Finding the illusive supporters who can give more during Covid-19

Last week, I had the pleasure of taking part in CAF's webinar looking at how the current outbreak is affecting charities and pubic giving. The research was really interesting and it really got me thinking about how we need to adapt our fundraising to be mindful of how each of our supporters are affected by the current outbreak. Possibly, the most fundamental key to success right now, is finding the small, but significant, minority of people who are able to give more right now.

Whilst two in five people say their disposable income has decreased and feelings of job security are low, there are one in five people who say they will donate more than usual in the near-future.

They are likely to be those who are working from home and saving the cost of commuting, costly coffee and socialising. Whilst these people are able to give, they are in the minority - we need to find them and tailor our request to avoid isolating the 80% who are financially struggling right now.

So how do we find these elusive supporters? The trick (as always) lies in communication. You should be getting in touch with all of your current and recent supporters. Ideally, I would recommend doing this over the phone. Your supporters are likely at home and struggling for human contact, so there has never been a better time to get in touch.

If you don’t have the time to make the calls, consider whether you can rely on others in your organisation. Maybe you have operational team members and volunteers who could get involved?

Through these conversations, you should be letting supporters know how Covid-19 is impacting your beneficiaries and services and you should also use this as an opportunity to ask how it is affecting them.

Before approaching the conversations, map out a few different options of how you can tailor your responses to each supporter, for example:

• If they say they are bored, have nothing to do, have been furloughed etc you could direct them to any ways they can use their time to support you. This could be through volunteering for a helpline, getting involved in a virtual event or taking part in a fundraising initiative at home. You could also direct them to some helpful tips, for example ‘another supporter says she has been knitting, doing puzzles or writing stories for children’.
• If they say they are worried, struggling financially or having difficulty coping, do not make an ask, instead see if you can help. You should firstly thank them for continuing their support through this tricky time because you know it is so hard. See if you can signpost them to any of your services (if they fit your beneficiary group) or point them to other organisations that may be able to help.
• If they say they are doing well, coping and helping others, then consider making an ask. You could let them know that it is great that they are approaching the situation so positively and ask them if they would consider temporarily increasing their donation by ￡x per month as others have had to pause their support.

I would love to hear how you get on with these conversations, or if you have any tips of your own for finding the supporters who are able to give more right now. Please do comment below.

And, if you are one of these illusive supporters – please do your bit and increase your donations to the charities close to your heart. I am very lucky that I can work from home, so I am upping my regular donations for about the amount I would be spending in my favourite coffee shop each week!