Charitable Giving in Katrina’s Wake: Fighting Fiscal ‘Disaster Fatigue’ in the Nonprofit World
Nonprofit organizations seeking to maximize year-end charitable giving should rely upon their strongest major donor relationships instead of transaction-based fundraising like direct mail or phone-a-thons.
Columbus, Ohio (PRWEB) October 17, 2005 -- With millions of charitable contribution dollars funneling into domestic and international relief efforts, nonprofits fearing fiscal “disaster fatigue” should turn to major donors to maximize year-end giving, according to a Columbus, Ohio-based fundraising firm for nonprofits.
As the onset of peak charitable giving season approaches -- traditionally between the end of October and the first of the year -- nonprofit organizations face unprecedented need in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Stan, and subsequent mudslides and earthquakes in Central America and southern Asia, according to an October 13 article in the Baltimore Sun.
This increased financial need means nonprofits should look to major donors for their holiday fundraising rather than direct mail or phone solicitations, according to Nick Fellers, president of ForImpact, a sales training firm for nonprofits.
“Many nonprofits bank on holiday mailers and phone-a-thons, but these methods have an incredibly high cost in terms of dollars and time,” Fellers said. “But thriving financially as an organization is not about twenty dollar donations at Christmas. Now more than ever, nonprofits need to reallocate their fundraising energy.”
Relying on a financial base of major gifts, according to Fellers, is the most effective fundraising method in any economic climate, but it will be especially successful in light of this year’s outpouring of financial support for natural disaster victims.
“Every nonprofit is competing for potential donors’ attention over the holidays, and now they are competing against a huge relief effort,” Fellers said. “Nonprofits will boost year-end giving by just taking some time to visit with their top prospective investors.”
This approach is more effective than direct mail, according to Fellers, because it relies on an established stakeholder relationship rather than an impersonal transaction.
“Holiday renewal letters and phone-a-thons reduce a personal relationship between an individual or family and a nonprofit organization into a sterile transaction,” Fellers said. “In this year’s economic climate, transaction-based fundraising efforts will suffer. But relationships will not. Major donors will donate to relief efforts in addition to causes they are passionate about, but they need to be asked, personally, one-on-one, now more than ever.”
Even in the face of relief organizations’ immense financial need, according to Fellers, there’s no need for a doomsday outlook on year-end charitable giving. There’s enough money for everyone in the nonprofit sector.
“While major financial gifts are by no means independent of the economy, they generally do not ebb and flow according to relief efforts,” Fellers said.
For more information on maximizing year-end giving, contact nfellers@forimpact.org, or visit www.forimpact.org. Downloadable tools, articles, and audioseminars are available courtesy of the ForImpact Open Source Initiative.
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