Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
- Click it!
I’ve a really eclectic mix of links this week, ranging from marketing to fundraising to management – and then some! Plus you’ll find some free resources and your last chance opportunity to improve your year-end fundraising (scroll to the bottom). Can you believe this will be the last “Click-it” in August? How’d it get to be September so soon? You know what that means – year-end fundraising is right around the corner! Stay tuned to my blog as I’ll be offering lots of tips to help you out. Meanwhile… enjoy the rest of the season.
Social Media + Content
Click-it: 4 Key Content Tips To Maximize Social Media Results. Heidi Cohen is a social media rock star, and this post is just one example of why. She notes that social media runs on content; then offers data from the 2015 Social Media Marketing Industry Report in which Social Media Examiner broke social media content into 4 categories. The pros then determined which types work best for both B2B and B2C initiatives. Hint: You should be using more images. And more videos.
Cause-Related Marketing
Click-it: White Castle’s In-Store Fundraising Spikes 48% – What’s on the Menu? Thanks to Joe Waters of Selfish Giving for sharing this piece about how White Castle’s fundraiser for Autism Speaks raised $909,000 – a 48% increase over the previous year. If you’re having trouble coming up with benefits to pitch to potential corporate donors, you can find some great ideas here.
Events
Click-It: Which Fundraising Event is Right for your Organization comes from the folks at Maximillion Events in the U.K. It’s interesting to take a look at the cost/benefit of different types of events. Yes, they’re an expensive way to raise money. But don’t forget that events have other goals beyond fundraising and can be a great way to make new friends, cultivate prospective supporters and steward ongoing donors. Here’s a little peek at just a part of the full infographic.
Business Cards
Click-It: Sample from the SOFII files. If you don’t know about SOFII you’re really missing out. SOFII offers a huge collection of how to do everything fundraising. You’ll never be stuck for ideas again if you bookmark this site. Here they share a very clever business card from Operation Homefront that states the organization’s mission, gives a little background and tells where the money goes. An “elevator speech” in your pocket.
Coaching
Click-It: 4 Reasons Managers Should Spend More Time on Coaching. We’ve all heard about how difficult it is to retain good nonprofit staff. And it’s not, generally, because the workers are flaky. If you’re a manager, read this. It’s from the Harvard Business Review. If you’re not a manager, but wish your boss did more coaching, print this out and leave a copy (anonymously) in your boss’s in-box. As the article states: “time isn’t a problem if you think coaching is a “must have” rather than a “nice to have.” [If your boss still insists they’re too stressed out to help you, ask if you can hire me to help].
FREE RESOURCES
Marketing
Click-it: Branding is for Cows. Belonging is for People. This comes from C.J. Casciotta at SoundsLikeaMovement. “When you’re in the business of helping others design their identity, you access something deeper and more permanent than their desire to just keep up, you access their desire to matter.” Sounds pretty relevant for fundraisers, doesn’t it? After all, that’s exactly what good fundraisers do. Help donors find meaning through their philanthropy. You can also listen to a podcast and find tons of other interesting content/food for thought on this website. I’ve got it bookmarked!
Fundraising
Click-It: Activity Status Updates for Your Fundraising Success. Lori Jacobwith is offering a free downloadable template to use when managing the details of an annual campaign with multiple moving parts. She calls it a “Fundraising Success Matrix” and notes it’s a great way to keep team members focused and on track. Check it out!
LAST DAY to Register for Our Year-End Appeals E-Course.
- Learn From 2 Experts for the Price of One! LAST DAY to register.
Quick reminder: Today is the last day to sign up for Your Ultimate Guide to Successful Year-End Appeals.
Ready to make your year-end appeal the best one you’ve ever done? Register NOW!
During the next 5 weeks of this online course we’ll cover:
- Envelopes that Scream Open Me!
- How Email is Different
- Breaking Down a Stunning Appeal Package, piece by piece
- Increasing Your Appeal’s Impact 10 fold
- Chasing Worries Away with a Donor Survey
- Boosting Results with Social Media and Email
and much more…! See the entire class syllabus here. You get workbooks, webinars, checklists, sample letters and tons of BONUSES.
Questions? Feel free to contact me and just ask.
Photo: Flickr, Isaac Torronterra
