by Sonja Carter JD

You might be wondering what other nonprofit leaders are thinking about the past six months. We were too. Each of the leaders we interviewed were posed the same questions – looking back, and looking ahead. And below (curated and edited for brevity) are their wise thoughts. 

With thanks to these fantastic fundraisers: Whitney Humphrey, Director of Development at Family Services in Poughkeepsie, NY; Ken Jockers, Executive Director of Hudson Guild in New York, NY; and Hannah Moore, Director of Philanthropy at Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church, VA. 

We Asked: The past few months have seen a lot of changes. What have you learned that you wish you knew back in February of 2020? 

Their answers fell into a few categories: “Be Prepared”, “Just Do It”, and “Well, Who Knew!”

Be Prepared

• Have our staff Emergency Preparedness Team fully primed and ready to take action.  As COVID hit, we ran on a lot of adrenalin … it would have been good to have more of a plan in place, with even some dry-run testing.

• Have a better store of emergency supplies (I never even thought about PPE before this):  shelf-stable food, PPE, extra clothing, cash cards.  Not a ton, but a designated source of immediate assistance.  

Just Do It

• Have a more developed advocacy/social action/racial equity process in place - so that the essential conversations and commitments that we need to have happen, and not in response to crisis.

• Don't leave donor cultivation tasks to do later - sometimes there is no later.  If it is worth doing, do it now; if it's not, then put it aside. 

• Organize your records, both electronic and paper, so you can find things easily (and take them home if need be!).  Keep up with it on a weekly basis.

Well, Who Knew!

• Zoom fatigue is a real thing!  

• Mail is exciting again!  As everyone's inboxes overflow and eyes grow tired of staring at a screen, the excitement of opening a letter (and the attention we give those letters) has increased.

• Not being together in person can provide a wonderful opportunity to get to know people even better.  There is something about seeing our colleague's dogs and cats interrupt team meetings and kids popping in for a quick hug to remind us of our shared humanity.  

We Asked: The future is unknown, but the one thing we can be sure of is continued change. Looking ahead, what new things do you hope you will have learned to do, or to do well, by early 2021?

Everyone agreed, the challenges ahead revolve around thriving in this new, virtual, world. Our experts look forward to:

• Knowing better how to cultivate donors without any in-person contact or exposure to our organization.  

• Imbuing virtual donor meetings with the natural mix of catching up socially with friends as well as discussing the topic at hand.  

• Developing robust hybrid programming - health and safety are paramount, but the past few months have shown us just how much we need in-person connection.

• Working from home, and yet having true collaboration with and getting inspiration from colleagues, volunteers and donors.  

• Building much more all-staff communication into regular practice. It has become clear that people want to hear directly from senior leadership more often.

In times of trauma, unease and fear, the organizations that pull together are the ones that thrive.  Ken Jockers spoke eloquently about Hudson Guild, and we are including his statement below because it gives us hope for our collective futures. We will come through this, but how we come through is up to us, and our ability to rally. Ken’s quote is here:

This - COVID, the economic fallout, the newest incidents of anti-black violence, the outcry that followed and the need to respond - are excruciating, but the way my colleagues have rallied, adapted and responded, and the heart and dignity they have demonstrated is moving —every day. - Ken Jockers, Executive Director of Hudson Guild

Rally, dear readers, rally. We are all in this together. 

Sonja Carter, JD previously served as the Senior Campaign Advisor at the Heller Fundraising Group. Sonja's expertise lies in capital campaigns, planned giving, major donor cultivation, solicitation and stewardship.