Gabe Cooper, Virtuous' CEO and founder joins The Responsive Fundraising Podcast to discuss what we can glean from the events of 2020 and how fundraisers should pivot to maximize the potential of 2021. 2020 has been a year of ma Gabe Cooper, Virtuous' CEO and founder joins The Responsive Fundraising Podcast to discuss what we can glean from the events of 2020 and how fundraisers should pivot to maximize the potential of 2021. 2020 has been a year of massive change for nonprofits. From entire teams going remote overnight, to a chaotic election season, to a civil rights movement driving systemic change, to the devastating impact of COVID-19, everything has changed.  During the discussion Gabe shares six fundraising strategies nonprofit teams can carry forward into 2021. 6 Fundraising Strategies To Help You Grow 1) You must know your donors. And in order to know them, you must listen. One of the silver linings of 2020 is that nonprofits are increasingly committed to better listen to donors. When COVID-19 hit our shores and lockdowns began, a lot of fundraisers wondered if they should even be asking for money. What are my donors thinking? Do they still care about my cause? These questions inevitably raised a larger existential question: why don’t we already know what our donors are thinking? Why don’t we have an open line of communication with our donors already? Many leading nonprofits have quickly pivoted in 2020 to better listening to donors and trying to build more authentic relationships. Giving to a great cause is deeply personal and requires a two-way relationship. If you don’t have that personal relationship, then generosity is never going to happen at scale. Most nonprofits have a direct connection to major donors but “everyday” small and mid-tier donors are often just a name in the database. To create predictable generosity and impact, nonprofits can’t afford to abandon the everyday donor. They must strive to adopt systems and strategies that listen to the needs of donors at scale and treat every donor personally. The more you listen, the more you begin to understand areas of interest, giving opportunities, and how each person wants to connect with the cause. Responsive fundraising is fueled by these signals and equips you to deepen relationships as you move each donor through a journey with your cause. The increase in generosity we’ve seen this year can be the new normal, but it does require a commitment to being massively personal and earning trust at scale. 2) Generosity begets generosity. When you are given an incredible gift, isn’t it instinctual to ask “how can I give back?” This truth has to be top of mind for nonprofit. You have to think about how you deliver value to your donors before ever making an ask. Think deeply and carefully about what your donors want. What makes their heart beat faster? What do they get excited about? What are they passionate about? Deliver value around those things. How do you love on your donors and deliver value with no strings attached? If you can do that well you can unlock a new level of generosity. It’s also deeply important to begin breaking down silos at your organization in order to bring your donors closer to the impact of their gift. We work with several organizations that have their program team call donors every month. They don’t ask for money; they just say “thank you.” They ask if there are any questions they can answer. And then they tell stories about the great work the organization is doing. This makes generosity cultural across the whole organization. COVID has afforded us an opportunity to dismantle silos across organization lines. As a result, many organizations are beginning to shorten the distance between their donors and the good that they’re doing in the world. Removing those silos brings the donor in very close. 3) Let 2021 be the year you get educated on donor advised funds and planned giving. We have a massive amount of aging wealth in this country, and many