Craftsman Technology Group

About Farm Aid

Farm Aid’s mission is to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Since 1985, more than 500 other musical artists have joined board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews to help the organization raise nearly $60M for programs that help farmers thrive, expand the reach of the Good Food Movement, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture and promote food from family farms.

How Has COVID-19 Affected Farm Aid + How Did the Organization Respond?

In addition to Farm Aid’s small staff adapting to remote work, social distancing guidelines resulted in the sudden cancellation of a major fundraising event: the PotLuck. The event was originally scheduled for the evening before the Luck Reunion, a music festival held on Willie Nelson’s ranch outside of Austin, TX every March. In-person events weren’t the only fundraising efforts affected. Farm Aid’s spring campaign messaging had planned to focus on the positive impact family farms have on soil health and how its ability to sequester carbon helps mitigate climate change. Like most organizations, Farm Aid had to quickly adapt to address a new challenge. Fundraising efforts, both online and print, needed to be reconsidered in light of the pandemic. The farmers and ranchers they serve must now confront the impact of COVID-19 on their already stressed livelihoods, and Farm Aid’s messaging needed to reflect that.

The spring campaign message was updated to better represent how the pandemic is affecting family farms and the support Farm Aid is giving to essential workers like farmers, ranchers and farmworkers. Additionally, the campaign put an emphasis on the effect COVID-19 has on donors as “eaters” and the critical role farmers play in their communities. Framed through informative and supportive messaging, Farm Aid continues to do what they do best: bring people together, even while physically apart. One initiative was to create a Spotify playlist with inspiring songs from artists who have performed at the Farm Aid festival over the years that lift moods during this challenging time. The “Keep Your Spirits High” playlist shared some positive “quarantunes” to help bring their constituency together.

The major shift in event strategy began with the PotLuck, which transitioned from an in-person event to an online concert. Farm Aid’s partners at Luck hosted a live-stream fundraiser with virtual performances by artists from their own homes. The success of that event informed the changes made to Farm Aid’s spring campaign. The team used what they learned to adjust tactics, pivoting to the pandemic’s effects on our essential food producers and workers.

To raise funds for and awareness of the impact of COVID-19 on family farmers and ranchers, Farm Aid rallied the artists on its board to produce an 80-minute fundraising concert, At Home with Farm Aid. On April 11, the artists provided live performances from their homes for a show broadcast on AXS TV and streamed online. By providing online and text fundraising options, Farm Aid was able to raise more than half a million dollars from donors – many of whom were new – in all 50 states and 15 countries in about 24 hours.

What Role Did Technology Play?

Proactively investing in technology made it possible for Farm Aid to reach donors and respond to the needs of farmers and eaters across the country. Farm Aid worked with its Salesforce partner, Craftsman Technology Group, to integrate systems, streamline processes and access better and more reliable data in order to have all of their information in one place as the team went remote.

For fundraising, that made it easier to quickly pull reports that targeted supporters, enabled a more flexible welcome process to onboard new donors, and will allow them to understand the impacts of these unique fundraising efforts. On the farmer support side, that meant creating and publishing resources to support family farmers as well as eaters across the country.

Farm Aid recently implemented Community Cloud and configured Farmer Services cases in their Salesforce environment. This allowed the organization to move away from a tedious legacy file system that did not integrate with their CRM. The implementation went live as COVID-19 spread and puts Farm Aid in a position to better disseminate information at a time when it is needed most.

Lessons Learned + Future Plans

“We simply could not have achieved these things without the broadcast and technology partners and platforms that support us.” Steve Snyder, Development and Brand Director, Farm Aid

Farm Aid is very fortunate to have well-known, committed board artists with loyal and diverse fan bases as well as generous donors, volunteers, activists and partners who care about family farmers. The organization tries to reinforce just how much they value each and every gift in any amount from both new and longtime supporters. The team relies on data to identify and evaluate who donors are, their interest in Farm Aid’s work and their giving history. This information helps the fundraising team do a better job of appealing to folks in meaningful ways, but Farm Aid explained that they also strive to communicate appreciation for the value of each and every dollar raised. Their strategy is not just to build upon and expand their donor base, but to recognize and share the impact of donor support to those the organization serves. And, how these family farmers serve their communities in return, as providers of food, climate change solutions and as important pillars of local economies.

In terms of future plans, Farm Aid recognizes that they will need to continue to learn and adapt. For example, Farm Aid intends to participate in #GivingTuesdayNow, but the organization will focus its efforts on illustrating the number of ways people can support family farmers by donating, making a recurring gift, or leveraging peer-to-peer fundraising. The team has even created an online resource for those who want to find family farm food during COVID-19. Farm Aid is also preparing contingency plans, especially as they relate to in-person events during a time of social distancing – at least for the foreseeable future. They will continue to work on creating meaningful and authentic experiences for people to engage with each other, whether those be online or in-person.

Advice For Other Organizations?

Farm Aid’s advice is to prepare by having the right technologies – and partners – in place. Use data to help inform who you deliver your message to and how to make it more meaningful and accessible. Then, leverage the value and power of these assets to develop, assess, and adapt strategies in support of your mission through distinctive and authentic opportunities for engagement.