Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
- Click it!
I’ve got some really cool links for this first week of September. I try to find stuff I think you may not be seeing through your regular channels because it’s fun to get new perspectives. I especially love to find folks who come from other disciplines and see how nonprofits might apply some of their thoughts — art and science — to fundraising, marketing, management and leadership. Plus you’ll find some free resources and a new learning opportunity (scroll to the bottom). Let’s begin…
Databases
Click-it: Fundraising and Donor Management Software BuyerView | 2015. If you’re in the market for new donor management software, this report from Software Advice may help you develop your RFP. It includes information about what features many nonprofits are looking for today, so you can get a sense of the trends in usage. Here’s one of the graphs featured in the report:
Courtesy of Software Advice
Content
Click-It: How to Make Visual Content that Doesn’t Suck. I just happened on this article by digital media consultant Dustin Stout and thought you might find it useful. More and more, visual is becoming a trend. And it’s partly due to the fact that research shows that people process visual imagery 60,000x faster than text. They share it faster. And they act on it faster. It elicits an emotional response. So it’s worth taking some time to think about how you can do more of it, and do it better.
Content Writing
Click-It: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Irresistible Subheads. This one’s a lot of fun if you enjoy writing. And super useful if you want people to read what you write! Thanks to Gary Korisko of Boost Blog Traffic.
Click-it: Sometimes it’s OK to Break the Rules. A great reminder from the folks at acrolinx that content marketing writing is different. You’re not trying to impress your 9th-grade English teacher. You are trying to impress however, so don’t break all the rules. Read this for 5 rules you can definitely ignore.
Leadership
Click-It: What to Do When Fear Leads to Fundraising Failure. Guidestar asked me to guest post last month, so I thought I’d share. This is about what happens when leaders begin to lead from fear. Fear of not meeting goals. Fear of having to cut programs. Fear of having to lay off staff. Fear of failure. It’s a downward spiral, and no fun for anyone. This article suggests another way. If you read it, please let me know your thoughts.
FREE RESOURCES
Marketing
Click-it: 52 Week Editorial Calendar Worksheet. Stan Smith of Pushing Social is offering this free download to help you keep your content marketing organized. I happen to think Stan is brilliant, so get this – and check out his blog while you’re there!
Fundraising
Click-It: How to Create a Fundraising Plan. The good folks at Network for Good are offering this free, downloadable template. It walks you through the steps, formulas, and exercises you need to create a proper roadmap that will help you hit (or exceed!) your fundraising goals.
The Most Important Time of the Year is Coming!
- Year-end fundraising is a terrible thing to waste. Join me and the Foundation Center to assure you don’t miss a trick! your year-end fundraising
Many nonprofits will raise 25% to 40% of their total annual campaign goal from mid-November to December 31st. To make sure you don’t miss opportunities that can make a big difference in your results, I’ll be doing two very special webinars with the Foundation Center this month. Each is 90 minutes in length, so we’ll cover a lot of ground, go into detail and have ample time for Q & A. If you learn best through participatory learning experiences, these are for you!
Anatomy of a Successful Fundraising Appeal Letter
Thursday, September 10, 2015 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm ET
Get more details and register here.
Your Year-End Fundraising Checklist
Thursday, September 17, 2015 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm ET
Get more details and register here.
I hope you’ll join us for one or both.
Photo: Flickr, Isaac Torronterra
