You Are Special: Nonprofits Respond Creatively to Crisis
Capital campaign consultants love being with our clients, shaking their hands, giving them hugs and looking them in their eyes. Now we miss them. We want to be with them again, engaging with their leaders and connecting with their communities.
What we want, however, is inconsequential right now. What is important is what we all are doing for the good of society. Specifically, the amazing work nonprofits are doing, so we’re going to celebrate some of the incredibly creative and valuable work our current and past clients are doing to “flatten the curve.”
A cancer-support organization is delivering food to their immunocompromised clients.
A hospital foundation’s office has turned into the region’s Personal Protective Equipment warehouse.
A private high school is connecting families that are suffering financially with those that aren’t for tuition assistance.
An artist is setting up little worksites in her front yard (lots of social distancing) for neighborhood kids to come and do crafts.
It does not matter which sector your nonprofit works in or how long you’ve been doing it. What you do is special. You are special. The famous French aristocrat, diplomat and historian Alexis de Tocqueville had unique insight into our country’s philanthropic spirit way back in 1835: "As soon as several of the inhabitants of the United States have taken up an opinion or a feeling which they wish to promote to the world they look out for mutual assistance."
While touring the US, he observed Americans of every demographic supporting social issues. We didn’t, and still don’t, depend upon governments or billionaires to solve our communities’ problems. Even during this crisis, it does not matter what your nonprofit’s primary mission is. You are finding ways to help.
We have been helping nonprofits since 2003 and have observed that regardless of individual missions, we all share a common vision -- to replenish the soul. This includes the souls of the populations you serve and the souls of the community leaders who provide you governance and financial support. Like you, they know that the best way to feel good about the state of the world and their place in it, is to do for others. As de Tocqueville observed, when we see a wrong, a problem or an opportunity, we don’t say “you” should do something about that. We say, “Let’s fix it ourselves.”
That spirit is part of our collective culture and we are great at getting creative with what we can do outside of our immediate missions to be helpful. It’s a mindset that leads us to engage wherever we can.
Embrace that mindset. Engage with your leaders and donors today! Together, find ways to address the immediate needs in your community. Be flexible about timelines and goals for current projects and think strategically about the positive places this situation may lead you.
If you, your donors or your board need help finding ways to engage, get in touch with us. We would love to help.
Kevin Wallace is president of CampaignCounsel.org.
