Many nonprofits faced a glaring reality when the pandemic of 2020 arrived. That they were grossly ill-prepared for what was ahead.

In so many cases, their digital infrastructure was either non-existent or underwhelming—the staffing, the systems and processes, and the technology. After years of focusing on other forms of marketing and fundraising, the stark reality was that some organizations simply were not prepared to communicate effectively in the new digital paradigm of Zoom meetings, virtual events, online transactions, and massive social distancing that prevented any type of one-on-one meetings from taking place.

Suddenly, there were two types of organizations: those that had a decent infrastructure in place and could ramp up their existing digital outreach and those that had neglected their digital footprint and expertise and faced a daunting, if not impossible, task of transforming their marketing and fundraising overnight.

It was, shall we say, a massive and wide-spread wake-up call! For those that had already adapted to the digital world, it was a challenge to refocus and retool their efforts, but it wasn’t insurmountable. But the organizations that neglected digital platforms up until the pandemic struggled to adapt—and for some it was simply too much.

For organizations that rely heavily on major donor visits, events, and large galas for a majority of their revenue, the shift was extremely painful and disheartening. But in the midst of all this, for every organization that was ill-equipped, there were many that had been honing their digital skills for years and were able to transform their approach to the new social-distancing world. They successfully held online events that reveled in-person events. They scaled up their email communications. They strengthened their social media presence. Unfortunately, for some nonprofits that was a bridge too far, and they were unable to pivot successfully and suffered a significant downturn in fundraising results.

Adopting digital transformation isn’t easy but it’s not impossible either, even for the smallest organization. But whatever else it is, it is certainly a necessity—lest you face a slow demise.

  1. Transform your thinking from analog to digital starting with employees and the way you conduct business. 
  2. Put the technology in place that will support a digital-first philosophy.
  3. Develop a new and improved marketing approach, and transform how you develop your core messaging, fundraising offers, and how you communicate to your donors, supporters, and prospects. 
  4. Adopt a shared-experience and human-centered approach to your outreach.
  5. Embrace and leverage analytics. Measure everything and learn from the results and trends. Measuring your results on digital efforts, just like we do for direct mail, is exceedingly important and incredibly fruitful if done well.

Read the full article about digital transformation by Eric Streiff at Philanthropy Daily.