Five Ways to Counter Coronavirus Impact on Fundraising

“The pace of change has never been this fast, yet it will never be this slow again.”

When Justin Trudeau made this statement at Davos in 2018, he was speaking to the world’s most privileged business and government leaders. In spite of all of their resources, they are struggling to adapt to the increasing pace of change and the disruption that ever more powerful technology throws at old business models.

In the non-profit sphere, where capital, human resources and technology are limited, disruptions can be even more difficult to manage. A global pandemic, like coronavirus, can be an existential threat to small nonprofits. The threat is even more menacing for organizations already facing dropping levels of charitable giving, increasing dependence on a limited pool of larger donors, and the flight of talented professionals into more lucrative fields that don’t demand 24/7 commitment for 9-to-5 pay. 

Hands of Peace Revenue Model

Hands of Peace, where I am Director of Development, is a nonprofit with an 18-year history bringing together Israeli, Palestinian and American youth to empower them as leaders of change. We have a small staff of 8 full-time employees and 2 part-time employees spread out between Chicago, San Diego, Israel and Palestine, and an annual budget of just over $1 million. Our revenue mix is similar to many organizations our size:

·     70%   Donations from Board members and other individuals, donor-advised funds and small foundations 

·     20%   Fundraising Events

·     11%   Fee for Service

Changes Affecting Philanthropy

Recent changes that impacted philanthropy across the country have already reshaped the development landscape. These changes include the 2018 tax law reducing incentives for small donations, election-year campaign funding, and a shift to DAFs where donations can sit indefinitely.

When coronavirus hit, it amplified these changes and knocked out significant portions of all our revenue channels:

·     Donors saw reduced income and investment value, and economic uncertainty always hampers giving

·     Our two biggest fundraising events of the year, Spring Benefits in Chicago and San Diego, couldn’t take place as planned

·     Fee for service revenue was cut by the cancelation of our Summer Program for Israeli, Palestinian and American youth, and by cancelations on our annual Multi-Narrative Tour of Israel/Palestine for American adults.

We got our first hint of things to come when travelers, who had signed up months before, started backing out of our March Multi-Narrative Tour. A courageous group carried on, but fewer than we had planned on. They had a wonderful bonding experience as the itinerary changed daily due to coronavirus travel restrictions. Several who had made plans to travel on after 10 days in Israel and Palestine decided to return home instead and were lucky to be back before flight cancellations started in earnest.

The next blow was the cancelation of both Spring Benefits because of restrictions on large gatherings. These events are much more than fundraising opportunities. They are key community-building experiences, where donors meet alumni of the Hands of Peace programs, hear about the impact alumni are having in their communities, and connect with friends in the Chicago and San Diego areas. Our challenge was to find a way to replace both the revenue and the connection that would be lost without our Spring Benefits. So, we moved quickly to create a two-week Virtual Benefit that started on the day of the scheduled Chicago Virtual Benefit and ended on the day of the scheduled San DiegoVirtual Benefit. We have learned a lot in the process (and continue to learn more each day).

I’d like to share with you five tips for making a Virtual Benefit work in the time of coronavirus.

1.    Pivot Quickly

Luckily, the Hands of Peace staff and volunteer committees, chaired by Julie Orr and Silvia Schneider-Fox in Chicago and by Melinda Wynar in San Diego, had already done a great job of securing auction items, sponsorships and matching gifts for the Benefits. Table and ticket sales had begun, so we reached out to the early purchasers and asked them to convert their tickets to fully-tax-deductible donations. Almost 100% were happy to do so.

We also had used ReadySetAuction for event registration and auction tracking at past events, so we were able to smoothly shift to online bidding. We had never used that function and there was a steep learning curve, but volunteers on the auction committees stepped up to enter photos, content and pricing for the auction packages.

The biggest challenge was to bring our entire community along on this adventure. As with most Benefits, the auction usually brings in only a small portion of the total giving at our events. The bulk of the giving comes through sponsorships, in lieu of donations and gifts made during the Live Auction and Paddle Raise. These gifts are a caring response to the emotional appeal as alumni describe the impact of Hands of Peace on their perspectives and their lives.

2.     Create Connection

Our focus turned to mirroring a live event on the Benefit web pages. Some of the elements included:

1.    A magic trick video (the theme of the events was “Magic Happens Online) to catch the eye on the website and in social media. The video, with copy talking about how change can occur "in the blink of an eye," came to us courtesy Chicago Magic Lounge, a major sponsor who stayed with us through the transition to the Virtual Benefit

2.    A video welcome message from Hands of Peace Founder Gretchen Grad

3.    “What’s Possible,” a video shot in the Middle East and in the U.S. featuring older alumni who have used their Hands of Peace experience to contribute to their communities

4.    Photos of our Honorary Chairs for both cities

5.    $20,000 Matching Funds in each city to inspire donations

6.    Open bidding so bidders can see the names of other bidders, imitating the feeling of friendly competition at an in-person auction (bidders can also choose to be anonymous)

3.    Get People Talking

It was a little more difficult to recreate the endorsement that table hosts provide, especially in San Diego, where table sales had just begun. One table host was very effective in encouraging her “guests” to give by sending copies of the invitation, including a donation envelope, to all the people she had invited to sit at her table before the cancelation. She included a personal note letting them know that she had already made a gift on their behalf by buying a table and inviting them to make a gift. We shared the names with her as her guests responded so she could thank them personally.

Hands of Peace Marketing and Communications Director Deb Lawrence also worked with public relations consultants Jenny Kustra-Quinn in Chicago and Sara Wacker in San Diego to adapt our PR plan to focus on the Virtual Benefit. The impact of coronavirus on nonprofits is a news story, so we managed to schedule coverage on radio, in print and on TV about the move to a Virtual Benefit. 

4.    Care about Context

One issue we have faced and will continue to face is sensitivity to the context created by coronavirus. Some of our donors and community members have had to lay off staff, or have lost their jobs, or their family members have. Adult and college-aged children are moving home. We fear for the health of our Hands of Peace “family,” especially the many seniors who have hosted Israeli and Palestinian youth during our Summer Program. Many of them are frequent global travelers. Staying in touch with them in just as important as getting them involved in the Virtual Benefit.

We are also very aware of the increased need for basic services such as food and housing assistance, personal protection equipment for our healthcare workers, and direct assistance to people who have lost their incomes. Many of our community members support their local food bank, their local hospital, and other social service agencies, and for that we are grateful.

5.    Look to the Future

We also know that the coronavirus will pass. When it does, the need for young leaders who can build better societies and guide us through future crises will only be greater. If there is anything we have learned in the time of coronavirus, it is that looking toward the future makes it easier to handle the present, and that hope conquers fear. Our community’s involvement in our Virtual Benefits is an investment in the future, a statement of faith that we will recover, and a commitment to the long time frame of peacebuilding and justice.