Several frontline fundraisers joined the Chronicle to discuss how the pandemic has changed their relationships with donors and which donor-cultivation strategies are most effective now.
“I’m feeling optimistic about raising money right now,” says Laura Frye, senior major gifts officer at “From the Top,” a nonprofit NPR program nurturing the talent of young classically trained musicians. The pandemic forced the group to cancel or adapt much of its in-person programming but also proved the resilience of “From the Top’s” team and donors, says Frye.
“Our organization survived those times, so I try to take comfort in that — but we need to be strategic,” she says, noting that she is still striving to be as flexible as possible with donors who may be struggling with economic or pandemic-related uncertainty.
Frye was joined on the panel by Bob Lasher, senior vice president of advancement at Dartmouth College. The session, Frontline Fundraising: Tips for Balancing the Personal and Professional, was hosted by Margie Fleming Glennon, director of learning and editorial products at the Chronicle. Read on for highlights, or watch the video to get all the insights.
Stay Optimistic
Lasher finds reasons for optimism, too. While acting as the most senior staff member for Dartmouth’s Call to Lead campaign, he helped a team of fundraisers exceed their goal of raising $3 billion in gifts from alumni, parents, and friends.
“Some of our missions have never been more relevant,” says Lasher, who emphasized three reasons for optimism for Dartmouth’s fundraising team — and by extension all nonprofits: good mission, good intention among philanthropists, and good talent.
He noted that the very nature of his work, helping the university get closer to its goals, sparks a certain level of hopefulness.
“We’re inherently looking forward,” says Lasher. “That puts us in a place of possibility, which is always, inevitably, optimistic.”
Still, it hasn’t been easy for Lasher’s 200-person team to continuously evolve their strategies for engaging and communicating with roughly 80,000 Dartmouth alumni. As the world has changed, they’ve grown accustomed to changing with it.
“It requires a lot of coordination and communication and adjustment,” says Lasher. “Not only within our teams but with the partners that we work with.”
Keep Adapting to Donors Preferences
Still, the pandemic has shaken up the way that fundraisers approach larger donors, says Frye. During the pandemic, “From the Top” was forced to switch from recording its musicians — and engaging donors — at in-person concerts to recording its shows in-studio without an audience.
“We went from having direct contact with our donors at these concerts to none at all,” says Frye. While the group once found success with virtual concerts and events, attendance began to drop off over the past six months as donors craved in-person programming, she says.
“People don’t want to be on Zoom anymore,” says Frye. The group has recently begun to venture back into small in-person events to cater to donors’ needs. In some cases, they’ve invited groups of donors into the studio to experience the recording process first-hand.
One silver lining of the upheaval for Lasher’s team: Many of the university’s supporters have become more intentional with their giving over the course of the pandemic, and in some instances, they are more committed than ever.
“The last two years served as a moment of reflection for people as they had more downtime,” says Lasher, who noted that many donors have been coming to his team with their own ideas for the university over the past several months.
Ask Donors About Their Circumstances
It’s critical that fundraisers stay attuned to the ways their organizations and their donors have changed and will continue to change in the year ahead, says Lasher.
“Our work has changed, and the lives of our donors have likely changed,” says Lasher, noting that donors’ businesses could be affected by a possible recession. “I think this is a really, really important time for us to all go back to basics with our frontline teams and think about the art of listening.”
He recommends that nonprofits ask their donors questions — about their lives, priorities, and financial future — that can help orient what Lasher calls an organization’s “long-term fundamentals.”
“This is a real good time to take assessment of your organization and understand how you’re doing,” he says. “This is a long-term game, not a short-term one. You’re building a relationship for your institution for a lifetime.”
Frye plans to continue strengthening “From the Top’s” relationship with donors through more peer-to-peer fundraising from board members and supporters. She has also prioritized flexibility with donors by offering staggered donation options or hybrid events as they grapple with their own economic and pandemic-related uncertainty.
She hopes that the group’s donors will remain committed enough to keep up their support, even in the face of economic uncertainty.
“If they have to cut out anything, they’re not going to cut out the organization that they have a really strong relationship with,” she says.
