VOICE: Investing in Fundraising as a Tool

Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement (VOICE) is a nonpartisan coalition of over 50 faith communities and civic organizations in Northern Virginia working together to build power in middle and low-income communities. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, VOICE found themselves challenged to grow their donor base due to the restrictions on in-person activity. For 13 years, they had organized person-to-person, relying on meeting face-to-face to motivate while communicating respect and acknowledgment for people of different income levels and backgrounds. 

At the same time, residents of Northern Virginia were facing a housing crisis, with many on the verge of eviction due to job loss due to COVID-19, an issue deeply tied to race. Recognizing the need to act, VOICE used their grant from Progressive Multiplier to build three regional fundraising bodies, expanding their reach. They invested in high-quality individual donor fundraising training, coaching from an expert consultant, and county-specific online and paper fundraising materials. 

“Our experience has been that you can maintain existing relationships, but it’s hard to expand over Zoom,” said James Pearlstein, Senior Organizer, VOICE. “What worked was that those relationships intersected with the worst public health crisis to hit the country in 100 years. It was new to everybody, which made a difference in how people felt called to dig deeper.”

VOICE turned the $18,000 grant from Progressive Multiplier into $108,000 — a 6:1 return that has expanded their options for fundraising and growing the movement in the future. 

Founded in 2008, VOICE is a nonpartisan coalition of over 50 faith communities and civic organizations in Northern Virginia working together to build power in middle and low-income communities. They organize in Prince William, Fairfax, and Arlington counties as well as the City of Alexandria, uniting people across lines of race, class, religion, political party, and geography to take action on key issues in the community.