Fundraising in hard times

As bad as this economic downturn has been for us all, chairites who survive will have learned lessons that will prove invaluable later, whether times are good or times are bad. Here are some tips I have collected over the past few years.

I’d be interested in hearing your experiences.

Which ones have you tried?

Can you add to the list?

1. Don't become or sound desperate.Instead, emphasise to your donors that every year, good or bad, your needs continue. Don't talk about grand plans for expansion, but do talk about solid plans for today. Don't lose your enthusiasm and optimism about your cause. Donors will notice and pull back if they think that you, the fundraiser, have doubts.
2. Prove that you are responsible. Let your donors know that you are doing your part by being financially responsible. Cut costs where you can, make sure you have good controls in place, and that you are examining marginal programs. Keep your money safe and avoid risky investments. Don’t do an Iceland!
3. Don't give up on your corporate and cause-marketing activities. Gifts may decrease, but keep your corporate contacts strong. It is very hard to get back on the corporate charitable list if you are dropped. Avoid this by staying visible, and keep cultivating your contacts within the company. Likewise, don't give up on cause-related marketing. Companies are finding that these activities pay off for them with consumer loyalty. Remember too that just because a company's stock price has been depressed doesn't mean that it is not a strong company. Look at the balance sheet to identify companies that are in a good position, and that will likely come back strong from the economic meltdown.
4. Diversify your funding sources by identifying all types of financial support. Avoid depending on one or two major donors or trusts. Most charitable giving is made up of small donations. If you are not doing direct mail to a large base of supporters, start working toward doing so. Use the Internet to reach more people. The cost is low so that donations can be smaller. Those add up quickly. Explore payment options with low transaction costs and online donation sites.
5. Put your fundraising programs under the microscope. Determine which fundraising programs work best and are the most efficient in terms of resources. Then cut the least efficient ones and shift those resources to the ones that are doing the most good. Maybe that big special event eats up precious time and resources for very little return. Or the promotion you started last year just doesn't seem worth the time and effort. But, don't let the money and volunteer time you use in those efforts just dissipate. Put them to use by expanding the annual campaign or making more major donor calls or doing another planned giving seminar.
6. Don't pull the plug on major campaigns, but do slow down. If you were starting a capital campaign when the economic crisis hit, don't stop. But do slow down. Recognise that getting those lead gifts in the size you want will take longer and be dependent on how the economy is doing. If you ask for a multi-year gift, and the donor resists, fall back to asking for part of that gift now, and plan to go back later for the rest. Donors are understandably shy about making long-term commitments in this economic environment.
7. Keep up your marketing and PR. Building buzz about your good work will help you with your donors. The more they know and see your name about, the more likely they are to contribute to your cause. Got PR professionals on your board or committees? Seek their advice before you launch anything big. Let them organize a PR/Marketing Committee that might bring in other professionals to help. See if their firms can do pro bono work or work at a discount. This kind of help is really priceless.

Charity Giving

Charities are having a hard time with more than a third of people in the UK giving less to charity than they did before the recession. Which might not be too surprising, however a survey carried out by independent research company markettiers4dc indicated that 35% are giving less because of the economic downturn and 4% have stopped giving completely. A small chink of sunshine in this blackened sky is that 8% said they were giving more.


It is interesting to note that when asked to choice which from a list of suggestions would encourage them to give 75% chose not having to commit to regular donations and 60% chose donating privately without anyone knowing they were doing so.

A different set of research shows that organisations applying for a “Reaching Communities” grant from the Big Lottery Fund have a less that 10% chance of success!

Are you ready to support a charity?

If you are thinking of becoming a Knight in shinning armour and being a supporter of a charity please take the time to ask charities questions about their programs, mission, and goals before you decide to support them.



For those of you who don't have the time or resources for this here are six questions that you as a donor should expect to get clear answers for:

1. Can your charity clearly communicate who they are and what they do?

If a charity struggles in articulating its mission and its programs, it will probably struggle in delivering those programs. Organisations that can explain who they are and what they're trying to accomplish have a singularity of purpose and a commitment to focused institutional change. If a charity can't explain who it is and what it does, and why it is needed, find one that can.

2. Can your charity define their short-term and long-term goals?

Organisations without quantifiable goals have no way to measure success. If they have no way to know if they are successful, how can you be sure they are working toward something? Demand that your charity tell you what it is trying to do. Good organisations relish this opportunity. They know what they are working toward today and tomorrow.

3. Can your charity tell you the progress it has made (or is making) toward its goal?

Once again, it's not enough to merely be concerned with a problem. Good intentions are no longer sufficient to warrant your charitable support. The marketplace is too crowded with nearly 187,000 charities registered with the Charity Commission. Ask your charity what it has done to make the issue it confronts better. What are its results? You wouldn't buy a brand of toothpaste if the manufacturer couldn't prove to you that it fought cavities successfully. Why should you support an environmental clean-up charity if it can't show you that it is cleaning up the environment?

4. Do your charity's programs make sense to you?

If you support the mission of a charity, ask yourself if its’ programs also make sense. You believe in the cause, and you hope for the end result, but is the charity working toward that result in a way that seems rational and productive to you? If the charities goal is to promote kindness toward animals, does it pursue its goal in a way that makes sense to you, or does it merely inflame the issue? Do you want your research charity doing advocacy? Do you want your outreach charity making policy, or your policy charity doing outreach? Maybe you do, maybe you don't. This doesn't mean that every organisation should be singular in focus. It also doesn't mean, however, that you have to support every organisation that has the same belief system as you. Just because you support the ends, you may not support the means. If you know you want to support the outcome the charity aims to deliver, ask yourself if its method of arriving at that outcome makes sense to you.

5. Can you trust your charity?

There has been much research on public trust of charities. Generally it has shown that the overwhelming majority of charities are not only responsible and honest, but well-managed. So we give with confidence. You should feel the same way before you give. Don't support a charity until you feel comfortable with it. To gain this trust look at unbiased sources of information. The Charity Commission or Guidestar are good starting points. Call the CEO of the charity and ask the questions you need answered before you can be assured this is a good use of your money. Ask for an annual report. Do whatever it takes to put your mind at ease. Good charities will encourage this. A happy and trusting donor is a willing and supportive donor.

6. Are you willing to make a long-term commitment to your charity?

We like to think of giving to charity as a long-term commitment, more akin to marriage than dating. Intelligent giving is motivated by altruism, knowledge, and perspective, not a knee-jerk reaction to a television commercial. You are an adult. You have a budget. You have the means to help others. You want to help. Ask yourself if your charity is the type of organisation to which you're willing to make a long-term commitment. When you do this, you agree to support them through good times and bad, and provide the funding they need to weather economic downturns. In return, they promise to continue working toward addressing the issue you both think is so vital. Look hard and find a charity you can support for many years to come. When you find that charity, give it your financial commitment, tell it you'll be there through thick and thin, and then continue to support it. Only then will long-term sustainable change take place.