20. Lynda Harwood Compton – Using Virtual Project Visits to connect and inspire

Clearly one implication of the virtual lockdown is that you can’t meet your supporters for the next few months. So if you’re wondering how on earth you’re going to continue to develop relationships and inspire major and mid-level donors, companies and other key influencers, then I think you’re going to find today’s episode really helpful. In this episode Rob Woods talks to the innovative major gifts fundraiser Lynda Harwood Compton from Animals Asia, to find out what she’s learned about organising virtual project visits for her supporters. In November 2019 Lynda organised a webinar for 30 major donors as a virtual project visit, which she mentioned during my interview in Episode 13. She’s run three more events since then, and they are proving a crucial way to keep her supporters inspired during the pandemic, so Rob wanted to spend a whole episode to properly understand her approach - these ideas are now more relevant than ever to charities. In the interview, Lynda explains the strategy, how she helps her service delivery colleagues prepare to succeed, and several of the benefits to organising these events. We hope you find this episode helpful. If you’d like to get in touch or share it so other people can benefit, we’d be really grateful. We are both active on Linked In and our twitter names are @LatchLynda and @woods_rob. For details of the Bright Spot Members Club where you can see the whole interview, go to www.brightspotmembersclub.co.uk/join or for the episode notes go to www.brightspotfundraising.co.uk