Our Work in the Time of COVID-19

Marianne G. Briscoe, Ph.D., ACFRE

To begin, we wish the very best of health to every one of you throughout this trying time. Stay close to your loved ones and stay in the hearts of your beneficiaries.They are why we do this work; and they are why, in the most difficult times, we persist.

These are hard times for nonprofits in every sector—unprecedented organization demands, and for some, donors with shifting priorities. Meanwhile every one of us is pressed to balance personal health, family well-being, and institutional survival. Still, the priorities are pretty much what they have always been for fundraising and advancement executives: mission, donors, and institutional stability. Our world, however, is very disrupted right now.

Most lessons about weathering today’s events come from the 2008 financial crisis. This time, in addition to 2008’s unsteady financial markets, we have wide-spreading disease and social and health containment measures on an extended timeline—and the world is even more interconnected.

In time, as we did post-2008, we will recover some sense of normal, whatever it may mean by then. Our task now is to keep steady and, as fundraisers and nonprofit executives, to stay donor-focused.

Prioritize stewardship. Keep constituents up-to-date on how you are coping, how your beneficiaries are coping, and how you are impacting our well-being. Be as interactive as you can be. Cincinnati Zoo is webcasting live shows daily with their animals, plus activities for kids at home—today it’s Fiona the hippo; the real time Facebook commentary from all over North America was joyful. Commonwealth Club (CA) is live-casting programs for members from empty halls. Health and human services organizations are performing heroic deeds in the face of substantial personal risk. Nonprofits are at the heart of social resilience and, with the nicest and most impactful messages, that is what our supporters need to see in action.

Here are a few thoughts about what’s ahead:

It will be hard—even unwise—during the virus period to arrange in-person interviews and donor meetings. Video is a solution for some but may not work for all donors/prospects. Many people video with their parents or grandkids regularly. Why not with you? And, golly, I just learned today that some millennials think if you don’t have a cell phone, only a land line, you can’t do conference calls. Update and refresh how we think about engaging donors and prospects.

Capital campaigns will choose to extend the campaign calendar by a year or two. Not a failing, just good sense.

One good augury: foundation annual budgets are built on a multi-year total return formula and the 12/31/19 record high stock market closing will make grant budgets bigger than in prior years.

Whatever you plan, don’t stop usual gift solicitation and cultivation programs. Don’t decide for your donors about whether they wish to support you now. There may be some lapses for givers who are hard hit or among those for whom other giving priorities take precedence right now. Watch for trends, but keep up, even expand, the communication and engagement. In short, steward, steward, steward.

Many colleagues are issuing essays about responding in the time of COVID-19. Here are links to a few that seem insightful:

Meanwhile, take care of yourself; like the frontline caregivers, if you aren’t well, you can’t help.