. Trust drives conversions.

Ben Taylor

VP, Digital

Treatment Plan: Let the Data Lead, and Be Specific on Your Needs

Imagery is always critical for any end of year digital fundraising effort. Our team at givingMD spends serious time ensuring our visuals across emails, ads and landing pages all represent the messaging well. But your messaging this year should hit on how this pandemic significantly changed your operation as an organization this year.

Highlight how you pivoted to continue serving others. And highlight how their gifts are needed more than ever to ensure proper protocols are followed to ensure safety of everyone while not sacrificing the well-being of those you serve.

Some of our clients have seen increased costs in providing meals because of all of the regulations. Rather than seeing this as a downside that needs to be minimized, the younger generation wants to know that these are new obstacles you are facing. Transparency goes a long way with them.

givingMD is Here to Help

Navigating this year has been so tough for all of our clients. But our team remains passionate about providing our time and talents to ensure every mission we get behind is able to be accomplished through the generous support of donors. Because our integrated campaigns use a unique approach to fundraising with Moneyball mindsets, no campaign is ever templated from another.

Need a treatment plan for your next 30, 60, 90 days? We’re here to help. Reach out to us or check out our case studies.