Many organizations around the world have been affected by the recent COVID19 epidemic. For businesses and nonprofits, the epidemic has had a huge impact, especially on how startups and nonprofits raise money. Many scheduled events and fundraisers have been canceled or postponed. People have been forced to work remotely to comply with social distancing measures put in place by the government.
If you’re a startup or non-profit organization, then you understand that fundraising can be difficult. This is especially true considering the impact of the disease on the events sector. Most nonprofit organizations rely on the events industry to organize their fundraising campaigns. Despite all this, many donors have donated in different ways to various non-profit organizations.
This means you shouldn’t give up fundraising for your nonprofit or business. Not everything is lost. In this article, we’ll look at the top 3 post-COVID19 fundraising challenges many nonprofits are experiencing and how to overcome them.
Challenge 1: Cutbacks in traditional funding sources
Most organizations, such as hospitals, libraries, museums, and educational institutions, rely on government funding, which accounts for between 66% and 73% of their revenue. In addition, grants from foundations and corporations have also been a crucial source of income for many nonprofit organizations. One advantage is that these income streams come annually. They are also predictable, which means your organization can use these resources to plan your budget.
Unfortunately, both grant funding and government funding have dropped markedly in recent years. This has dealt a serious blow to many nonprofit organizations that rely on this important source of income to fund their operations.
The solution:
There is little that can be done when the government adopts the policy and decision to reduce funding for certain projects during the year. However, you can watch for signs and try to predict when the government will resume support for the project area. Check if the financing of the project will be increased in the next financial year.
Start by looking at the type of budget planning the government has done for the fiscal year. Look for the main objectives of the financing and the current state of the economy. Another solution is to diversify your sources of income. You can also solicit individual donations or find corporations that can help with matching donations.
The rising trend of socialism
Socialism within this context is defined as reliance on government when it comes to solving social problems. In 1942, only 25% of Americans believed that socialism was a good thing, compared to 43% in 2019.
This implies that the number of Americans who believe that the government should solve social problems continues to increase. These expectations have a direct effect on charitable giving and philanthropy. That many people believe that it is the government’s duty to solve social problems is not a good thing. They are then less likely to have the initiative to support private sector efforts to address society’s needs.
The solution:
One way to overcome this challenge is to use digital marketing. You can create targeted promotional messages to counter people’s unwillingness to take responsibility for social problems. Make sure the message is consistent across all marketing channels.
There are many channels that you can use. Most nonprofits prefer email marketing to foster good relationships between recipients of their services, donors, and to grow their brand.
The impact of religion
A recently published article noted that three-quarters of people in the United States will donate to charities or volunteer with non-profit organizations related to a religion. The article also found that they offer a lot of money to their religious institutions. The concept of giving to people is central to the teachings of most religions, including Christianity. Religious people are considered more generous than other people when it comes to volunteering or giving charity according to the Hoover Institute.
The solution:
As with the trend of socialism, there is little you can do to counter people’s established beliefs. This can be difficult if beliefs affect how an individual needs charity or participates in philanthropic activities. The best solution is to focus on effective messages that create a compelling case for potential donors to support your fundraising initiative.
Another possibly controversial solution is to exclude, for example, atheists, assuming they are unlikely to support Christian-based nonprofits based on this research (and vice versa). However, this may be unethical.
Fundraising can be challenging and the impact of COVID19 is still being felt. If you don’t make sure your nonprofit is really set up for fundraising success, it can derail your campaigns, no matter how hard you work.