Coronavirus: fundraising and giving to individuals and for-profit businesses

The impact of coronavirus means that public appeals and fundraising are now being undertaken for causes well beyond traditional charity or not-for-profit community groups. This is both a challenge and a healthy sign for charity fundraisers. The rapid and all-encompassing affect of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown means not only that all charities are affected at the same time, but so too are many others. Charities are appealing for funds, in many cases, simply to survive and continue providing their services. But they are appealing alongside other groups, including: individuals needing financial support families fundraising in memory of a loved way who has died as a result of the virus families fundraising to pay the funeral of a loved one commercial businesses that don't qualify for the government's financial aid or that can't survive until that support arrives This situation has never arisen before in the UK in most fundraisers' experience. For multiple charities having to launch emergency appeals at the same time for the same reason is unusual enough, but to launch those alongside families, individuals and businesses fundraising for themselves is simply unheard of in the UK. These additional appeals might make it harder for traditional charities to fundraise: how can you choose between a charity and a compelling urgent appeal by a local business that you have bought from for years? In practice this wide range of appeals might well help charities, by bringing home just how essential it is to give, and why everyone has lots of different ways in which they can respond during this crisis. There is no upper limit, even now, amid a global crisis, on how much people will give to causes that matter to them and that they want to help. Here are some examples of these other fundraising appeals.   Appeals for for-profit businesses https://twitter.com/derekhumphries/status/1252197822100836352   Appeals for individuals Crowdfunding appeals have been set up in memory of, or to pay the funeral costs of people who have died of Covid-19. This has included NHS staff and other keyworkers: https://twitter.com/BBCEngland/status/1250802782988369925   https://twitter.com/SianElvin/status/1251243030960500736   For-profits outshine charities at inspiring the public to give A related development is the ability of some companies to produce better, more inspiring messages to the public than many charities are achieving. It's not just a case of having a bigger budget. This development has been coming for a quite a while: one can often watch an inspiring social issue TV advert and assume that it is produced by a charity, only to find that it is a supermarket or financial services company. Charities are facing competition in giving people a way to do good and to give in response to the pandemic. https://twitter.com/Markyphillips/status/1256840399987056642   Fundraising consultant John Thompson raised this likelihood last month, and has done so before: https://twitter.com/JTCHANGINGBIZ/status/1250842009692188672   And he followed that with another possible example apparently under discussion by insurance companies: https://twitter.com/JTCHANGINGBIZ/status/1257068151218540546   Catching the spirit of the times appropriately is hard, but some for-profits are doing it well. Can you work out which brand has created this uplifting ad? https://twitter.com/mrlkdds/status/1260332850991284224    

from UK Fundraising https://ift.tt/3brAfBA