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It is challenging for a non-profit to survive the tough economic times, just like any business organization. It is a time when the regular donors begin to back out, and new donors are difficult to find. However, the key is to maintain focus on the goals, and sail through the recession by sticking to the basics.

Here are some of the things that successful nonprofits are doing to sail through the tough times:

Persisting with fund-raising efforts
Pulling back from fund-raising efforts is not the answer to the recession. Just as smart business organizations continue to make marketing efforts in difficult times, smart nonprofits also keep up their efforts at fund-raising. Rather, it is the time to step up the efforts with even more vigor, without getting disheartened about the poor results.

Communicating with your core donors
You need to inform your donors about your financial challenges during the recessionary phase. Unless they know that your nonprofit has been affected adversely, they will not have a reason to help you out of turn. The size of their donations may reduce, but your communication will inspire them to provide you with critical support nevertheless.

Maintaining contact with ex-donors
A past donor is still a potential donor for the future. The donor may have stopped giving due to financial constraints, and not because any disloyalty towards your nonprofit. Therefore, it is crucial to maintain regular touch with your ex-donors. A great way to do this is through regular email marketing. It is easier to gain the support of someone who has already supported you in the past, rather than making efforts on a completely new entity.

Identifying corporate houses that are successful in a recession
There are exceptional business organizations and industries that do well in a recession. It is never a 100% gloom and doom condition. Experienced nonprofits do not simply retreat and close their eyes in a recession. They will identify potential businesses that are thriving in difficult conditions because of the nature of their business. Smart nonprofits will re-orient their focus towards such potential donors.

Choosing less costly and less risky fund-raising options
In tough economic times, the financially astute nonprofits will scale back their fund-raising options, and focus more on low-cost, low-risk methods of fund-raising. Instead of holding a highly expensive and fancy fundraiser event, for instance, the nonprofit will opt for more low key programs during a recession.

Cutting down overhead
A good non-profit follows the same principle of reducing overheads to survive through a recession. Judicious choices must be made to cut down avoidable expenses, while retaining the essential costs that important for day-to-day running. Superior cost efficient methods and systems must be introduced to sail through the difficult times with smart management of resources.