Our new campaign could be exactly what everyone needs
At the moment I think everyone is feeling a bit lost. I know I certainly am. We want to feel connected to the people and places we love even though we are self isolating or following social distancing rules.
As I mentioned in my previous post, my initial thought when this all started getting very serious, was how on earth was I going to be able to carry on fundraising, when everyone would have more pressing and important things on their mind? I sometimes get frustrated when I think people are not making decisions fast enough but actually at the moment not rushing into a decision on our Giving Week is probably the best thing we have done in the last fortnight.
There are several factors that have made this easier, we have the luxury of time, with 10 weeks still to go we don’t need a decision yet. Our agency partner have been really good at keeping an open dialog and are being flexible and adaptive around us.
We have already received some donations towards a COVID-19 Hardship fund that has been set up, so we know if people in our community aren’t suffering financially they are willing to help those that are.
From the outset our giving week has not been about raising money but engaging our community and getting new donors on board. We weren’t really planning on involving our pupils in our first giving week but actually it seems to fit very well. They are feeling distant from the school and their friends. I am hoping our campaign will provide a catalyst to ensure they can feel part of something. The gamification element of the campaign will really appeal to them.
The fundraising ask will probably be a lot softer than initially planned, but as I write this I am feeling really confident about delivering a campaign that brings people together at time when that is what everyone needs. (Obviously all done at a safe 2m distance!)
