Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
Click it!
There’s a whole bucket full of interesting, practical and inspiring stuff in this week’s Click-It (and I don’t mean an ice bucket)! I’ve got stuff about what you must do to compete in a digital marketplace… articles about integrating fundraising and marketing (which I’m passionate about)… stuff about types of skills to look for in today’s communications staff and some ideas as to which marketing channels give you the biggest bank for your buck. And speaking of bang for the buck, there’s info on how to research donor prospects. Plus I’ve got a thought-provoking cartoon for you at the end. And, as always, some great learning opportunities (scroll to the bottom) you won’t want to miss!
Ice Bucket Aftermath
Click-It: Trading Walkathons For Ice Buckets, Charities Try To Hold On To Donors. With increasing competition for donor dollars, you need to fathom how to stand out. In the wake of last year’s Ice Bucket Challenge, charities are adding gimmicky elements to their walkathons, online campaigns and such (e.g., shaving heads for childhood cancer research or cracking eggs over heads in memory of a friend who had diabetes). If you’re thinking about doing a fundraising/p.r. event next year, this article by Pam Fessler on the NPR blog suggests ways assure a robust net benefit for today while holding on to your donors for tomorrow.
Integrated Marketing/Fundraising
Click-It: 4 Steps to a Powerful Marketing-Fundraising Partnership—Better Together comes from Nancy Schwartz and is a ‘must read’ as far as I’m concerned. Increasingly in our digital, highly networked age, marketing is fundraising and fundraising is marketing. If you’ve got two separate departments siloed from one another you’re already behind the game. Read about how to close the divide here.
Click-It: Marketing is Killing Fundraising. Seriously??? By Kivi LeRoux Miller offers another perspective on the marketing/fundraising divide. The conversations she suggests are the ones you should be having in your organization. And if you’re curious how development directors, marketing directors and executive directors view fundraising and marketing priorities differently, check out the 2015 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report.
Staffing for Marketing
Click-It: 10 Must-Have Skills for Nonprofit New Media Managers. This is a good recap from Nonprofit Tech for Good of the skills to look for when hiring marketing communications staff in the digitally revolutionized environment. It reminds us that some of the “old school” skills like good writing, multi-tasking and flexibility remain important, while increasingly you need folks with skills in photo and video editing, HTML and online community building.
Communication Channels
Click-it: Email Marketing vs. Social Media. Natasha Smith of Direct Marketing News interviews a number of analysts to help you determine which channels give you the biggest bang for your marketing bucks. As one analyst notes: “At the end of the day, it has to be about driving business outcome. If you’re not driving a business outcome, then why bother?” Take a look to consider whether your choices make sense.
Prospect Research
Click-It: Improve Your Nonprofit’s Fundraising with Prospect Research. Want to find major donors faster? Get great advice from guest post author Bill Tedesco on the Fundraising Coach blog. He also lays out different prospect research options so you can decide what makes the most sense for your nonprofit.
Change
Click-It: Welcome to the Human Condition. This cartoon and commentary from Hugh MacLeod of Gaping Void is spot-on. Just had to share! What can you do to make sure that as you put new projects on your plate, you allow some of the old ones to drop off? It’s unnatural to let go – so you’ve got to work at it. The first step is to recognize and embrace this fact. Then you can move on to do something about it.
LEARNING OPPORTUNITY REMINDERS
Save your space now for 50 Ways to Move Your Donors
Wondering how to determine when it’s the right time to ask for a major gift? Join me and The Foundation Center May 19th for a special Major Gifts Master Class: 50 Ways to ‘Move’ Your Donor: Stewardship Solutions to Get to Yes with Finesse. You’ll leave with a step-by-step cultivation plan; plus you’ll learn a novel, tried-and-true way to choreograph and measure your moves so you know exactly when you’re ready to ask.
Looking to rev up your nonprofit career? I’ll be speaking at the Virtual Fundraising Career Conference April 13th-15th. There are a variety of amazing topics and awesome speakers – all for one ridiculously low fee.
Want to keep more donors? I’ll be speaking in person at the AFP Silicon Valley luncheon meeting April 21st on why “A Donor is a Terrible Thing to Lose.” If you’re in the area, come by to learn how to improve your bottom line by recalibrating your strategies to concentrate more efforts on donor retention.
Not nearby? Check out my Donor Retention and Gratitude Playbook.
Photo: Flickr, Isaac Torronterra
