Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
Boo! Click-it!
Here are a bunch of October goodies for you. Treats to get you thinking about the role of philanthropy in society… habits of the most effective fundraisers… what it takes to grow loyal supporters… how to assure your website visitors don’t run from you screaming in horror… and much more. And these treats won’t even give you cavities! Don’t miss the special offers at the bottom of the post.
Food for Thought
Click-It: 5 Reasons Pink Needs to Fade to Black. My colleague Joe Waters offers this thought-provoking piece on Huffington Post about when enough is enough, and when it may be time for society as a whole to embrace those causes most in need of being addressed. Are businesses paying lip service to helping repair the world – just jumping on existing bandwagons they think will make them look good – or are they thoughtfully sponsoring philanthropies working on our most urgent problems? What do you think?
Amazingly, right after I published this I learned what Mark Zuckerberg thinks. And also Paul Allen. I wonder if they reads Joe’s posts?
Fundraising Habits
Click-It: 18 habits every fundraiser should have by their first 6 months on the job. This terrific list comes from my pal Mazarine Treyz at WildWomanFundraising. I, of course, am partial to #2. And then #19 is pretty cool too. Did I say #19 out of 18? Yup. Haven’t lost my mind. What’s your favorite?
Donor Retention
Click-It:. 7 ways to Create Highly Committed Donors. This is a great post from Gail Perry of FiredUpFundraising reminding us it’s easy to overlook things that are pretty basic. Don’t lose sight of the forest for the trees folks. Use this as a checklist to assure you’re not getting sidetracked from that donor-centered perspective you’re trying to embrace.
Click-It: Your Job is NOT to Raise Funds. I was lucky enough to work with an executive director who introduced me to folks as “director of donor experiences” (rather than “development director”) so I totally agree with this perspective from Greg Warner of smartideas. I too encourage fundraisers who want to build lasting relationships with supporters to think of themselves as engagement journey guides.
Optimizing Landing Pages
Click-It: Six Ways to Uncover What’s Confusing Your Website Visitors and Dragging Conversions Down. Thanks to Morgan Brown on Marketing Profs for this excellent article describing why more folks who visit your website don’t become customers or donors. Did you know most organizations have more than one key “landing page” where folks who “google” you wind up? You need to spend time on these pages to make them user-friendly; not just your “Home Page.” When your page frustrates people, you won’t get your hoped-for results. Read this to learn some ways to clear up your would-be donors’ confusion.
OCTOBER GOODIES GALORE!
Don’t you love October? Championship baseball (Go GIANTS!). Costumes. Candy. Indian summer. Oh, yeah… Check out some special October treats here:
- The #HalloweenGoodiesGiveaway: Get free gifts from me and fundraising experts Joe Waters, Mazarine Treyz, Joe Garecht, Gail Perry, Vanessa Chase and Amy Eisenstein.
- The super-discounted 4-session “Hour of Power” COACHING PACKAGES. I only have a few slots left. Buy before Halloween (or while supply lasts); then use your hours whenever. There’s a lot we can accomplish in 4 hours. CLICK HERE to sign-up for the Package of Power and schedule your first session.
Image courtesy of Freedigitalphotos.net
