Emergency Fundraising: Navigating the Pandemic for NPOs - Essay Sample

Introduction

In the wake of a pandemic such as the Covid19 disease in the United States, some not for profit organizations must start to act within hours. The rush involves getting a campaign page running, spreading the word, and rushing to fundraise (Association of Fundraising Professionals, 2016). The whole process leaves most organizations feeling anxious, but when they have the right plan put in place, emergency fundraising is a swift and fast method of pulling out of a situation. As Pittsburgh Promise, we understand that acting fast, vigilance, and communication are vital components.

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The Guidelines

• Establishing the need for raising funds- This is the reason for the emergency call of action.
• Establishing the idea for emergency Fundraiser
• Goal setting- Establishing what the organization aims to achieve. This is the rationale for support.

Choosing of a population to solicit. This includes making short and long-range plans. This includes how the goal is to be achieved and the benefits in the long run. Additionally, assessing resources- The assets that the organization already has including people, property, commitment. The software that will be used by the organization process of fundraising and soliciting for funds.

Develop a Strategy- The methods that will be put to use in raising funds. The organization intends to use the peer-to-peer fundraising software that will help reach an extensive background.

Establishing the Fundraising Need/Goal

The idea involves support for the Pittsburgh Promise for improvement of school research and education during the Covid19 closure. Pittsburgh Promise's rationale for the emergency fundraiser involves raising funds to cover operational costs and the advancement of education research for underserved schools in the wake of Covid19. This campaign program is designed to strengthen post-secondary institutions in their struggle to offer research-based recommendations to policymakers, the local public and the practitioners in the wake of Covid19. Thousands of university laboratories are immersed in trying to give a hand in finding a treatment solution by working to develop tests and vaccines for Covid-19. The universities are working in collaboration with the government and private sectors in the process of researching for the cure.

An Idea for Emergency Fundraiser

The idea; The Virtual Gala-Boost research on Covid19 Pandemic. Since it is unable to plan a physical gala or luncheon, a virtual fundraiser where every supporter can attend online proved a great idea. The virtual party is to be hosted on Facebook-live with the event broadcasted to the attendee. Through the gala, there will be a session of question and answer where attendees will have an opportunity to text in their questions to guest speakers. Participants in the party can watch the Pittsburgh Promise's presentation from the comfort of their home without having to attend the occasion across town.

The Rationale for Support (Why People Should Contribute to Pittsburgh Promise)

The rationale for fundraising includes creating a strategic plan for fund development. This process involves writing a fundraising story that is unique, appealing, and inspiring people to support the course. Every organization's reasons for raising funds is different, and stating the rationale through a story is the chance to prove to the world why the chosen charity cause matters.

How Pittsburgh Promise Aims to the Covid-19 Pandemic

The People- We are taking care of people by focusing on safety and productivity during this time. Thus, since the virus is present in our state and other neighboring states, we focus on providing full working equipment in laboratories and other resources that are aimed at conducting the research. As we understand, the government regulates the funding of research organizations intending to channel the money towards emergency treatment in hospitals. Unfortunately, there is still a great need for funds to cover operational costs and ensure continued operations of this significant research that aims to save humanity. Therefore, to continue taking care of our people, we are exploring funding options available to us to help in curbing this emergency.

Impact- As an organization, we are committed to considering the long-term effects of our vision, which is developing a workforce that is highly diverse and good for all. This means providing more funds that drive research and experiments in public post-secondary schools. Covid-19 has widely spread in many states. In Pittsburgh Promise, we strive to strengthen the region, inspire systematic change, and transform lives. Our mission is to promote high educational aspirations among the youths, fund scholarships for post-secondary access, and develop a prepared and diverse local workforce. Therefore, what motivates us to start the fundraiser is the need to help stop the fast spread of the life-threatening Covid-19 virus that is continuing to claim lives. The connection that our organization has with this campaign cause is the fact that our impact, vision, and mission supports the growth of diverse regional workforce that helps in problem-solving.

Populations to Solicit

The emergency campaign is tasked with explaining and convincing donors why the cause matters. The reader needs to be confident that their money matters and is best given to their organization and not others and why it should be now and not later. As an emergency fundraiser, the donor needs to believe in the organization's mission for them to participate. Additionally, potential donors also need to be convinced that the course will impact them personally, or feel the obligation to give and for being recognized. The organization aims to solicit revenue from the following categories

High net worth individuals. It is vital to strategically draw interest and maintain strong relationships with high net worth persons. The organization plans to get the potential donors from names listed online of people who are ranked as the most top philanthropy in the United States. Research shows that most of the online philanthropic individual makes a donation to charity organizations towards the right course. To motivate these individuals into donating to this emergency course, the organization makes promises such as naming buildings and rooms after them. Additionally, the names will be included in the Pittsburgh Promise's website in an honor roll. Also, names will be listed in the next coming significant and exclusive events and highlighting the contributions. People love a little spotlight; therefore, the organization recognizes the efforts of every philanthropist in this good life-saving course.

Young People. Young people are some of the primary target groups that actively participate in donating to a worthy cause. According to Carbera (2014), a survey done by Do.something.org shows that 93% of young people between ages 13 and 15 years want to volunteer their time. This also highly depends on the type of activities. The course raising funds to boost research on the covid-19 pandemic is a worthy cause that helps people not only in the local but also national and international. The youth will be engaged through text since it is the most effective way for them to take action. Among the young people who show interest in volunteering, a good number of them are also likely to buy tickets to participate in the online gala event. Although young people may not have much disposable money, the aim of engaging them is because they are an excellent target audience since when they are engaged early, they can encourage most people to join in the donation and also can be used in other future fundraisers.

To encourage young people to join in the fundraising event, the organization motivates youths to participate by promising them a slot for registered volunteers in the organization. As a volunteer of the Pittsburgh Promise, one gets to be considered first in any benefiting events that the organization may roll out in the future. For instance, when one buys a ticket, they get a chance to be put forefront in the upcoming scholarship selections.

Coming to Grassroots

There has to be an army of grass root supporters for the fundraising course to go along way even after the situation is tackled. As a well-known and significant organization, Pittsburgh will adopt peer-to-peer fundraising for the campaign. The peer-to-peer fundraising software has a lot of benefits, among them building emails that can be targeted to specific people of the fundraiser. The planning will start running with a successful grass-root campaign and deigning unlimited personal fundraising pages using the software.

With this type of fundraising software as a strategy, supporters can create their fundraising page, finished with personal support cases, pictures, videos, and other trackers. This way, the supporters can advocate for the organization's cause and raise emergency funds from their friends, personal networks, and close relatives. However, all these individual pages are tied back to the significant event site and their own networks. Friends of friends can buy tickets to the gala whether they will attend or not because many will be able to be convinced the course is essential and an emergency because of the fast spread of the disease.

Strategies for Setting Goals

Set Goals Including Timelines

One of the main methods that the organization will use in planning the event's fundraising goals is the SMART method. SMART, which is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based.

Specific

The organization's overall goal is to raise money that will boost research. We are grateful that the government offered a sum of $50, 000 to help the universities that we support to drive the research work. This money is not enough, considering that there is extensive research that is required in the fight against Covid-19. We are working with eight universities in the study; therefore, the total estimated cost that we need to raise to support all these universities is $500,000. This means that we need an additional $450, 000 amount to help support the research that is aimed at stopping the spread of this harmful infectious disease. Apart from the money, we wish to gain an additional 100 new donors who can support our future project.

Measurable

If progress is not measured, then it is impossible to know if the fundraising goals have been met. Failing to measure goals puts people on different pages, and some may not rely on certain outcomes (Association of Fundraising Professionals, 2016). By tracking progress, it is possible to measure success. Therefore, as Pittsburgh promise, we have to ensure that we know exactly what is being measured, who will be in charge of, measuring, and how it will be estimated.

Pittsburgh plans to measure the progress of giving through the website and compare it with the number of tickets to attend the gala that is bought. By measuring the extent that the goals are achieved, the organization can discover the rate of success.

Attainable

As an NGO, the organization should strive to put goals that stretch and are aspiring enough to challenge the capabilities. However, these goals need not be unrealistic and impossible to attain. The purpose of achieving $450000 is not an easy one to accomplish during these hard times when the disease is threatening, but the motivation to drive motivation and do good is reason enough to make people give out of a clean heart. The average number of our donors provides us with the confidence of being able to raise these emergency funds.

Relevance

It is crucial to countercheck if the goals that the organization had set are relevant...