Adjusting Online for Nonprofits: Keeping Faith Alive

The fight against coronavirus is all of ours together. Our assurance solely lies in the fact that we won’t be giving up any time soon. COVID-19 has affected every industry in some way or the other ― lockdowns all over the world have resulted in either holidays or work from our respective homes. This doesn’t mean that it’ll affect productivity as humans have been known to adapt and survive. One way we can adapt is through our fundraising.

Traditional giving in the form of cash or checks used to be a popular trend — however, times have changed. Especially with the onset of the virus scare, people are staying home and traditional giving just doesn’t seem to make much sense in the present situation. The need of the hour is for fundraising tools and methods to be modified and upgraded. This is exactly where two important factors come in — online giving and engagement.

Online giving

We’re aware of what online giving means, it simply implies donation through the internet. For example, if a nonprofit wishes to raise funds for COVID-19 victims, they can collect money through online fundraising platforms or an online page. Onlive giving can be in the form of bank transactions, mobile giving, text-to-give and even peer-to-peer fundraising. 

Mobile giving is when your donors can donate through their mobile devices like a smartphone or a tablet. A lot of times, mobile giving and text-to-give are used as interchangeable terms, and this isn’t entirely wrong. Yet, it is important to note that these two are like birds and pigeons; all pigeons are birds but all birds are not pigeons. So, all text-to-give is mobile giving, but not all mobile giving involves text-to-give. 

Webinars and prayer requests

Let’s talk about churches. Masses happen, people meet and greet, they pray together and the engagement remains. This same engagement cannot be sustained through the normal way, given the current scenario. Therefore, virtual engagement needs to be created, the parishioners cannot be left feeling disconnected. 

Prayer request forms are a great idea to keep the bond and team spirit alive — putting a link on your website, emailers, text messages and social media posts is a great idea. Hosting webinars on how churches can continue to minister better in times of trouble is also an ideal thing to do. One particular church can even request another church to host a webinar in collaboration. This would mean more viewers and outreach. Live videos on social media are also a great way to keep connecting with your supporters. Stay active on social media; post about your activities and efforts to let people know that you care. You can always drive engagement online.

We’ve all anticipated that “digital” would soon be the new form of normalcy. Well it’s here now and it’s going to stay for a while, therefore the best way is to go with the flow. Talk about the different forms of online giving and engagement as much as you can in your e-mails and newsletters. As a nonprofit, educate yourself and read about the different ways in which you can keep your organization thriving.

The post Adjusting Online for Nonprofits: Keeping Faith Alive appeared first on Nonprofit Hub.

Source Taken From: Nonprofithub.org

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