As much as we hoped that the COVID-19 pandemic would only last a month or two, it’s become apparent that this humanitarian crisis and its economic aftermath isn’t going away soon. Thanks to ample available resources we’ve all started adapting to the “new normal” that it has brought about. 

It’s clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way the world approaches philanthropic initiatives, fundraising, and overarching strategies. Therefore, when considering the long-term, you’ll need to pivot in-person strategies onto virtual platforms, implement additional health and safety procedures, and continue to engage your valuable supporters. 

Here at Bloomerang, we provide the technology nonprofits need to organize data and build strategically off of that information. Therefore, we understand that it can be a challenge for established organizations to completely pivot an approach plan. We’ve compiled our top five strategies that nonprofits can use in response to COVID-19 now: 

1. Re-evaluate your strategic plan. 
2. Make sure your website is navigable. 
3. Conduct a technology audit. 
4. Plan virtual engagement activities. 
5. Clean up your nonprofit data. 

It can be tough to make the necessary adjustments in response to unprecedented societal events. Let’s dive into these strategies to see how your nonprofit can move forward in this “new normal.” 

1. Re-evaluate your strategic plan

As the environment in which your nonprofit operates changes, the blueprint that you use to schedule plans and achieve your goals will also need to change. Re-evaluating your strategic plan is the first step to pivoting your strategies for the remainder of 2020 and ensuring you get the most from this time. 

If you’re like many other small to mid-sized nonprofit organizations, you likely already changed direction from your original strategic plan whether you intended to or not. Bloomerang’s guide to strategic planning explains that there are different models of planning nonprofits should use depending on their external environment and internal affairs. 

The model used for crisis external conditions is the real-time strategic planning model. In this model, your team meets frequently to discuss: 

• Short-term goals and objectives.
• Roadblocks experienced by team members.
• Progress towards the achievable short-term goals set previously. 

When the crisis first hit and nonprofits were unsure how to pivot their activities, your team likely met more frequently to discuss the short-term initiatives to take in immediate reaction to the crisis. 

While this is incredibly effective in the short term, your nonprofit may find that it’s time to pivot again to a longer-term strategy. Specifically, it’s time to start working towards an alignment strategic planning model. This model is used to align the communications and internal affairs at organizations. 

This can be incredibly useful now that your organization has likely started using technology to maintain communications more frequently. 

The remainder of this guide will walk through some of the items you may discuss in this type of strategy. While social distancing guidelines may keep you physically separated from the rest of your team, it’s still a good time to re-evaluate your available technology, focusing on effective communication both internally and supporter-facing. 

2. Make sure your website is navigable 

As your primary tool for supporter-facing communications, it’s important to ensure that your organization’s website is well-designed. This way, your site can be found from search engines and as soon as supporters land on your site, they know exactly where to find the information they’re looking for. 

A well-designed website is necessary for navigability, helping your supporters navigate to your website and navigate through your website content. 

In order to ensure supporters can navigate to your website, you should practice strategies such as: 

• Identifying keywords related to your mission and developing content around those keywords. 
• Using SEO tools offered by your CMS provider to help your site be found and ranked by Google and rank for your targeted keywords. 
• Share website content on social media platforms with a link directing your followers back to the website to learn more. 

Then, once your supporters have successfully reached your website, you’ll need to make sure they have the navigation and tools they need to learn about your organization and get involved with your mission. These tools may include a(n): 

• Easy-to-use navigation tool. Generally, an intuitive menu stretches horizontally across the top of your website’s various pages.
• Button in the header above the fold on your homepage directing supporters to your donation page, encouraging them to get involved. 
• Search tool in the upper right corner of the site so that supporters can easily search your content for more information about your mission and opportunities. 

If you’re unsure what to look for in a site to ensure it’s got all of the features you need, it can be helpful to look at other examples of effective nonprofit web design. Morweb’s list of the best nonprofit websites can help get you started if you’re looking for these references. We especially like this guide because it lists the websites themselves as well as the favorite features of the site to look for in the design elements.

3. Conduct a technology audit

The increased use of technology in daily life and for your organization’s daily operations has probably opened your eyes to the uses of various platforms that your organization has in your software stack. You may have even added a couple of solutions to your toolbox to make it easier for you and your team members to work from home. 

Conducting a technology audit allows your team to compile an inventory of your current software and analyze its use in your regular activities. 

Through the audit, you may identify the solutions most vital to your organization’s operations, where you may have gaps or holes in functionality, and opportunities to fill those gaps accordingly with expansions of your current solutions or new investments. 

This article provides great step-by-step instructions on what to look for and what to ask yourself during an analysis of your current technology. They recommend asking yourself: 

• What does your organization do well with technology today? What’s effective? 
• What aspects of your technology use need improvement? 
• Are there any specific major problems you’re having with your tech solutions?
• Is everything up-to-date? Does any technology need repairs or fixes? 
• What integrations, software extensions, etc. would improve your operations? 

With the answers to these questions, you’ll not only learn more about the strengths in your current tech strategy, but also where opportunities for improvement are as well. 

While COVID-19 has been first and foremost a humanitarian crisis, the silver lining is that it’s provided nonprofits like yours with the valuable gift of time. While you may have otherwise been too busy to do so, you now have the time to conduct a full audit of your software and react to it accordingly.

4. Plan virtual engagement opportunities

Just because social distancing regulations are preventing your supporters from physically gathering in the name of your cause, it doesn’t mean that they still can’t engage with your organization. Your organization should invite supporters to continuously engage with your nonprofit, especially in these difficult and uncertain times. 

Many of your supporters have likely come across tough financial times due to the economic downturn. Therefore, many of them may also have decreased fundraising capacity or have had to put a pause on their philanthropic giving altogether. 

In addition to offering more virtual fundraising opportunities to engage your supporters, it’s important that your nonprofit also offers virtual stewardship opportunities to engage those who may not be able to contribute at this time but still support your cause.

We’ve pulled together our favorite virtual fundraising ideas as well as our favorite virtual stewardship ideas for you to peruse and consider as you’re pivoting your organization’s strategy. 

Our favorite virtual fundraising ideas: 

• Host virtual fundraising events. Try hosting a virtual 5K race with the use of a peer-to-peer platform, host your annual auction event online with mobile bidding technology, or put on a video talent show where supporters submit videos of their outstanding talents to be voted on by the other attendees. 
• Get registrations for virtual presentations. Similar to virtual fundraising events, virtual presentation fundraisers ask your supporters to pay an admission fee. However, it requires less advanced technology as supporters primarily pay attention to the presentation without interacting with it. For example, you may offer a cooking demonstration, a virtual concert, or a walk-through of your headquarters.
• Put together an online wish list. While your supporters may be less inclined to give their support through direct monetary donations, they may be more willing to contribute in-kind by purchasing items for your organization. You can put together a registry from which supporters can purchase items necessary for your programming. Be sure to include a variety of price ranges so that supporters of all giving levels can contribute.
• Virtual fundraising campaigns. Peer-to-peer fundraising, crowdfunding, giving days, or other online campaigns can be incredibly useful virtual fundraising opportunities. By using the right fundraising software, you can optimize these campaigns for strictly virtual engagement. Make sure you market them effectively with social media, email outreach, and even direct mail! This will draw people to the campaigns themselves and encourage them to participate. 

If your goal is to increase stewardship levels without the worry of going over budget, we recommend the following stewardship activities: 

• Host free virtual presentations. Instead of charging an admission fee for the virtual presentation opportunities, provide them for free to engage your supporters without the financial burden of purchasing tickets.
• Send out supporter surveys. Ask for your supporters’ opinions on various aspects of your organization. Be ready to thank your supporters for their input and be open to implementing their suggestions when appropriate.
• Tell stories and talk about impact. Show additional appreciation for your supporters’ past contributions to your campaign. Amp up your communications and tell heartfelt stories about the individuals you’ve been able to help through your philanthropic initiatives. 

When you’re able to keep your nonprofit’s supporters engaged in both fundraising and stewardship activities, you’ll find that after the pandemic has ended, you’ll be ahead of the fundraising game. You won’t have lapsed as many supporters as counterpart organizations who may not have taken these important initiatives. 

5. Clean up your nonprofit data 

During these tough times, your nonprofit has the opportunity to focus on smoothing over your internal operations to make sure they’re as streamlined and effective as possible. You saw that earlier as we discussed technology audits. 

Another aspect of your strategy that may need some upkeep and pruning is your organization’s donor data. 

Clean data is important for your organization to get the most out of the information you worked so hard to collect. Without proper data hygiene, you run the risk of duplicating messages to supporters, of missing opportunities with high-value supporters, and of incorrectly recording fundraising information.

Therefore, we recommend that you clean the data in your nonprofit’s donor database on a regular basis. Some techniques you can use to clean your database include: 

• Invest in a database with match and merge capabilities so that you can quickly identify duplicate records in your CRM and merge them into a single profile.
• Scan your database with NCOA data to keep track of any deceased donors, address changes, and other important adjustments that need attending to in your CRM. 

As you clean up your records, be sure to set standards for new information inputs to minimize the incorrect data in the future. For example, you might decide to write out street names rather than abbreviate them.

Ensuring your data is clean and hygienic is the first step to establishing effective donor segments and developing an effective marketing strategy to best reach your target audience. Make sure to regularly clean up your database or set automated features to do so in order to ensure effective maintenance. 

COVID-19 has caused major disruption in the day-to-day operations of nonprofit organizations. However, simple adjustments to your current strategy will help you make the best use of your time, energy, and resources while adapting to the “new normal” and preparing for the future. Good luck! 

Jay Love is the Co-Founder and current Chief Relationship Officer at Bloomerang. He has served this sector for 33 years and is considered the most well-known senior statesman whose advice is sought constantly. Prior to Bloomerang, he was the CEO and Co-Founder of eTapestry for 11 years, which at the time was the leading SaaS technology company serving the charity sector. Jay and his team grew the company to more than 10,000 nonprofit clients, charting a decade of record growth.