Fixing a Wobbly World: What You Can Do to Restore Balance

Here’s something I learned from a remarkable Sunday school teacher [who demonstrated by attempting to balance a pencil on one finger].

You see this pencil?  I can get it to balance here for a second or two. But then it wobbles. So I tweak it, to restore balance. If I neglect to tweak it, it falls. It may break. That’s life. An inevitable struggle to restore balance and affirm life. That’s the human condition. And our responsibility is to work ceaselessly to restore this balance and repair our world – which is ever in danger of breaking.

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7 CommentsCulture & Values
Sep282016

Nonprofit Blog Carnival Call for Submissions: Tricks or Treats – How To Get and Sustain Major Gifts

I’m majorly S C R E A M I N G with delight to be hosting this month’s Nonprofit Blog Carnival!

So majorly, in fact, that the subject this month is TRICKS or TREATS – How To Get and Sustain Major Gifts?

Tell us your tricks – the ones that work!

  • Do you HAUNT prospects through a series of managed ‘moves’?
  • Do you fly in on a BROOMSTICK and just drop in spontaneously?
  • How do you put them under your SPELL?

Tell us some treats – ways you wow your donors!

  • Smile like a JACK-O-LANTERN every time you think of them; then figure out a way to let them know?
  • Give them lots of virtual CANDY (seriously, do you use social media for any part of your major gifts strategy)?
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Leave a commentMajor & Legacy Gifts
Sep262016

5 Winning "Today" Strategies to Raise Money Smarter

If you could only do five things between now and the end of the year to make a noticeable difference in your nonprofit’s fundraising results, what would you do?

I’ve been writing recently about five subject areas – key priorities for success this year, and beyond.  Today I’d like to offer one BIG “to do” in each area to help you hone in on some actionable steps that will move the needle and have a transformative impact on your results.

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1 CommentAnnual Giving
Sep152016

Clairity Click-it: Fall Extravaganza of Free Nonprofit Resources

It’s mid-September and we’re well on the way towards the year-end rush of “giving season!” Now it’s time to get serious about end-of-calendar-year fundraising.  It’s when folks are most generous, and you don’t want to miss out.  So while I’ll continue to offer links to articles and resources aligned with my top “Dive the Five” fundraising fundamentals for 2016, and beyond, I’ll also include some practical, basic stuff that falls a bit outside these categories.

It’s all good stuff and, as usual, plenty of free resources too. I count seven freebies, and 17 great articles! I dare you not to find something you can use right now.

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Leave a commentClairity Click-it
Sep122016
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How to Use Psychology to Pre-Suade Donors to Give

 

Image of brain

What can you do now to prime the pump so your donors are pre-disposed to give to you when they receive your next appeal?

In Part 1 of this two-part series I described research from Robert Cialdini, author of the seminal Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, and his newer book, Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade, and discussed how you might apply this research to your fundraising strategies. We learned the importance of leading with a “gift” or “favor” that would incline your donor favorably in your direction.

Today we’ll look at how to cement the likelihood your favor is returned, as well as explore some types of favors that are likely to be perceived as valuable.

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1 CommentAnnual Giving
Sep52016

A Revolutionary Way to Influence Year-End Philanthropy

You asked a bunch of folks to give a year ago. Some did. You thanked them. Once. Maybe twice. Now you want to ask them to give again this year.

What’s wrong with this picture?

Too often nonprofits ask once; then assume folks who’ve made the decision to give will continue to do so. This is similar to retailers thinking that once someone has bought from them they’ll automatically do so again. Not true in either case.

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4 CommentsAnnual Giving
Aug312016

Clairity Click-it Long Week-End: Bounty of Free Nonprofit Resources

Welcome back from summer – at least for my North of the Equator friends.  I hope you had the opportunity to read through some of the resources I offered up in my Summer Click-it Extravaganza.  If not, there’s still time over this long week-end.

Now it’s time to get serious about end-of-calendar-year fundraising.  It’s when folks are most generous, and you don’t want to miss out.  So while I’ve continued to offer links to articles and resources aligned with my top “Dive the Five” fundraising fundamentals for 2016, and beyond, I’ve also included practical, basic stuff that falls a bit outside these categories.  It’s all good stuff and, as usual, plenty of free resources too.

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2 CommentsClairity Click-it