Perhaps the single most obvious and visible impact that COVID-19 infections are having in the world of nonprofit organisations is related to the first quarter events season. Spring is always a great time to hold fundraisers and various types of events that help increase the overall budget that organisations will have to work with for the remainder of the fiscal year. Unfortunately, many of these events have been canceled or pushed back for months.
Considering that more than a few MPs have stated that people have to remain at home at all times, there’s literally no way for most of these groups to raise money in person. Several organizations have stepped up their fundraising game, however, and are now starting to find alternative ways of doing things.
In many cases, these events won’t raise anywhere near as much money as traditional ones might have. However, they represent a path for smaller charities to weather the storm and survive in an increasingly volatile market.
Virtual Fundraising Events
Fine dining and even more casual cookouts have long been a mainstay of so many fundraising programs. Recently, people have started to put together something called dinner with a twist, where people in black ties deliver meals to local holders who wouldn’t otherwise be able to visit a physical event. This has become particularly popular with those who care for seniors.
While these events won’t ever be quite as popular as traditional ones, those who use an online donation platform like Donorbox are going to be able to collect donations from those who participate even if they can’t do so in person. Creative organisers are starting to put together some pretty amazing remote events using this kind of technology.
Major record labels have started to host concerts from a remote location. They sell tickets online through a donation widget and the proceeds then go to help those who have been impacted by the virus. Since the economic damage caused by taking certain steps to prevent continued infection have begun to hurt people’s financial status, there’s a good chance that many of these events can directly benefit those who have been dealing with challenges as a result of what’s going on.
In fact, some pundits are saying that charity organisers should expect to see increases in the amount of people they see applying for aid.
Increased Demand on Charity Funds
Due to the fact that so many people are out of work across the entire industralised world, many of these individuals have started to turn to charities in order to try and improve their own situation. While this is exactly why these organisations exist in the first place, it’s clearly putting quite a strain on groups that were already beleaguered by other events not directly related to the coronavirus.
For instance, recently unemployed persons have started to ask for an increased amount of financial assistance during these times. Payroll problems from the previous year have impacted the economy as it was, so these groups have had to work harder than normal for a number of months now.
Specialists have invented some interesting ways to deal with the sudden increase in demands. The so-called flash fundraiser is among the most common.
An organisation using this scheme will announce that their normal plans have been cancelled so they have to hold a fast emergency fundraising that will last only one or two days. The most successful ones so far have leveraged a matched gift that’s helped to encourage additional donations even if they run into cash shortages.
Others have turned to virtual auctions. Some people livestream their auctions through social media to give the same experience that those attending a charity gala would have otherwise had. Some have elected to forego the entire experience and merely sell on eBay or another popular online auction site. In either case, this can also help to drastically reduce the amount of money it costs to put on one of these shows. Top online sellers in the past could make up to £17 million annually, so it’s likely that those today could make even more
More recently, nonprofits have been working to develop even more ways of dealing with the fundraising slump related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Creative Ways of Dealing with a Serious Problem
Sharable content is important in any situation, but quite a few groups have refocused their effort on it. Creating content that shows off fundraising highlights can help to increase generosity in givers. As people learn more about what these groups need, it’s likely that they’ll continue to support them in droves.
