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If you are like me, you probably have some severe Zoom fatigue right now. I long for a traditional in-person visit to a donor or even an old fashioned in-person staff meeting. I even miss airports and TSA security! But, we live in a new normal where virtual meetings and donor visits have almost entirely replaced the in-person meetings of the past. While in-person meetings can still occur (ex. outdoors, with masks, etc.) or will come back in the future, the public is getting more used to virtual conversations.   Stakeholders may prefer to hold a virtual meeting at some point in the future donor engagement cycle.  Like it or not, it’s time to embrace this new normal and lean into technology as the future of fundraising.

There are some steps you can take to ensure success when engaging with donors virtually. Below are what I’ve found to be the most helpful ideas:

1. Virtual meetings may require more practice to ensure that you are comfortable with both the technology and the format. Set up a practice run with a colleague.
2. Send a pre-visit “context for conversation” message as opposed to a PowerPoint
3. Start with donors who are engaged with your organization and know you best.
4. Once in the meeting, your strategy will be the same as usual: Open up with the warm conversation, connect with the donor, make a support case, negotiate the ask, deal with objections, and close the gift.

What kinds of things matter on a virtual call (in other words, what do you have to worry about with virtual asks that you never had to worry about before?)

1. Setting up your camera in a way that frames your face and doesn’t have many background distractions
2. You are paying attention to lighting and audio quality. Make sure there is light facing you (that you are not backlit). Consider investing in an affordable ring light. If your audio is not top quality, consider a microphone attached to your computer (also inexpensive and readily available).
3. Make eye contact with your camera. Yes, this sounds weird. But, not making eye contact is even more bizarre. It takes some practice as you are used to looking down at your screen. Yet, as much as possible, try to look directly into the camera.
4. And as Vice President Aaron Burr would advise, “talk less and smile more.”

“Fortune Favors the Bold”

During any crisis, the temptation is often to hesitate, to take a safe approach – a “wait and see” attitude. Frontline fundraisers, by and large, did take this approach when the Covid-19 pandemic began, and this was an understandable reaction. There was a great deal of uncertainty and many of us believed that the abrupt changes to our lives were temporary and we needed to wait it out before taking action.

Fast forward six months and we now understand that this is not a temporary situation, this is our new normal. One that will likely remain for quite some time and one that will potentially inspire permanent change in the way we do business.

So, as fundraisers, what should we do? How do we handle the current crisis that we are in the middle of? Fortunately, I have worked through several crises in the past – the aftermath of 9/11, the economic meltdown of 2008 being two examples. My experience has taught me that organizations that continue engaging donors and asking for gifts despite the crisis not only make it through but also become well-poised for success long after. Data is showing that donors are continuing to give and want to be engaged right now. Yes, your methods of engagement and solicitation will look different. But, that should not slow you down. This is a perfect time to step back and examine your strategic plan and assess your current structure. Unless it was created post-Covid-19, your strategic plan is already irrelevant. It’s time to re-assess your strategy and create a pathway that will allow you to continue fundraising in a new environment with new boldness and clarity of mission.

Be bold. Ask for gifts. Lean into your work and your mission – your organization likely needs support more than ever.

As with all industries, there are both opportunities and challenges facing healthcare at the moment. We’re going to break some of those issues down and discuss how to focus more on the opportunities and strategize on dealing with the challenges.

HEALTHCARE FUNDRAISING – TEN THINGS TO KNOW NOW

First, the good news there is no better time than now to be working in healthcare fundraising! Healthcare is being viewed with great positivity, and most people believe that healthcare workers are indeed heroes. In fact, according to a recent Gallup survey which tracks Americans’ views of various business and industry sectors, Healthcare went up 20 percentage points in positivity over one year ago with the majority of people surveyed having a positive overall view of the sector.

There are immense opportunities for healthcare fundraisers right now:

1. Now is an excellent time to educate (qualify and cultivate too!) donors eager for reassurance and information from medical experts. Recruit physicians, nursing staff, or hospital executives to share facts about things that matter to your donors. Keep the information local.
2. You may have more time to steward loyal donors – since in-person meetings are still not happening on a broad scale, this should open up time for gift officers to provide more attention to long-time donors.
3. Your context for conversation/elevator speech should include compelling references about how critical your organization’s work is. Community members and potential donors are responding positively to this messaging right now.
4. Non-essential medical procedures are coming back, which means more opportunity for grateful patients. Ensure you have an active grateful patient program in place and, now more than ever, cultivate those relationships with your medical staff.
5. Your healthcare organization is likely getting lots of donations – from much-needed cash to PPE, meals, and other gifts. Be sure to capture all of these gifts and calculate the monetary value for your metrics. The donors of these items must be thanked and appropriately stewarded.

What about those challenges that we mentioned?

1. Many hospitals are in challenging financial situations right now, putting a strain on capital projects and, potentially, more pressure on your advancement team to bring in funding. Philanthropy used to be “icing on the cake” for capital projects. But, now, teams are expected to raise all or most of the needed funding. This creates a perfect opportunity to make the case to senior administrators that your philanthropy efforts will be more effective if you work together in a coordinated and collaborative effort. Recruiting leadership to help with the cultivation and solicitation of donors is an effective strategy, and your case for this collaboration has never been stronger.
2. It isn’t easy to cultivate new donors right now. You don’t have in-person events to invite them to attend, and you may not be able to meet in person for a meal or a cup of coffee. But, as challenging as it is, donors have been growing more comfortable with virtual meetings, and, hopefully, you have been growing savvier with technology yourself. And schedules are generally easier to navigate when the meeting is taking place online from the comfort of your donor’s home.
3. Budget cuts are a reality of many industries, and healthcare is not immune. If you are part of a healthcare system, look at the possibility of shared positions and shared resources. This is a huge opportunity to save money and offer a unique and flexible arrangement for some staff members. If you are not part of a system, get creative with outsourcing some of your needs to avoid the costs associated with FTE employees.
4. Since many healthcare organizations are a community asset and are very rooted in their local community, many organizations tend to be very event driven. In the past, events were a fantastic way to connect with your donors and your local community. However, organizations have seen the tremendous success of moving their events to a virtual format. Seek help from those who have already demonstrated success and don’t be afraid to try this new fundraising method. Another option is to re-assign staff members who typically focus on planning events to other fundraising tasks, such as creating an annual solicitation appeal, researching prospects, stewardship activities, or even major gift fundraising.
5. There are still limitations on visitors to hospitals. What can you do for patients and their families? Consider going back in time and call the patient’s rooms to check in on them. Reach out to family members to see if they need anything or if they just need support. Be sure that iPad and other technology is available for family members to use when needed. 

I challenge you to change those five challenges into opportunities today!

By now you and your organization have likely already developed and started to implement a plan to address the concerns your staff, volunteers, and donors share as they relate to COVID-19.
At TGC, we, too, are adapting to the current state of the world and have been working remotely, utilizing technology to stay in touch, and being creative in how we work with our client-partners to ensure consistency and continuity in service.
While it may set us back in our development cycle when spring events are postponed or even cancelled and when we have to reschedule donor visits, it is a good opportunity to reach out and assure donors that their gifts are still being carefully stewarded and the impact is still being greatly felt.
Drawing from our extensive and varied backgrounds, we have assembled a few lessons we’ve learned about helping donors feel secure in their investment when everything else seems uncertain. Here are a few of the big ideas we thought we’d pass along:
1. Be up front and share how your organization is reacting and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Communicate the steps you are taking to ensure the health and safety of your staff, volunteers, and those served.2. Remind donors that despite the cancellation of events, meetings, and other gatherings, your organization will continue to operate efficiently and will incorporate creative strategies to ensure your overarching mission and those it serves remain a priority.3. Communicate the importance of continued support and the vital role donors play, and will continue to play, in the success of your organization. Be sure to remind donors of the reason they support your organization and that despite any challenges it currently faces in light of this pandemic, their support and involvement is extremely valuable, now more than ever.4. Maintain constant communication – by phone, email, text – and reassure those associated with your organization that this is a temporary situation. Remind those you are in touch with that your organization has overcome other obstacles and this is simply a bump in the road and an opportunity to demonstrate resilience and creativity in managing the situation.
We are hopeful that you and your teams are staying safe and healthy and we look forward to resuming our normal business practices soon. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to any of the TGC team members with questions or concerns you may have.