A\ncollection of chaplains and ministry directors talk frankly about what may be\nahead. Will fundraising be as difficult as 2020? It will be different. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reverend Philip Vandercook, Executive Director of Global Maritime Ministries in New Orleans, steps back when responding. His broad lens sees a world that has suffered and continues to feel the residue of the pandemic. People are still hurting. Lives have been disrupted. Businesses have dissolved. Family members have died. And people are longing for fellowship. This is true within our community of chaplains as well as among our supporters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat\nyou do and how you respond during a crisis makes the difference. A lot of\nthought has to go into what we do and how we do it,\u201d he suggests. \u201cEverything\nwe do is about relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Retaining donor relationships<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Steve\nFinnesy, Executive Director of the Tampa Seafarer\u2019s Ministry now operates a\nquiet center compared to pre-COVID when the center was a hub of activity among\nthe cruise ship industry. It\u2019s an adjustment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\nwouldn\u2019t call it loneliness,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is a lack of fellowship. There is a\nlot less interaction and we have no conferences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I\ntry to use this time to maintain and strengthen the relationships I have within\nthe port and in churches by adding value to these communities. We don\u2019t want\nthem to forget about us.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\nis not merely what they remember, but what they hear today about the work we are\nstill doing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Patricia\nSarazen, Administrator of the Montreal Ministry to Seafarers breaks down her\nviewpoint on fundraising. She held a virtual bike-a-thon this year and is\nexploring additional avenues of funding. Both come from a main basepoint. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\nunderstand the stress of needing to raise funds, but it comes down to\nrelationships. We need to get back to the understanding that people with needs\nand people who want to meet these needs are on the same planet,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sarazen\nelaborates. The first involves investing in people. Listening to others helps\nus determine who they are, what their desires are, and why they may want to\ngive. The second is aligning a donor\u2019s desire to give with the work of your\nmission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She illustrates her point in the story of Darlla, who visited the Montreal center out of curiosity. Sarazen shared lunch with Darlla and explained the work of the mission. That one conversation with one person led to a regular monthly donor since 2018. <\/p>\n\n\n\n From Fear to Hope<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Prior\nto this we may need to review what our mission is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bob Carter is an experienced and recognized expert in the areas of Institutional Strategy and Philanthropy. During the past four decades, Bob has helped strengthen a variety of organizations throughout the world by helping them overcome challenges and capitalize on opportunities to be successful. He understands and has developed keen insight into human behavior and the human heart. Regarding the COVID-19 talking points donors are likely hearing often, fear is not a motivational emotion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\nwant to change our narrative,\u201d said Carter. \u201cWe want to move away from fear and\ntoward more hopeful optimistic messages, always positioning for things to come.\nThat\u2019s contagious. People react to that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n This\nis not simply a change of verbiage, it is a strategic way we begin to think and\nbelieve about the work we do and the plans we decide to employ moving forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese\nare moments good leaders live for,\u201d said Carter. \u201cLeaders require a steady hand\nat the wheel, and a firm commitment. We live to take care of the agency when\nthey need us most.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One key Carter offers is to over communicate with our donors with compassion and empathy, yet confirming that our mission is still of value, still here, and still needs them. Use a variety of avenues from social media to personal phone calls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Keeping it personal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jurgen\nSchroder, former seafarer and CEO of Schroder Marine in Houston, Texas, shared\nhis concern for seafarers with a table full of buddies over a beer. Among the\nregulars was 44-year-old Reiner Wiederkehr, CEO, Fracht USA. From that\nconversation developed a relief project with Fracht USA, an international\nfreight forwarder in Houston. Fracht and Schroeder Marine Services, Inc. in\npartnership with the Houston International Seafarers Center are providing\nrelief to seafarers including phone cards, recreational items on board and ways\nto reduce mental fatigue. Aligning the needs of seafarers stranded on ships due\nto the pandemic and businessmen who felt a need to respond, raised $60,000 in\ntwo weeks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Schroder\nis a 32-year board member of the Houston center. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\njust tell them my personal experience,\u201d said Schroder. \u201cSpeak from your own\nexperience. They will listen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keeping\nour stories personal is a valuable piece to the fundraising puzzle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Who\nis the best voice to tell the story? Carter encourages nonprofits to do an\nasset review. Investigate without reserve. Identify your very strongest points\nand very strongest people in your ministry. Discover what the three things you\ndo best are and \u201csell the dickens out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Be\nprepared to pivot. Be creative. Find out who are the rock stars, who are the\narticulate among us. It may not be the CEO, it may be a volunteer. Find these\npeople and create script if needed. Give those with passion a podium. You need\nto give donors the best you have. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Opportunities\ncontinue to present themselves. Networking with leadership partners on how to\ninvoice ships, write grants, build foundations or create Legacy options for\ndonors to remember the work of the mission with end-of-life giving are\navailable to us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The consistent factor in the mix of the COVID challenges is that seafarers are still on ships, missions are still engaged in meeting their needs, though modified, and creative methods to generate funds are working as we adapt and cooperate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n