Communicating with Donors in An Uncertain Funding Environment

On January 27, the U.S.  Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memorandum to all executive departments and agencies requiring that Federal agencies identify and review Federal financial assistance programs and temporarily pause funding for these programs. The order was quickly challenged in court and the ultimate impact is not yet clear. 

But uncertainty and the prospect of change in the federal funding landscape make it particularly urgent for nonprofits to strengthen operations and to keep constituents aware of how they can help. 

In an environment of fast-moving change where minute-by-minute updates can evoke strong emotional responses, every person who plays a role in fundraising – from the marketing team to gift officers – can play a role in keeping your supporters engaged. 

As fundraisers (be it individual fundraisers, grant writers, event planners, annual giving, etc.), we are positioned as messengers of the organization-level response—even when the organizational response may be in flux or the organization doesn’t have enough intel to even know how to respond yet.    

It’s critical to effectively communicate and build relationships with stakeholders during challenging times. In this – and any moment of change – you’ll rely on what makes you great at your job: proactive communication, tracking the data, and maintaining trust to build relationships and strengthen your cause. 

There isn’t a magic answer to navigate every crisis but here are a few best practices to consider as you operate on the frontlines of helping shore up funding for your organization. 

Best Practices for Communicating Funding Challenges  

• Be transparent about the unknown to strengthen relationships: Relationships and partnerships can deepen when going through difficult times together. When everything is unknown, the best way to establish trust is to proactively communicate what you do know and what you don’t know to key stakeholders.  It’s ok to not have all the answers.  Stakeholders will want to know that you are asking the right questions more than having all the answers right away.  Bring stakeholders along with you as your organization navigates changes.  

• Communicate proactively to your most important stakeholders: Consider all the stakeholders who benefit from the mission of your organization, including funders, donors and your staff, generally as a group but also the individual departments and humans. Communicate proactively, offering ways they can support your organization through any changes.  

• Operate from a shared messaging framework: When communicating crisis and potential resulting changes, try to focus on the facts related to WHAT is happening and WHY your organization is reacting (or not reacting) to the change as you are.  Depending on the mission of your organization and how close it is to the situation, will your stakeholders have similar perspectives?  Can you lean into a strong point of view that aligns with a clear mission, or do you need to temper a response to meet stakeholders from differing points of view?   Ensure this is documented internally so that your entire team is communicating the same message.  

• Prepare for hard questions: Working with your organization’s leaders and relevant internal stakeholders such as the communications team, develop talking points to use when speaking with a stakeholder one-on-one that you can rely on to keep the conversation focused on the organization’s position.  Keep in mind that donors/prospects/funders want to get the “real” answers to their questions from someone they trust at the organization.  This might manifest in a “how’s it really going over there?” or “I know what the official response is but how are YOU doing?” This can be tricky if your personal feelings on a situation differ from that of the official organization response or a donor’s perspective, and preparing in advance for potential questions can better equip you to use them to strengthen the relationship between the stakeholder and the institution. 

• Track the data: This is a vital time to keep track of your data. Consider what information will help to tell the story of the future.  This might be tracking the increase/decrease in need that emerges from the change or maybe the increase/decrease of the impact on the organizational mission.  Help your future selves by tracking the immediate impact of change (for better or worse) to contextualize the impact on the future 

• Engage your stakeholders in both your short-term and long-term response: If you are responding to the loss of or uncertainty around a funding source you were depending on, you’re likely also strategizing about longer-term opportunities to tap into new funding sources.  While your focus is rightfully on securing the resources you need to deliver your organization’s mission, you can also strengthen relationships with your stakeholders by engaging them in this process, whether through an interactive approach like a virtual roundtable, or sharing through a blog post. 

Be kind to yourselves as you navigate the unknowns. By proactively communicating, tracking data, and maintaining trust, fundraisers can navigate the unknowns and support their organizations through financial turbulence. Embracing the unknown as an opportunity to deepen relationships, being transparent about what is known and unknown, and preparing for potential responses are key strategies to ensure continued support and engagement from stakeholders. Ultimately, the ability to adapt and respond thoughtfully to crises will strengthen ties with stakeholders.  We’re here to support you as you navigate through change.