Fundraising for causes near to our hearts is in the Front Porch Marketing team’s fabric of being.

Last year marked my last of three being involved in Jesuit Preparatory School of Dallas Mum sales.

The new Mum Moms found a new solution to Mum sales in the COVID19 world. No Homecoming Dance or other celebrations. So why spend the time or energy?

Reasons Not to Cancel Your Fundraising Efforts

1. It is tradition. Everyone wants to continue traditions and celebrations. Even if they look differently. Students want to celebrate Homecoming. Donors want to continue annual giving and / or event attendance. They look forward to it. We are thirsting for normalcy.
2. Fundraising for Mums helps the school. Our school communities need more funds to operate at their best. Now more than ever.
3. Volunteers for Mums builds school community. Volunteers help make the work happen. They come together. Celebrate tradition. Share stories. Ask advice. Coming together to make this happen.

Tips for Fundraising During the COVID

1. Adjust communication tone. Be authentic and empathetic.
2. Adapt communication vehicles and their frequency. Email, text and phone are preferred. Make sure they are quick and to the point. Adjust frequency. More emails and texts are needed to break through the clutter. But they must be on point and useful.
3. Reinvent your event. Socially distant or online. Engage experts if needed. Events can still happen. It takes extra time. More investment of dollars is needed. Keeping the conversation going is immeasurable.
4. Make involvement easy. SignUpGenius is a great vehicle. Make sure volunteers know where and when to meet. Maximize their time spent. Create opportunities to volunteer from home.
5. Make donating simple. Eliminate all the barriers to donation. Make sure the donate button or page is front and center. Optimize the speed and ease of use.
6. Pick up the phone or schedule a video conference. Check in with your donors. Reach out. Show them you care. You do.

My Mum Mom fundraising era has (maybe temporarily?) ended. The relationships I made with all communities and the students are priceless. Make sure your efforts create the same.

We’ve all heard the famous saying that originated centuries ago, was spoken by Abraham Lincoln and has been shared many times over the years. Mark Twain added his humor to it with, “Actions speak louder than words but not nearly as often.”

If he were alive today, I wonder what interesting quotes he would share about our current behavior with constant texting, emailing and connecting through numerous social media channels. Certainly, he would be blogging, tweeting, have millions of followers and be sharing great stories. Maybe after a tragedy, he would say something like this –

“Today we need our actions to speak louder than our likes.”

Social media is full of followers, sharing, tweeting and lots of likes. As huge fans, our rockin’ team on the porch loves all of the likes received and we love likin’ even more! It’s a form of connection and an easy way to acknowledge something shared. It’s our world and yes, we LIKE it! We are certainly fortunate to be more connected than ever before. But will our actions keep up?

My home state of Louisiana is going through a crisis after terrible flooding. Victims have shared their stories and asked for help through social media. Posts are liked, shared and full of comments from caring people expressing thoughts, prayers and sympathy. This is a beautiful part of the social media experience, and when it leads to donations, volunteering and help beyond the emojis and words typed within the pages, it makes a real difference for those who need it desperately.

Actions speak louder than likes.

Friends, we still need the likes.

We need the connection, sharing of information and the ability to show we like, love and care. But sometimes, we also need to take action.

Here’s a challenge for you. Ask your kids to research and find a story online they have not heard before about someone less fortunate. Then find out what they want to do to help and decide how to take action. Wouldn’t it be great to see what they discover, learn where their empathy lies and teach them the importance of taking actions beyond the emojis, texts and online chats?

On the porch, we intend to keep on following, sharing, tweeting and liking, a lot! Then we’ll get off our rockers, grab the kids and make sure our actions speak louder. That’s just how we like it.