By Bianca Lebron, Adrienne Razon, and Bea Subido
September 25, 2020
Fundraising is integral for nonprofits to create, sustain, and scale deep and lasting impact. But it requires a lot of work and expertise to do so successfully, from creating well-targeted donor pipelines and drafting compelling proposals, to communicating with long-term funding partners. With COVID-19, the challenge of finding financial support is amplified, especially for nonprofits in the Philippines.
The search for strategic fundraising solutions during the ongoing health crisis led Ashoka Philippines, which counts the founders of Virtualahan, Roots of Health, Bagosphere, and other Philippine social enterprises among its Fellows, to turn to the fundraising experts at Smarter Good.
In the webinar “Facing 2021: Trends and Tactics in Global Fundraising,” Fellows from the Ashoka network and members of the Smarter Good team convened to discuss approaches and tactics to deal with common fundraising issues. They shared fundraising trends amid COVID-19, best practices on relationship-building, communication tips, and research advice that can be applied to any situation, even beyond the pandemic. Here are some key exchanges:
When asked about this, Smarter Good explained that being “pushy” or “needy” is not always a bad thing. The key is to communicate with funders in a tactful manner that highlights a sense of urgency. One of the Ashoka Fellows recommended maintaining communication by continuing to send updates to funders about a program’s progress. She also added to keep an open mind. While funders understand that sustaining programs is important, they may also be facing difficulties due to the pandemic.
Everyone agreed that there is no “one size fits all” solution for this, but Smarter Good encouraged the Fellows to be empathetic and have a clear action plan. Nonprofit leaders should explain why these are happening and why the path being taken for now is necessary. For organizations low on bandwidth during this time, Smarter Good suggested collaborating with other organizations to fill in gaps and combine resources, emphasizing that no one is alone during this crisis.
One Ashoka Fellow shared that some funders preferred to support direct COVID-19 relief initiatives over education efforts since these are considered more urgent. Though this is true, Smarter Good researchers are seeing a second-wave of response from funders. They are realizing that programs in other issue areas are equally important and, as the pandemic continues, progress on these issues can be easily reversed. This has led funders to partner with nonprofits that mitigate the impact of COVID-19 outside of the health sector.
In the education sector, Smarter Good shared that many funders are interested in how organizations can continue their work and simultaneously adapt to the new normal, such as shifting to online learning. Education funders now consider factors like the students’ environment, internet access, and the provision of learning tools and equipment. Funders are slowly returning to prioritizing areas outside of health, especially education, so nonprofits should anticipate these upcoming opportunities.
Starting conversations through webinars is one of the ways Smarter Good supports leaders of the social sector. Founders, Executive Directors, and nonprofit leaders like those from Ashoka PH, have plenty of tasks to juggle. With Smarter Good providing customized nonprofit services, these leaders gain a reliable team to support them as they work on more pressing issues and focus on creating greater social impact.
The team’s approaches and advice have been developed over eight years of working with clients across diverse issue areas like STEM education, agrifinance, women’s economic empowerment, and wildlife conservation. Our experiences with these organizations have provided insight into serving communities throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America. We take pride in learning from our clients and helping nonprofit leaders create sustainable and lasting impact for the people they serve.
Working Together Toward Impact
For nonprofits also facing fundraising challenges, our team can collaborate with you and exchange free-flowing ideas like in our latest webinar. Connect with us at getitdone@smartergood.com.