Clairity Click-it: Social Content Marketing for Fundraising; Giving Psychology; Donor Metrics; Boards

What did one mouse say to the other mouse? Click-it!

To all my friends in the U.S., Happy Independence Day and I hope you get to enjoy a long, lovely refreshing week-end. To everyone else, why not pretend it’s a holiday and do something just for you?!. Because it’s summer, I’m giving you a light reading load this week. If you get a chance, let me know if any of these articles resonate with you. Have a good one!

P.S. Registration for the Donor Retention Master Class closes Monday at noon. If you meant to register, now is your last chance (you can read more about it below).

Social Content Marketing for Fundraising

Click-It: Social Content Marketing is Your New Fundraising Rocket Booster. This is a post I wrote for Maximize Social Business. I’m over there every month, waxing as eloquently as I can about how nonprofits can effectively use social media to develop prospect leads, build donor relationships and drive supporter engagement. I thought I’d share this one with you because, well… the 4^th of July is upon us, and it’s about rockets boosting in air, and… well, gee, I’d love to see you stay in business in 2015 – and beyond! Just take a gander. Then tell me what you think.

Giving Psychology

Click-It: Donors Give More When They Have a Sense of Belonging. I just happened on this article from the New York Times last year. It describes an experiment where a “control group” of donors were told they could contribute to the university as a whole; while an “experimental group” were given the option to earmark their gift for a specific academic college. The researchers found that while there was little difference in the probability that the individuals in the two groups would make a donation, the people in the experimental group gave much larger amounts. That was true even for those who ultimately decided to donate to the general fund. Just being given the choice of active involvement, and then not taking it, increased the donation. These group members felt a sense of ownership of their group. If nonprofits can do more to foster this sense of belonging, levels of giving might increase.

Donor Metrics

Click-It: 5 Metrics Every Development Director Should Know. Eric Ries of the Classy Blog explains how to know what’s going on with the cost/benefit of your donor acquisition and retention equation. If you don’t know these things – like donor acquisition cost, donor churn and donor lifetime value, it’s hard to improve. What metrics do you use?

Boards

Click-it: Weekly Idea – Winner and Undisputed Champion. An oldie but goodie from the inimitable Jerold Panas. If you’ve never read his wisdom, it’s not too late to start. If you click this link, it will also take you to a link to download your free copy of “Advice, Wisdom, and Ideas on What it Takes to be a Remarkably Effective Board Member.” I promise you, it’s a very worthwhile read.

Registration for this one-time event ends July 6th. Average donor retention is terrible. Become above average!

Get Your Donors to Stay, Upgrade, and Give Year after Year: The Donor Retention Master Class.

Learn to build a 6-step Donor Retention Action Plan to:

• Keep more donors each year
• Get current donors to give more to your non-profit each year   
• Get your donors to refer you to their friends, colleagues, and neighbors 

Join me and my co-presenter, Joe Garecht of the Fundraising Authority, for a special, one-time-only event on July 8^th. You’ll get a 90-minute live and recorded webinar, 2 Pre-Course Guidebooks and 6 Step-by-Step Strategy Worksheets to help you become a stewardship rock star. You only have until Monday at noon to register – don’t miss out!