COVID-19 Survey Results: How Advancement Teams are Responding

Survey Results: Giving Initiatives During COVID-19

How would you classify your school?

What giving initiative were you planning on running from now until June 30?

When was your giving initiative planned for?

What are you thinking about doing with the giving initiative? If you haven’t made a decision, pick which way you are leaning.

Sample of responses from March 18th, 2020

What’s your reasoning for how you are deciding on your giving initiative?

• Many of the auction items have an unknown factor to them due to the cancelation and closing of many national organizations. For example, sporting events.
  – College in IA
• COVID-19 ban on gatherings of over 10 people.
  – Upper and Lower School in NY
• Our Reunion event may be canceled/postponed, but current thinking is we will continue to send targeted digital solicitations to alumni in reunion years. We would acknowledge the milestone for Reunion alumni and ask them to make a gift in honor of it.
  – College in PA
• Still need to raise money - but need to do it in a sensitive way.
  – Upper and Lower School in DC

If you are postponing, when do you think you will postpone to?

• When things are back to some state of normalcy.
  – College in MA
• We are postponing and will combine reunions next April.
  – Upper School in VA
• We purposely have not picked a date.
  – College in NH

If you are moving forward with your giving initiative, what are your concerns? Are you changing your messaging and if so, how?

• As far as sending appeals, we want to be super sensitive and not come across as “tone deaf” during this unprecedented time, but at the same time, all the recommendations from consultants is to “stay the course” when appropriate.
  – Lower School in MD
• We are focusing our messaging on helping the school still run in the face of this global challenge happening. The school has a mission to fulfill by teaching students and paying those teachers.
  – Upper School in CA
• Largest concern is for staff to be able to administer program from various remote locations and coordinating activity for staff operating from multiple sights.
  – College in IL

What is the general sentiment with the donors in your community?

• Our Annual Fund team sent initial test email solicitations to a very small target audience on Monday 3/16. As of Wednesday 3/18 we have not received negative feedback to the emails and have received a small number of gifts (approx. 15-20) in response.
  – College in PA
• Disappointment but understanding due to the situation.
  – College in SC
• All are healthy, but communication is dropping.
  – Upper School in VA
• Positive and supportive, worried and staying home as we’re in shelter in place.
  – Lower School in CA

Sample of responses from March 17th, 2020

What’s your reasoning for how you are deciding on your giving initiative?

• F2F reunion events cancelled. Will have to recraft the message and rely on electronic means of fundraising instead of campus visits.
  – Upper School in LA
• Basing decision on governor’s mandates, CDC recommendations, etc.
  – Upper School in CT
• We want to be sensitive to our alumni in the current climate. We are also unsure of people’s financial situations. Additionally, we have launched a new Student Emergency Fund to help displaced or struggling students.
  – College in MA
• We don’t want to lose the momentum we’ve established
  – Upper and Lower School in FL

If you are postponing, when do you think you will postpone to?

• If we postpone, it will be to a date when we are all back at school and can renew our sense of community.
  – Lower School in MA
• We are waiting and seeing how things progress, but we will probably delay until mid-June
  – Upper and Lower School in MA

If you are moving forward with your giving initiative, what are your concerns? Are you changing your messaging and if so, how?

• Concerned that due to economic flucuation and uncertainty people will be less-likely to bid on auction items; messaging will be focused on needs of the school in supporting our students and families
  – Upper School in CA
• Yes, we’re going to message about the importance of participating in any way and also realizing some cannot and that’s okay too.
  – College in PA
• Due to financial concerns we are worried our participation numbers will decrease, so we no longer have a set donor goal. For example, we may change the challenge from reading “If we reach X donors, we will get a $Y match” to “A generous donor will match each donor, dollar for dollar”, without setting a clear cap.
  – Upper and Lower School in MA
• We will likely be changing out messaging in the future to promote a hardship fund and/or student emergency fund.
  – College in NJ

What is the general sentiment with the donors in your community?

• We don’t know yet, but we have received some feedback from alumni to hit the pause button on solicitations.
  – Upper School in MA
• Some fear and concern, but definitely wanting to help others as well.
  – College in PA
• Have thanked us for information sharing.
  – Lower School in MA

Sample of responses from March 16th, 2020

What’s your reasoning for how you are deciding on your giving initiative?

• We’re being sensitive to what people are focused on right now...so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
  – Upper and Lower School in TX
• Just looking at the current situation and how things have unfolded over the weekend particularly in our state and region.
  – College in ME
• It’s in the middle of a pandemic and tumbling stocks. But also, no one will be focused on this and recruiting volunteers is going to be difficult if not impossible.
  – College in MA
• We need to better reflect what donors will want to give to during this time -- pivoting our focus to possibly be more “fill the gap” language, or find a project that reflects our new normal of distance learning for the foreseeable future.
  – Upper and Lower School in OR

If you are postponing, when do you think you will postpone to?

• No date set. Too much uncertainty for near future.
  – Upper School in MA
• Hopefully we will be able to hold our Giving Day the beginning of May. But we are waiting to see how things develop.
  – College in ME
• May or June.
  – Upper and Lower School in NJ
• The Fall.
  – Upper and Lower school in TX

What is the general sentiment with the donors in your community?

• Not sure.
  – Upper School in MA
• Ready to help in any way.
  – Upper School in IN
• No one can think about giving right now. Our richest donors are worried about their stocks and the rest are worried if they’re going to have any money or jobs.
  – College in MA
• We had a very successful virtual auction on Saturday, so donors are engaged and giving, but this is a new reality, so it’s impossible to know how everyone will feel in a month.
  – Upper and Lower School in OR