2020 has been a tough year for everyone. Some businesses have dug deep to find the resilience to keep going. Outdoors seating singlehandedly turned around the fortunes of the restaurant industry as food delivery during early lockdowns was not enough to cover operating costs. Other businesses, however, have had a hard time turning things around, such as the tourism and retail industries.
But nonprofits have had a real hard time!
Donations are plummeting, but demand for services is skyrocketing amid new COVID-19 restrictions across the country! Dear Readers, keep reading to find out how can this economic model survive the pandemic and make it to 2021!
Welcome to new and returning readers to the Branding24Seven community!
As the brainchild of JMStrategy LLC (JMS), a boutique consulting firm that offers organizational changes to strengthen any brand (both personal and professional), this blog is the place to find the answers to your most burning branding questions. Now, let’s go over two areas worth focusing on that will increase your likelihood to survive the pandemic and keep your doors open in 2021.
As we are sprinting towards the end of an unprecedented year, many nonprofits are coming to terms with the scary realization that they will not meet 2020 giving targets. Indeed, the pandemic appears to be ushering in the third surge of coronavirus infections, effectively squashing any hopes of returning to how we used to do things. When things change, Dear Readers, you must adapt to the new reality, or else you will be left behind! Nonprofits that rely on donations to do the work many communities rely on cannot afford to be left behind.
Meet Darius, a new JMS client who is an executive director of a small nonprofit here in Philadelphia. Like many nonprofits, Darius saw such an abrupt drop in giving in Q2 and the first half of Q3 that he worried that his nonprofit would not survive 2020. So, in September, the JMS team devised a plan to help Darius so that his nonprofit continues to do the good work and change the lives of so many suffering people who need it most right now as the pandemic is still ravaging the nation.
Cut Costs Strategically.
Dear Readers, there is no other option than to cut costs when revenue drops. It is simply not feasible to keep spending unless you choose to borrow. Since Darius was dead set against borrowing, the only option left to save the nonprofit was to find a way to cut overhead costs. Rather than eliminating staffing positions, the JMS team helped Darius cut costs strategically by moving the organization virtually.
By moving offices to a coworking space, Darius managed to cut costs by 50 percent.
This cost-saving move allowed the nonprofit to maintain a legal address while downsizing to a “hot desk” so that any staff member can use it when picking up mail or completing tedious administrative tasks that they may not be able to do remotely. He did not believe that the JMS team could make these costs happen without layoffs! If you need help identifying the most strategic cost-cutting measures that won’t hinder overall productivity, Dear Readers, please email jms@branding24seven.com for a consultation today!
Explore New Ways To Cultivate Current Donors (yes, even in a lockdown)!
Now that Darius reduced costs, he must find new avenues to generate donations. Now, Dear Readers, we are in a pandemic, and potential donors are still losing their jobs. Darius cannot run campaigns to drum up support if people require a substantial level of assistance themselves. Right now, everyone is looking at cutting costs just as Darius had to do to survive 2020. Consequently, the JMS team suggested that Darius focused on finding new ways to reconnect with past and present donors.
That’s right, Dear Readers, there is no need to waste time chasing new potential donors who do not know the work the nonprofit is doing when the nation is in a state of crisis. Instead, the JMS team helped Darius explore new ways to reconnect with donors who are already well acquainted with the impact of his organization. Dear Readers, if you need ideas as to how you too can reconnect with current and lapsed donors amid a pandemic, email jms@branding24seven.com for a consultation today!
Final thoughts.
Dear Readers, thank you for taking the time to read today’s publication. This blog invites you to come back every week for fresh, thought-provoking content that will inspire you to change the framework you use to evaluate untapped channels to bolster your brand messaging.
So, Dear Readers, what changes do you plan on making to make up for the potential shortfall in charitable giving this year? How has the pandemic affected your work? What are you doing to keep your doors open through a possible second lockdown? We’d love to hear from you in the comment section below, by email jms@branding24seven.com, or by mail at JMStrategy LLC,
21 S. 11th Street, 2nd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19107.
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