How to Stay Connected to Your Donor Base in the Midst of the COVID Lockdown

Keep calm, keep washing your hands and, please, keep your distance! All of us are scrambling to deal with the coronavirus emergency, but we know that nonprofits are particularly hard hit. Everything is shutting down while the needs of the people you serve are growing.

But it’s not all bad news - there is a lot we can be grateful for while we ride this out at home. I am really grateful that here in my neighborhood, we can still take a walk, and chat (6 feet please), and let our dogs play. And, of course, we look out for one another. It’s the same for your nonprofit community. People still want to help - in fact, I’m sure they want to help more than ever. We just need to get creative and give people new ways to contribute.

However, it is a real challenge to figure out how to continue serving our communities and keep our donors active from a distance. Not to mention the significant gap in your fundraising plan if you are faced with the reality of cancelling your organization’s gala, picnic, walkathon or golf tournament due to the Corona virus. We’ll be making all kinds of sacrifices throughout this crisis, but we don’t have to sacrifice the connections we share just because of a cancelled event.

And while nothing can take the place of face-to-face events, it really is possible to stay connected to your donor base online. And not just on social media. It’s also possible to transition to effective online fundraisers that are engaging, social and fun for your donors. Especially right now, while your donors are stuck at home looking for something exciting, entertaining and positive to do online. Because you can only binge so much Netflix, right?

Meet Your Donors Where They are Now: Online

So why not meet your donors where they are now - online. Social media is great but you’ll probably need to do more to close the fundraising gap. An online sweepstakes fundraiser offers your donors a good alternative to the events they are missing. Plus, you may already have a prize on hand – that dream vacation trip you were going to auction at your gala, or the set of clubs you planned to raffle at your golf tournament. You can run an online sweepstakes fundraiser and there’s a good chance you’ll raise even more for those items than you would have at your event.

If you haven’t really tried online fundraising, this may be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for. And if you are doing online fundraising such as crowd funding, this could be the right time to add a new kind of online fundraising like sweepstakes designed to help keep your donors engaged in the absence of events.

Keep smiling, because you’re doing great work! And your community recognizes and appreciates that now more than ever. Deep breath (unless you’re standing in line at the grocery store!), because we’re going to get through this together.

Oh, and if you’re working at home for the first time? Here at TapKat we’ve been a work-from-home company for years. So if you’re looking for tips on how embrace the joys of working from a distance, get in touch! I’ve got my slippers on!

Everyone at TapKat wishes you and your family, friends and colleagues good health. Take care.

TapKat Sweepstakes are Designed for Nonprofits

TapKat specializes in online sweepstakes fundraisers. You’ve already got a lot on your plate so TapKat Sweepstakes are highly automated and easy to manage. We take care of all the details - entry numbers, donation receipts, donor lists – so you can concentrate on your mission.

We’ve designed TapKat sweepstakes so there is no financial risk for nonprofits. There are no upfront costs or fees. And we can help you choose a prize with no upfront costs as well. TapKat fees are very affordable and all donations flow directly to the nonprofit so the funds are available right now for the vital work you do in your community.

Please get in touch if you’d like to learn more and see a demo of our online sweepstakes fundraising platform designed just for nonprofits.

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