18. Jane Curtis – Coronavirus; some responses for event fundraising

As many charities are pushed to the limit in how they serve their beneficiaries during the current global pandemic, charities are also searching for ways to respond to unprecedented threats to fundraising income. In the short term, an obvious casualty is the loss in income due to cancelled events. In this interview recorded on 17th March 2020, I talk to event fundraising expert Jane Curtis. Though many events will need to be cancelled, I wanted her advice about ways we can respond to the challenges, for instance, in how we stay in touch with participants; in adapting existing events to virtual versions, and finding challenges that meet new needs in a population that can’t go out. I also really appreciated Jane’s ideas for things we can do to increase chances of fundraising success in the medium and long-term, such as gathering insight and deciding to keep learning, even in these tough times. I really enjoyed my conversation with Jane and hope you find our discussion is helpful food for thought as you are stuck at home, thinking through ways to respond to these difficult challenges.