So many businesses and organizations are struggling right now due to this pandemic, and unfortunately that includes fundraising in the nonprofit world. Here at Soldiers’ Angels, we are not immune to the setbacks as we have had to make multiple pivots to support service members, veterans, and military families. These pivots have meant a higher demand for food items and physical supplies despite a decrease in donations. It’s not a secret that fundraising during a pandemic has been difficult. The good news is, we’re going to be ok. 

Soldiers’ Angels prides itself on being fiscally responsible while also being transparent. While we have changed the way we do fundraising right now, we’re looking months down the road rather than days. 

How our fundraising has changed during the pandemic

The COVID-19 crisis has changed people’s perspective on why and how they donate, making fundraising during this pandemic difficult. Some no longer have the means to donate but have volunteer hours to give. Some may not be focused on our work and are instead focused on another organization’s COVID relief efforts. 

Here are some things we are doing right now.

• Scheduling virtual donor meetings instead of in-person meetings due to travel and safety restrictions. 
• Partnering with new organizations that can donate supplies vs. money to support the needs of our military.
• Running campaigns on social media to help fundraise for immediate needs while we work on long term needs. 

Our Program Schedule

Despite the uncertainty of it all, we are proceeding with our holiday programs and will look to expand some of them based on the needs we are seeing and the fact that other non-profit agencies may not be sponsoring any holiday programs. As you know, we already shifted some programs to support COVID-related needs: we started a COVID Virtual Support program to be able to expand support to units helping with COVID relief; we expanded our Food Distribution to serve more veterans and, in select markets, to include food delivery; we started a Cards of Support Campaign; we collected hand sanitizer; we have provided meals, masks, hand sanitizer, and more to VA Healthcare workers on the frontlines of the pandemic; and more. These are just some of the ways our program schedule has shifted. While this year’s holiday programs (Treats for Troops, Holiday Stockings for Heroes, and Adopt-A-Family) may have some constraints to ensure the safety of everyone involved, they will still move forward. Veterans, service members, and military families need this kind of support now more than ever. 

How you can help

We ARE a COVID support organization as our military and veteran communities are deeply affected by this pandemic. Service members are on the ground across the country providing COVID related support in multiple capacities, an increased amount of veterans and military families are at risk of going without food and are at high risk of contracting Coronavirus, and VA Hospital workers are without the support of our volunteers and in need of masks to stay safe. If you would like to support efforts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, please consider supporting Soldiers’ Angels in the following ways:

• Virtual volunteering
• Making a donation through our Facebook Page or through our website
• Partnering with us as a Community Partner to donate supplies for our various support programs 

We enter into each week with our eyes wide open as we seek to provide support to the military community. Stay tuned for more updates!

---