Global Philanthropic response to Covid 19

From our team of international experts, we are sharing some words of encouragement and hope at this worrying time.

Across the world, we all have an interconnected responsibility for ourselves, our families, our friends and our organisations. We can only fulfil these obligations by keeping ourselves happy and healthy, so let’s begin by taking care of ourselves, both physically and mentally, to the best of our ability. Whilst managing the risks and confronting the dangers of Covid-19, we need to be clear, focussed and proactive.

Now more than ever, philanthropists need to be bolder and even more generous and involved in greater number to help beneficiaries of charitable organisations as charities weather this storm. It is regrettably likely that governments will be in a much worse financial position, making the role of philanthropists even more critical to meet the needs of society. 

As ever, philanthropists will support those organisations with a powerful story and a robust, long-term strategy for sustainability. Philanthropy is not and never has been a “bailout fund” for failing organisations. In choosing to provide financial backing, philanthropists rightly will ask difficult, discerning questions about the need an organisation fulfils, the diversity of its revenue and the strength of its reserves.

High net worth individuals and endowment funds of trusts are likely to be hit hard by the turmoil in the markets and the global recession that could follow. But philanthropic funding will still be available for those charities with a compelling, well-articulated message.

We can learn lessons from our Global Philanthropic counterparts in Asia. Hong Kong, China and elsewhere in Asia are some months ahead of where we find ourselves in the UK and Europe today. Among the lessons: even hard-hit organisations in parts of Asia are finding their feet again and looking at how best to serve their beneficiaries.

Let us not forget that the language we use, both within and externally to our organisation, matters. Confidence, positivity and energy will carry furthest. We are not cancelling, we are postponing. We are not off at home, we are working remotely. We are still fulfilling our mission and take a long-term approach to this crisis for long-term sustainability.

Technology is naturally our friend at this time, as it enables us to work remotely and connect with our stakeholders digitally. In the arts world, we see world-renowned organisations temporarily closing their halls but opening up new digital spaces for an even wider engagement with their art form, from The Metropolitan Opera in New York to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in Germany. Organisations that can step-up their commitment to making a difference to people’s lives, confidently in this moment of crisis, will have an even greater impact and build a trusted reputation and network of friends. This will be a critical factor for all organisations both in the delivery of what they do and how they communicate with stakeholders and donors. One positive thing that we will see come out of this crisis will be innovation and development in our stakeholder communications.

 We can all take this opportunity to speak to our donors and closest friends and seek their advice and support in this journey, now and in the coming months. Philanthropic relationships are built on sustained two-way communication. In the midst of internal crisis management, we need to make time to prioritise regular, digital channels of communication with our donors to ensure that they come with us on this journey.

What we advise is communicate,  communicate, communicate, and also be aware how this crisis may change your relationships with your donors. For example, for educational establishments like schools and universities, if communications are well-managed, positive relationships will be built with both students and parents, sowing  the seeds for success in fundraising in future years.

At Global Philanthropic, our team of consultants are here to help support you in maximising your organisation’s philanthropic potential. Founded in Hong Kong in 2002, we have worked alongside thousands of charitable organisations and philanthropists across the world for almost 20 years. Within our consultancy team, we have first-hand experience helping organization at moments of global crisis, whether in a context of disaster response such as when the world was reeling from 9/11, or the 2003 SARS outbreak in Asia, or the 2008 financial crash and recession. We were there at those moments. We stand ready now.

What does our experience from these times teach us? That success at these moments means coming out of a period of crisis still stronger. That depends on thoughtful management of long-term relationships and self-belief and confidence in looking to new opportunities to deepen your impact.

We have had the privilege to work alongside a wide range of organisations and to share in their ambitions and vision for future impact. In these unsettling times, we are reaching out again to offer our support and friendship. We will do what we can to help. We would be delighted to invite you for a free consultancy briefing with a member of the consultancy team to share with you our experience and provide advice on your short-term and long-term strategic response to the extreme circumstances in which we find ourselves. We also will continue to provide specialist material for philanthropic organisations and philanthropists throughout the coming months. We are planning now to act as a convener through online webinars and discussions to do what we can to help support the charitable sector through these difficult times. Please get in touch with our group manager Sarah Hutchings for further information on these opportunities via email at [email protected], or you can sign up for our mailing list via our website www.globalphilanthropic.com.