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Nonprofits and COVID-19: Where and How We Can Help

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A guest post by Mike Barros of Lumaverse

Nonprofits play an integral role in providing resources for COVID-19 relief in their communities. From streamlining appointment registration to managing volunteers through their CRM, there are countless ways charitable organizations are helping in the face of crisis.

Even further, positively communicating with your team and donor base speaks volumes about your appreciation for their efforts. That will positively impact your organization after normal life resumes.

Since the pandemic began in 2020, organizations have used their donor CRM data to contribute to COVID relief efforts in many ways. Specifically, optimized data and communications strategies can help streamline the following operations:

  • Volunteer management
  • Appointment & vaccine scheduling
  • Expressing gratitude and raising morale

Regardless of your organization’s core mission, we’re all serving the greater good in the face of the current social, economic, and healthcare crisis. Read on to find out more about how you can help your community in the face of COVID-19.

Volunteer Management

Volunteer management is the process of finding, engaging, and retaining helpers for a cause. Whether you’re looking for a group to help expedite the COVID testing process or to collect supplies for those out of work, your volunteer management strategy is crucial to your impact on the community.

When looking for help, optimize your data to find out which of your supporters would rather (and can) give money and who would instead give time. For example, if you’re looking to put together a group of volunteers to gather supplies for your local food bank, you can use your data stored by your software to know who you can ask to help. 

For example, your organization can use volunteer management software to keep your team organized and informed when searching for COVID-19 relief volunteers. Your volunteer management software can also help your organization:

  • Build connections for relief efforts into the future
  • Find the right people for your specific cause
  • Deliver data based on your volunteer relationships
  • Manage donations and giving histories

With these features in mind, you’ll have no problem finding and putting together a volunteer base that can serve whichever issue you’re working to solve.

Appointment & Vaccine Scheduling

Scheduling appointments has been a struggle for many organizations during the pandemic due to the overwhelming need for help. This includes helping those who are seeking vaccine and testing appointments. Too often, people eligible for a test or vaccine struggle to get a time slot and receive the help they need.

Efficient scheduling software can help you expedite the fight against COVID-19 in your community. Consider the following benefits you can provide for your supporters with your know-how and powerful appointment scheduling software:

  • Easy-to-use calendar interface
  • Automated email reminders
  • Confirmation receipts
  • Around-the-clock sign up opportunities

With these benefits and more, your organization can help those frustrated with signing up for COVID-19 related appointments and take the load off of those who are already dedicating their lives to providing medical support.

Talk to your local healthcare providers to find out more about how you can help schedule anything from volunteer shifts to appointments. According to  Double the Donation’s guide to coronavirus resources for nonprofits, there are endless ways to get involved in this effort.

Expressing Gratitude and Raising Morale

Last but certainly not least, your organization should provide support for those who support you. Everyone is sacrificing their usual ways of life to help prevent the spread of disease and aid others during this time. On top of this, people have to isolate themselves in their homes and deal with the hardships of our current world. Therefore, showing gratitude is as crucial as ever because it:

  • Encourages repeat giving. Because your supporters have already contributed to your cause in one way or another, they’re highly likely to give again. They’ve already seen how their efforts have positively impacted the community through your outreach and are familiar with your giving process.
  • Increases volunteer retention. When you retain patrons as you continue to pursue your efforts, you’ll have a dependable support base, saving time and money. According to Lumaverse’s guide to volunteer appreciation, supporter retention should be around 40%, and working to increase your retention rate will help your organization secure long-term giving.
  • Expedites future planning. As you retain your supporters, they’ll become your go-to’s for your future needs! No longer will your team have to worry about having enough people to run a fundraising event, so you’ll have people who regularly give time and money.

For example, the TY Thursday column of this blog helps explain how to best appreciate your volunteers in such challenging times. The key takeaway of saying thank you is recognizing that your donor is still giving time, resources, and money to others despite the hardships they may be facing. Some ways to show this can be through outreach, such as:

  • Thank you notes
  • Follow-up input surveys
  • Branded merchandise
  • Sponsor recognition
  • Social media shout-outs

These are just a handful of ways to show gratitude for your generous donors and volunteers. When you strengthen your connections with them, you’ll have a reliable task force to help with relief efforts, especially during the COVID era.

Nonprofits play a considerable role in COVID-19 relief in their communities. Whether they help find volunteers for related tasks, expedite appointment registration, and retain helpers for future endeavors, their impact is immeasurable.

Remember, time, supplies, and financial donations are integral parts of keeping your community afloat during hardships. Be a resource of relief both internally and externally for your organization, and stay safe!

 

Mike Barros LumaverseMike Barros is the President and CEO of Lumaverse Technologies. Before joining the Lumaverse, Mike was the President of Education Brands at Community Brands, the CEO of Diamond Mind, and the Chief Revenue Officer at JackBe. He resides in the DC-Metro area.

Fundraising Tuesday: If You Do Only One Thing in 2021…

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do one thing

Back when I was in college, a professor told our class, “If you read only one thing this semester, read this….”

He said it every week–about a different book!

Here's the one thing your nonprofit should do in 2021 to raise more money. Click To Tweet

If You Do Only One Thing, Record Donations

I hope you had a great month of December, and the end-of-year donations poured in day after day. But…

Did you just deposit those checks in the bank and forget about them?

Did you just mark those online gifts in your bookkeeping system, so your accountant knows who gave what, but nobody else does?

Aha. Perhaps you made a list of donations, or even put them into a spreadsheet. Congratulations! Except–how easy will it be for you to find out:

  • who gave money in 2019 and not in 2020?
  • who gave more this year and who gave less?
  • who gave once a year, once a quarter, once a month?
  • who moved (or changed their email address) since the last time they made a donation?

Knowing these data will allow you to figure out which lapsed donors you need to try to win back, and which current donors might be candidates to give major gifts (or leave you money in their wills). It will keep you from sending out communications that never reach the people you want to feel appreciated and important.

Knowing these data will make more money for your nonprofit.

If you only do one thing in 2021, start recording your donor information in a donor database or CRM. Find one that works like you think, then use your new technology to make your relationship with your donors more personal. And by the way…

If You Do Only One Thing, Get to Know Your Donors

Good fundraising is relationship fundraising.

Yes, you might occasionally have a windfall. Your issue moves to the center of public attention and a bunch of people give money to you in the heat of the moment.

But for the long term, those people need to feel seen.

Donors don’t want to be the ATM on the wall you hit up when you’re short of cash. They don’t want to be one “dear friend” out of hundreds or thousands you address exactly the same way.

Donors want to know that you know them and value them. They are giving because they want to think of themselves as good people–and you can help them see themselves that way.

If you only do one thing in 2021, find out as much as you can about your donors. Don’t just send them a thank-you note–not even the ideal thank-you letter. That’s a one-way communication. Beyond the letter:

  1. Pick up the phone and call them. Ask them: what are they interested in? Why did they choose to give? What would they like to see happen as a result? (And record all that in your database!)
  2. Send them surveys, a couple of questions at a time, by email.
  3. Research your donors online. Find out what you can about their lives and interests outside of your organization.
  4. Take a look at your followers on social media. Which of them resemble your donors the most? (Those are your best prospects to become new donors!)

Getting to know your donors will let you segment your list into different audiences who care about different things. Recognizing your different audiences will let you send the right messages to the right people at the right time. And that means…

If You Do Only One Thing, Communicate!

Maybe you have a friend or a family member like this: you never see them. You never hear from them. Then one day, your phone rings, or your doorbell, and it’s them. You groan inside, because the only reason they ever show up is to ask for money.

You don’t want to be “that guy” to your donors. You need to show up for them between the times you ask.

If you have them in your database, you can be sure to send the mail or the email to the right address. And if you know which of your audiences they belong to, you can send them content that matters to them personally.

But even in a more broadcast format, like a newsletter or a social media platform, you can share stories, photos, facts, how-to’s, and other content that makes your donors (and prospective donors) glad to hear from you, every time.

If you only do one thing in 2021, communicate more often with your supporters. Aim for a newsletter every month, an email every week, a Facebook post every day, a tweet multiple times a day.

Does that sound like a lot of work? Yes, it is. But:

a) I can find out who your audiences are and what they want, by doing the research for you.

b) I can help you make the right decision about a database that will work for you and make your communications more powerful.

c) I can teach you to turn one story, photo, news article, or quotable quote into multiple ways to reach out and touch your donors.

d) I can show you ways to get the right kind of content delivered to your email inbox every day, so you can re-package it for your audiences.

If you do only one thing different in 2021, make that 'one thing' getting the help you deserve. Click To Tweet

 

 

Fundraising Tuesday: The Money is in the Mail

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Cat waiting for mailAre you thinking of giving up on fundraising by mail? Don’t.

Direct mail is still the most productive way of asking for donations to your nonprofit organization. If you give up on direct mail, it’s like throwing money in the trash.

Sending a good fundraising appeal by mail beats asking for money by email, by text, or by social media. In fact, a lot of the time, when a generous donor gives to your organization online, they saw your appeal letter first!

Why wouldn’t you send your appeal by mail?

  • “It costs too much.” Not when the return on your investment is so great! Those stamps and envelopes will more than pay for themselves when a larger number of donors send you a larger amount of money.
  • “We don’t know how to write a good letter.” You can get all the advice you need to write the ideal appeal letter from this blog. Or, you can pay me to do it for you!
  • “Our mailing list is out of date.” No time like the present to update it! And if your list is on a database or constituent relationship management system (CRM), the tool may check the National Change of Address database for you.
  • “We don’t trust the post office.” In 2020, that is a real concern, but it’s all the more reason to send out your mail early.

The only real problem that might prevent you from using the mail is this: “We haven’t collected our supporters’ mailing addresses.” Now, there’s a problem, and one you can start to fix right away.

Ask yourself, What do we have to share, or what can we produce to share, that will be so valuable to the donors that they will be willing to give us their mailing addresses? Click To Tweet

Is it a fact sheet about the issue they care most about?

Is it a bumper sticker (design and printing donated by another of your supporters)?

Is it artwork by children in your program? Or free admission to an online program? Is it a gift certificate for a store that supports your mission and likes to make its support known, to reach potential customers?

Give the audience something that makes them glad to share their address. Then, send them a newsletter. Follow it up with an appeal letter, and follow that up by email, social media, and phone.

When they give, make sure you do more than send an auto-acknowledgment, more than an email welcome series.

Send them the ideal thank-you letter. In the mail.

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