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FUNDRAISING THROUGH A PANDEMIC > BRENNAN SOLECKY
Fundraising through a pandemic
I can remember organizing my very first fundraiser. It was the day after the horrific events of 9/11 occurred in the United States. And while I didn’t understand the magnitude or significance of the event beyond the devastation and terrifying imagery broadcast on our local news station, I knew I felt compelled to help.
My friend Kayla and I decided we would collect donations from classes at school and called our fundraiser “Toonies against Terrorism.” For the next week, following the daily morning announcements, Kayla and I would make our way through our small school in rural Lambton County from class-to-class, collecting donations. While friends were out for lunchtime recess, we were in the library counting and rolling money.
With helpful guidance from our moms, Kayla and I trusted that the local chapter of Red Cross would know how to get the funds we raised to who needed them most. While delivering our donation to the branch office in Sarnia, they asked to take a photo with us holding a big cheque to publish in our local newspaper. I can naively (and embarrassingly, now!) remember thinking how complicated the process of depositing such a large cheque at the bank must be. I also remember thinking how strange it was to be taking a photo. After all, neither of us had done this for any sort of recognition or accolades—we did this because it was the right thing to do during the chaos that was going on in the world.
We had never done anything like this before, and the generous response from our schoolmates was surprising, heartwarming and rewarding for us both. The fact that we were doing the right thing by helping others who needed support, is what mattered to us most.
While I wouldn’t say this was quite the start of my professional fundraising career, I continued to live my life—personally and professionally—rooted in the same values, intention and positive belief that inspired Kayla and I to launch this fundraiser. Ultimately, “If you can’t see the good, be the good.”
I did decide on this career path five years later, when I started my post-graduate studies at McMaster University, and I’ve been in fundraising ever since.
I would be lying if I said the last two and a half years didn’t challenge my values. Truth be told—and I don’t think I’m alone in this—I wouldn’t describe very much about the pandemic as “good.” There were, however, several times throughout this global crisis that I got glimmers of my “Toonies against Terrorism” fundraising beginnings, reminding me why I still feel so passionately about working in this field, despite the challenges of March 2020, and beyond.
Like it was for many other agencies in Dufferin-Caledon, it wasn’t easy for Family Transition Place (FTP) to ride all of the “waves” of COVID. It wasn’t easy to physically distance, to cancel or virtually host fundraising events, to remain patient when internet glitches, partners, children or pets interrupted virtual meetings, to acclimate to wearing full personal protective equipment, to continue wearing masks inside—even today…the list goes on.
I joined the FTP family six weeks before the pandemic was declared. I was hired as the manager of development and community relations, responsible for fundraising, communications and relationship building in our community. My first and last in-person event was International Women’s Day in March 2020, which feels like a lifetime ago, and yesterday, all at once. When we were sent to work from home, I hadn’t yet met with a single donor, community partner or board member. There were still FTP staff I hadn’t yet been introduced to.
Some of the best and most impactful interactions and conversations I’ve been privileged to have with donors and partners throughout my career have been in-person. Come to think of it, before the pandemic, I didn’t know what Zoom was, or what an essential tool it would become. There’s something special about the connections and relationships that can be cultivated when people are together, sharing experiences, sharing a meal—not so simple in a pandemic when almost everyone was simply doing their best to survive day-to-day. Fundraising and relationship building—like all else that we did up until March 2020—needed to evolve, and quickly.
When the pandemic started, the need for our services didn’t stop. We needed to find ways to pivot to ensure we were staying top-of-mind as an available local resource, and raising much-needed funds for our programs and services.
Here’s how we adapted: > Our International Women’s Day (IWD) Celebration Luncheon couldn’t be a luncheon. Instead, we launched our Phenomenal Women campaign, which encouraged our community to celebrate and recognize phenomenal women in their life by purchasing and placing lawn signs or buying exclusive gift items online, in honour of IWD. > We weren’t able to gather at Island Lake for Heidi’s Walk (formerly The Ferguson Memorial Walk) throughout the pandemic, so we launched a virtual event experience, allowing anyone to participate in Heidi’s Walk—from anywhere—raising awareness and funds on our behalf through online event platforms. This year, we are so grateful to finally be in a place that allows us to experience Heidi’s Walk for Hope together, in-person, for the first time since 2019. > The HOPE Project couldn’t be hosted at Hockley Valley Resort, so we launched two different HOPE Project experiences back-to-back. In 2020, in honour of FTP’s 35th anniversary, we shared 35 Days of HOPE on social media—raising awareness, celebrating survivors and sharing stories of hope and resilience
daily for 35 days. In 2021, together with our partners at Theatre Orangeville, we hosted The time is NOW!, a virtual gala experience complete with a beautiful delivered Lavender Blue catered dinner. This exclusive video experience, silent auction of donated designer watches and live Q&A was a fitting tribute to our heroes—our staff—who have been an unwavering source of hope for our clients throughout the pandemic.
Watch a shortened version of this presentation below.
And as we were transforming the way we could engage with our community, responding to changing directives, our community stayed with us every step of the way. • Total donations to our services and programs increased in 2020 and 2021, allowing us to establish a Post-Pandemic Recovery Fund. • Because so many people were at home, our social media followers were sharing and engaging with our posts and reading our e-newsletters more than ever before. • For the first time in our 36-year history, we were unable to accept donations of products, services or gifts for moms and children in our shelter over the holidays. Donors purchased our entire Amazon Wish List and dropped off gift cards for gifts and special meals for the women and children staying with us. • While we are always delighted to host cheque presentations and share wonderful news of donations on our social media, many generous donors continued to support us quietly and anonymously.
The evolution of the last two and a half years has not been easy, but has given us the opportunity to ultimately define the way in
which we provide service, fundraise and communicate—now and into the future. And after two and a half years of changing directives, mandates, ever-evolving information and statistics, one thing that has remained constant is you: our supporters. We were able to make the swift decisions we needed to make at every single twist and turn because we had the support and confidence of our community. We know that the demand for our services isn’t going anywhere—even when the pandemic is long behind us—so we feel even more grateful that our community has continued to support us and the people that rely on us in so many ways. The very fact that we have had such steadfast support, through these truly historic challenges and changes to our programming and events, sparked the nostalgic feeling that got me hooked on fundraising many years ago: it was surprising, heartwarming and rewarding. When our supporters weren’t seeing the good in the world, they were still being the good. Our community has demonstrated time and time again, no matter the way we pivoted or pirouetted to share our message or emerging needs, they responded as they always have: Scan to view a shortened version of positively, with love, kindness and generosity. The Time is NOW! I can tell you wholeheartedly, because of the community support that continues to be demonstrated, that I have never been more hopeful and excited for the future of an organization I’ve had the privilege to work for. Thank you for your continued trust in FTP, for your belief in and support of the work that we do, and for being the good, even when the world seemed anything but.
