Last week, I was supposed to be in Baltimore. Many of us were supposed to be somewhere else last week, but the pandemic crisis has shifted our lives in many ways. I hope you are physically healthy and mentally well as you adjust to the new – though temporary – normal.
Rather than exploring Baltimore and networking with colleagues at the AFP International Conference on Fundraising – AFP ICON, I experienced it virtually.
Three days of webinars lead by experts across North America, I heard the same messages over and over:
- If your clients are directly effected, you must ask now.
- If your nonprofit is not directly effected (more like, impacting the budget but not the people you serve), focus on checking in on your donors to make sure they are ok.
- Asks are ok if they are respectful and not tone deaf to the situation.
- Events will look different in the future. They were starting to die anyway and this may push them to a faster demise.
There are so many articles addressing the issue of fundraising during a crisis. Here are a few that are particularly helpful:
To ask or not to ask. Bloomerang
Fundraising During Corona. Philnathropy.com
Coronavirus Impacting Your Nonprofit? Here’s what to do. Network for Good
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