What the Fundraising

1A Critical Tipping Point

2020 brought the world to a screeching halt. The nonprofit institutions I had worked for and loved my entire career closed right before my eyes. The COVID‐19 pandemic brought unprecedented levels of fear, paralysis, and anxiety. Despite the tremendous need for nonprofit services, the sector was contracting with layoffs happening at record speed, sending the workforce home to wait. Nonprofit staff members and those who benefited from their services were suffering.

With after‐school programs closed, addiction programs stopped in mid‐track, and most in‐person activity halted, the nonprofit sector was unable to operate at its previous capacity. I felt like all I could do was watch helplessly, reading updates from my networks and seeing reports scroll across my screens. As the world shut down and efforts shifted to support emergency responders, medical teams, and at‐risk populations, any unrelated giving was initially set aside. Nonprofits mirrored the rest of the world, halting fundraising efforts for their own causes—even though they were losing tremendous amounts of money. Nonprofits seemed to feel it was inappropriate to ask for money for their work amid an uncertain global crisis.

Yet, with everyone sheltered at home and without the distractions and priorities of normal life, another type of generosity emerged: people tapped into their creativity, posting concerts, virtual meet‐ups, and free educational courses—anything to try to help. Despite the ...