This has been a tumultuous time for all nonprofit organizations. The COVID-19 pandemic, limited in-person engagement, rising rates of screen fatigue, and a variety of other factors have complicated the already difficult task of fundraising.
In the face of all these challenges, nonprofits have had to innovate. However, there are a few organizations that haven’t just kept their heads above the water, but exceeded all expectations.
These 6 change-makers and innovators have managed to stay relevant in the shifting landscape of a global crisis, and your nonprofit can and should learn from their innovation:
- American Cancer Society
- TNDC
- Stop Soldier Suicide
- Susan G. Komen
- American Rivers
- Goodwill
With the help of new virtual fundraising strategies, these nonprofits have made their mark even during a moment of unprecedented uncertainty and unpredictability. Curious to learn how they broke the mold and launched new, intelligent fundraising ideas during COVID? Let’s jump right in.
1. American Cancer Society
How have they innovated?
Despite its popularity and renown, the American Cancer Society and its mission were at risk of being overshadowed by the COVID-19 crisis. After all, with Relay For Life and other critical campaigns disrupted by the pandemic, it seemed that the organization would be unable to fund its annual research programs for the first time in its history.
Yet rather than simply accepting the impending decline in its donation and engagement metrics, ACS adapted to the challenge with an intelligent addition to its normal fundraising streams: social giving. Partnering with the GoodUnited team, ACS took to social media and created a sophisticated peer-to-peer fundraising strategy through Challenges on Facebook (Meta).
According to GoodUnited’s guide to social giving, these are time-bound, sharable challenges that accrue revenue through pledges that participants secure from friends and family. These campaigns are not only easy to host and highly lucrative, but incredibly effective at exposing new audiences to a cause. In 2020 ACS broke Facebook (Meta)’s records with over $23,000 raised in a single day. And, 95% of all members of ACS’s Facebook (Meta) groups were new to the cause.
While the odds were stacked against it, ACS was able to leverage this new, innovative fundraising strategy to reach more supporters than ever and boost its donations far beyond what could have been anticipated.
What can you do to innovate?
Leverage the power of Challenges on Facebook (Meta) and social giving. Social media fundraising services like GoodUnited can help you to efficiently launch every phase of these powerful social campaigns, from finding new supporters to automating your one-on-one engagements.
2. TNDC
How have they innovated?
The Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation or TNDC is the largest community-based development organization in San Francisco. Offering services such as the construction of affordable housing, this nonprofit has helped to improve the quality of life of thousands of individuals in the SF area.
And yet, while TNDC enjoys a rich history in its communities, it is regional and does not enjoy the same level of attention as other, nationwide organizations. This means that continued awareness for the cause became a paramount concern before and during the pandemic.
To expand its reach and increase its presence in the public eye, this organization cleverly sought out a way to rebrand itself, with a particular focus on its online presence. Enter Rootid, TNDC’s brand, communications, and capacity-building partner of choice from 2018 to today.
With the help of Rootid, TNDC has revamped its brand and nonprofit logo. Additionally, intuitive Drupal 8 web development tools have allowed it to maximize its website as a fundraising and marketing tool. This led to international acclaim—this rebrand led to the nonprofit winning the 2021 Communicator Award.
Since undergoing these online and digital re-launches, TNDC has been able to use virtual tools to not only increase engagement and its streams of incoming revenue, but cement itself as a powerful innovator in the nonprofit world.
What can you do to innovate?
Consider refining your brand, and particularly the branding and construction of your nonprofit website. Your website is one of your most valuable marketing, engagement, and fundraising assets and a dedicated brand and communication service can help you to increase its fundraising potential.
3. Stop Soldier Suicide
How have they innovated?
Supporter engagement has always been central to the Stop Soldier Suicide (SSS) mission, its fundraising campaigns, and its ability to fund critical mental health services. In turn, the physical and fundraising challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t just complicate net revenue projections and annual funds—they were quite literally a matter of life and death.
In response, SSS turned to social media for new community-building and fundraising ideas during COVID. And much like the American Cancer Society, Facebook (Meta) provided the perfect platform to accomplish this.
They have leveraged the power of one-on-one conversational messaging in Facebook (Meta) Messenger to engage supporters in a more intimate way. On top of that, SSS created state-by-state groups to further cultivate supporter relationships, share important resources and updates, generate community-led communications, and even lead lucrative social fundraising campaigns.
Through these forward-thinking community-building efforts and social fundraising, SSS was able to double its revenue in 2020 and completely turn the tides of a grim situation.
What can you do to innovate?
Use social media tools to promote community-building within your own supporter base. Platforms like Facebook (Meta) provide a robust toolkit of community creation widgets that will enable you to bring your supporters closer to each other and to your organization than ever before.
4. Susan G. Komen
How have they innovated?
Did you know that Facebook (Meta) is one of the most effective social media fundraising platforms at your disposal? This 360MatchPro fundraising statistics report shows that 56% of donors inspired to give through social media say that Facebook (Meta) had the greatest impact on their decision to give.
Susan G Komen (SGK) is ahead of the curve, already using Facebook (Meta) to increase fundraising and supporter engagement alike. SGK truly began to harness the power of social giving in its adoption of conversational messaging and Challenges on Facebook.
By maintaining close relationships with its donors through one-on-one Messenger interactions and promoting fun, silly, and engaging Challenges, SGK was able to maintain focus on its cause even when COVID-19 had taken center stage.
Additionally, SGK has been able to add thousands of new supporters to its base through these Facebook (Meta) outreach strategies. In particular, SGK has masterfully managed its Facebook (Meta) groups to create a space where supporters can be engaged, stay updated about the cause, and participate in virtual-first fundraising campaigns that enabled SGK to recoup any and all revenue losses caused by the pandemic.
What can you do to innovate?
Promote engaging, virtual-native fundraising strategies and use intimate, conversational messaging to build personal connections with your donors. Social media is a powerful tool and these effective digital engagement strategies will empower you to steward your donors no matter where in the world they may be.
5. American Rivers
How have they innovated?
Fighting to protect, clean, and restore rivers across the United States, American Rivers is a pivotal player in the sphere of environmental conversation.
But in spite of its extensive history and its robust mission programs, the American Rivers team recognized that it had hit a bit of a wall in terms of its full engagement and fundraising potential. In particular, the organization’s stakeholders expressed that American Rivers wasn’t clearly communicating its story to supporters.
To break through this barrier and maximize its impact, American Rivers decided to innovate, seeking professional help to completely rebuild its website and launch a rich online engagement strategy.
With storytelling techniques molding its new UX interface, the American Rivers web platform was transformed to include an easily navigable, robust library of mission-related images and videos. In addition to the overall upgrade of its site’s infrastructure, this new online strategy has allowed American Rivers to increase its conversion rates and maximize its potential to engage and secure support from online users.
What can you do to innovate?
Revitalize your web platform and online presence. Your nonprofit website is the hub of your online engagements with supporters. From retaining supporters to acquiring new ones, your website is an invaluable fundraising resource that needs to be in the best possible shape to host your online engagements.
6. Goodwill
How have they innovated?
A long-standing presence in the world of job-creation and social betterment, Goodwill has built up quite a diversified range of programs over the years, such as volunteering opportunities and in-kind donation drives.
However, a constant innovator in the nonprofit sector, Goodwill decided to add yet another tool to boost its fundraising efforts: matching gifts. A less involved program than the other fundraising initiatives on this list, matching gifts are a deceptively simple yet effective addition to a nonprofit’s fundraising arsenal.
With the help of Double the Donation’s matching gift database software, Goodwill has been able to double and even triple the worth of incoming donations. The matching gift tool is embedded directly into Goodwill’s donation forms, allowing donors to locate their employer’s matching gift form, send a request, and multiply their gifts with just a few clicks.
Before, during, and beyond the pandemic, this clever integration enables Goodwill to bring to maximize the gift potential of thousands of incoming payments with little extra work on its donors’ parts.
What can you do to innovate?
Consider investing in and embedding a matching gift database into your donation form. Easy to set up and even easier to navigate, this integrated software has the potential to increase every donor gift going through your donation form.
There will always be some new challenge, obstacle, or development that will rock the fundraising world. It’s in constant flux, but the beauty of it all is that there will always be new and exciting ways for you to engage donors and increase fundraising success.
Whether you’re brainstorming effective fundraising ideas during COVID or looking into the far future of your fundraising potential, we hope that these digital programs, services, and strategies have helped you to take the next step towards fundraising success.
Guest Author Bio
Maria Clark
Executive Vice President, Partnerships and Chief Evangelist, GoodUnited
Maria Clark is a nonprofit executive and technology evangelist with 30+ years of industry experience. Today she serves as Executive Vice President of Partnerships and Chief Evangelist for GoodUnited, the social fundraising solution. Maria is a champion of the new and has fearlessly led change management efforts throughout her career.
Previously, Maria spent 33 years at the American Cancer Society, a top #20 US nonprofit and the leading cancer research nonprofit with an annual $800+M budget, in roles spanning all aspects of nonprofit communication, operations and fundraising. Most recently, as Senior Vice President for Peer to Peer Development, Maria led strategy development, planning and implementation for name brand ACS events like Relay for Life, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, a robust gala and golf portfolio and the Raise Your Way DIY platform, as well as championing new digital strategies that support community fundraising.
Maria lives with her husband Derek in Dallas, Texas, where she has a deep history with the nonprofit community. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Notre Dame School, a special needs Kindergarten through post high school in Dallas, and remains active in the Leadership Dallas Alumni Association. Maria is mom to two adult daughters, Devin and Corrie, and her fur baby, Ozzy.