Not-for-profits face fundraising challenges in coronavirus era

Fundraising has been a challenge for not-for-profit organizations over the last year because of COVID-19.

Face-to-face efforts have moved to telephone conversations and events have had to adapt in order to raise money these entities rely on to help communities.

Many not-for-profits had to change directions and rethink fundraisers, many of which rely heavily if not solely on donations. Some organizations rescheduled, some postponed, and some ended up canceling.

Creating an online giving platform was the way many went about raising money.

According to WPcharitable.com, online fundraising was already starting to take hold before the COVID crisis — in fact, online fundraising revenue in the U.S. alone rose 10% on a year-over-year basis in 2019, up from 1% year-over-year growth in 2018.

Two area organizations with long-running fundraisers had to pivot and think outside the box.

Greg Vaughn, left, of MediaLeaf films, and Liz Haynes, executive director of Old Town Cape, host the livestream of Old Town Cape's Revivify fundraiser Oct. 22 at Century Casino in Cape Girardeau.Brooke Holford

Multifaceted approach

Organizers of Old Town Cape’s annual Charles L. Hutson Auction were tasked with coming up with a way to make an event people have been attending for more than 20 years into something completely different.

“We couldn’t afford to wash our hands of it and say, ‘Oh, you know, maybe next year,’” said Liz Haynes, executive director of Old Town Cape.

The committee decided to host a scripted five-hour open house-style, part in-person, part virtual event consisting of online auctions, Facebook livestream and a radiothon in October. The hours of planning paid off; they exceeded their $40,000 goal.

“It was interesting, for sure, but really encouraging to see that we could pivot like that and still exceed our goal,” Haynes said. “And also showcase our mission and the vibrancy of downtown in a very unique way.”

Haynes said even though it was out of necessity, “it really became an opportunity to plan a really kind of out-of-the-box event.”

Old Town Cape relies on the annual fundraiser for sustainability of the organization and “for the financial support we need as an organization to have the lights on and continue our mission for downtown Cape,” she added.

The fundraiser supports Old Town Cape, which “is all about the continued revitalization of downtown Cape Girardeau,” Haynes said. As part of the National Main Street America organization, it strives to revitalize downtown and make it the best place to live, work and play.

“There are a lot of exciting things we want to do, but we have to have the funding to do so,” Haynes said.

Dinner auction to raffle

St. Vincent de Paul Parish School in Cape Girardeau has held a dinner auction for more than 30 years. Plans were progressing for this year’s event when the coronavirus pandemic struck.

Initially, the fundraising committee considered doing an outdoor event where attendees could socially distance, but quickly realized they didn’t know what the COVID landscape would be like in the months ahead.

After researching what other schools were doing, they happened upon a school in Effingham, Illinois, that has conducted a raffle fundraiser for more than 20 years.

“I reached out to them and basically asked them how they did it,” said Carrie Holiman, co-chairwoman of St. Vincent’s first raffle.

Most area private schools they called were postponing in-person auctions until spring in hopes it could take place, Holiman said.

“We thought it would be a good idea to try something new and maybe kind of get away from the auction,” she said.

The committee went to work figuring out all the logistics of pulling off a huge change in the school’s largest fundraiser. Paper tickets went home with students and virtual tickets were sold on a new website. As a result, they were able to reach more people and plan to employ tactics learned this year into the future.

“We had a really great committee,” Holiman said. “We created something that didn’t exist before. It was an empowering experience.”

The goal was $100,000, which they zoomed right past. To date, they have $157,000 in total revenue with an estimated profit of $126,000.

The money raised mainly keeps cost down for students and families who attend the school, but can be used for anything the school needs.

“It can go for curriculum, building upgrading needs, or upgrading security,” Holiman said.

The committee will host a Facebook Live event Saturday to draw raffle winners and encourage additional donations.

“In the future, hopefully we will be able to incorporate the raffle into a social setting,” she said.