Securing Donors’ Trust is Harder Than Ever. An Expert Offers Advice for Fundraisers
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With stark political divisions and the proliferation of competing news sources in recent years—not to mention many seemingly unbelievable articles that are actually true—we are in a modern believability crisis, and donors’ trust is harder to earn than ever before.
That was the message from Rohit Bhargava, a marketing expert who studies trends, during a virtual version of last week’s Bridge Conference, which blends fundraising and marketing.
The author of “Non Obvious Megatrends: How to See What Others Miss and Predict the Future,” Bhargava told fundraisers last week that “we’re in a time of extreme disruption, now.” He pointed to multiple new inventions such as socially distanced soccer and robot dogs designed to help people avoid getting the coronavirus as evidence of this world in flux.
Among the biggest challenges for fundraisers now, said Bhargava, is the fact that everything is on hold with no clarity, and it is impossible to hold in-person events, a primary source of new donors for many charities. In addition to mixed success in replacing their events with online programs, he added, fundraisers are looking ahead and worrying about their ability to attract donations once the health crisis is over.
Bhargava shared results of a survey that nearly 250 fundraisers completed before attending the conference. Some, he said, are focusing on trying to win back lapsed donors. Others expressed surprise that donors have continued to honor pledges and other commitments, but some commented that supporters are getting tired of online Zoom meetings.
Asked if they had done anything successful to raise money in the past month, some fundraisers talked about reaching out to donors to ask if they needed assistance, such as grocery delivery or prescription refills. The survey also asked fundraisers whether their work felt more or less essential in the health crisis. Work, wrote one respondent, is “more essential, but chaotic now.”
And when asked what had inspired them lately, one fundraiser wrote, “I am not feeling inspired right now.” Bhargava added: “And that’s OK.”
He offered fundraisers seven ideas about how to be more believable to existing and potential donors during the pandemic:
With news stories and media focusing so much on specific issues, “be opportunistic and inject your organization” by talking about what it’s doing on a particular issue.
Engage people who aren’t normally reachable, such as television personalities who now have time on their hands. Bhargava described creating a birthday video for his wife and getting some stars on her favorite TV shows to tape birthday greetings, in addition to those from friends and family.
Make videos and other presentations that go behind the scenes to show an organization’s work—and its impact.
Get familiar with the technology that is increasingly required now.
Be willing to pivot fast to become, or stay, relevant.
Talk more often and focus on content and value.
And finally, Bhargava concluded, don’t panic. “It doesn’t help.”
