Fundraising When Your Mission Is Not Tied to a National Crisis

We are experiencing a moment in the United States that is unenviable, to say the least. Our neighbors in Minnesota are at the epicenter of a national emergency that is also playing out at various levels of intensity across the country. 

People are on edge and communities are clashing in some areas and coming together in networks of support in others. Money is pouring in to help keep community members safer and to support businesses trying to operate when the city around them is filled with pepper spray and bullets. 

After acknowledging the depth and breadth of the circumstances rippling out from this crisis, it is important in the nonprofit world to talk about how organizations whose missions are not directly connected can continue fundraising successfully. 

Why Fundraising Is Harder During a National Crisis

This is all happening at a time when federal funding to nonprofits has been drastically cut and organizations that have never solicited funds from individuals and corporations are now making their first attempts to do so. This means there is an increased number of nonprofits seeking financial support from a smaller pool. 

So, what do you do to keep actively seeking support for your mission?

How to Fundraise When a National Crisis Dominates Attention

In calmer times, organizations can send fundraising appeals by email and text and post financial asks on social media on whatever schedule works best for them. But when the daily news cycle is a pitching machine lobbing fireball announcements with alarming regularity, it is harder for nonprofits to know when it is appropriate to make financial asks to support their work. 

People are still experiencing food and housing insecurity, animals are still in need of rescue, and museums still need to operate for the enjoyment of their communities. The nonprofit sector cannot put a hold on its mission support efforts even in the midst of a national crisis. So it is important to be as sensitive as possible, acknowledge what people are experiencing elsewhere, and consider the tone of your messaging — even as you continue fundraising. 

Adjusting Fundraising Tone and Urgency During Crisis Moments

Fundraising is very often tied to timeframes. We connect urgency to our messaging to inspire people to give now instead of later. It is still OK to do that, but you should consider the frequency with which you send urgent messages. People are being regularly bombarded with time-sensitive asks connected to large-scale crises and the associated political actions. So if your mission is outside that realm, you may want to consider softening your approach during specific times of heightened emotion. If we make everything seem dire, we can inadvertently push people into inaction instead of support.

How National Crises Affect Major Gift Fundraising

Timing is also a factor in major gift asks. If you have been cultivating a prospective mission supporter and are preparing to make a specific monetary ask, it is important to read the room with that prospect with respect to current events. Take clues from them on whether the national atmosphere is strongly affecting them and adjust the timing of your ask if appropriate. 

You also may need to accept that some donors will temporarily divert their philanthropic dollars to support people in Minnesota or their neighbors down the road. Be gracious, keep in contact, and be available when they are ready to turn their attention back to supporting your mission. 

Balancing Empathy and Fundraising Goals in Difficult Times

It isn’t always easy to be considerate of and attentive to major happenings around you when you still have a fundraising goal to meet, especially if you are trying to protect your own well-being by consuming less news. It is important, though, to at least have a pulse on what is happening on the national stage and to do periodic environmental scans in order to determine the timing and tone of your fundraising messaging for the best results in difficult times. 

We can do this. You can do this. You can support your neighbors in crisis and attend to your own mission needs at the same time. I have faith in you.

The preceding content was provided by a contributor unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of NonProfit PRO.