Philanthropy – Love of Humankind – Needed Now More Than Ever

As Paris mourns, sister city San Francisco lights up City Hall in solidarity

The world can seem a cruel place. Never more so than when horrific, senseless events unfold and innocent people are killed, maimed and scarred. Philanthropy, love and compassion can seem elusive.

Yet it’s right here. In each of us. To choose, or to not choose. To pay attention to, or to ignore.

Today, and all this week, we celebrate the United Nation’s International Day for Tolerance. While it may seem we haven’t much to celebrate right now, the reverse is true.

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Clairity Click-it-Year-End Fundraising: Lapsed; Online; Copy; Peer-to-Peer; Website; Landing Page; Saying Thanks

This week’s Click-it is dedicated to your year-end success!

December is the biggest fundraising opportunity of the year. What you do between now and December 31st will impact what you’re able to accomplish through the rest of the year.

  • Close to a full third of giving happens in just this one month.
  • 12% of all giving happens on December 31st (don’t go on vacation that day)!
  • 30% of all online donations are made in December.
  • 10% of all online giving happens in the last three days of the year
  • Average gift size is larger in December than any other month.

It’s now or never.

Please. Seize your opportunity!

But do it right.

It’s no longer just about direct mail or an email or two.

You’ve got to think about your website, thank you pages, social media and peer-to-peer fundraising – just to name a few. Old school is good, and there are some tips in the articles that follow to help you. But they’re no longer enough.

You must use online techniques to leverage offline techniques.

Think of social media and your website home page as advertising for your appeal. So that when folks finally receive your request for a gift, they do so with eyes and ears wide-open. Because they’ve been primed.

Ready? Let’s get started!

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7 More Weeks – Are You Ready for Year-End Fundraising?

7_More_Weeks-Ready_for_Year-End_FundraisingThis is the giving season! Between now and December 31st, statistically, are the “make or break” weeks for your annual fundraising. It doesn’t matter what fiscal year you’re on. Donors operate on a calendar year.

So I’m offering up 5 tips to help you out.

Because people do most of their giving between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve — and I don’t want you to miss out

It’s a time when people feel grateful for friends, family and other blessings, and are inclined to be generous towards others. They want to share their blessings.

Your job is to tap into these feelings of generosity when they’re most at the surface. To strike while the iron is hot.

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Clairity Click-It: Nonprofit Productivity and Self Care

Catch this special edition devoted to making you and your organization more productive, effective and serene.

This week’s Click-it is dedicated to productivity. Yours.

Sometimes I like to find useful information that has nothing to do with nonprofit work, per se, but which has to do with being a human being working to be efficient and effective in our fast-paced world — all while balancing work and personal life. So I’ve collected a bunch of resources to help you work smarter, faster and better while also becoming less stressed, more relaxed, more focused and much more happy. Sounds like a good deal, right?

I know you think you have to run yourself into the ground to take care of the folks who rely on you for help. There’s so much to do and it’s all so important!

But to take care of the world you must take care of yourself first.

Why not send this entire post to everyone on your team; then ask them to come back to your next staff meeting with ONE thing they’re going to do differently as an individual and one OTHER thing they’d like to suggest doing differently as a team?

It could be fun – and a nice break from business as usual.

Ready? Let’s get started!

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Major Gifts Tricks and Treats – October Halloween Nonprofit Blog Carnival

 

If either your askers or your givers leave the room looking like this, you’re doing something wrong!

FEAR not! The Halloween Nonprofit Blog Carnival is back, offering TRICKS AND TREATS galore — from nonprofit experts all around the web –to help you find, cultivate, solicit and steward your major donors.

When you trick and treat, you always like to go to the houses that give out the most CANDY, natch?  Well… let’s find the donors giving out the most GOODIES so your mission is assured of success.

You’ve got to be prepared! No just showing up without a COSTUME or a thoughtful plan of attack that takes you through the “good” neighborhoods. Sure, you’ll get some lollipops and chewing gum. But I know that’s not what you really want.

Go for what you need.  Go for what will make your time spent on this effort feel worth your while.  We’ve got a WITCHES’ COVEN full of experts telling you exactly what to do!

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It’s Not All about Major Gifts: 10 Ways to Succeed with Small Gift Fundraising

Small giftsNot long ago I went to research something online and ended up viewing the first entry Google gave me – which was on Wikipedia. To my delight, I ran into an awesome fundraising campaign (this is an occupational hazard with fundraisers – we actually like and admire things like pledge breaks when they’re done well)!

Here’s what I found superimposed at the top of the screen:

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Clairity Click-it: Powerful Ways to Increase Fundraising Revenue

Don't go batty! Click-it to find the resources you need to stay grounded.
Don’t go batty! “Click-it!” to find the resources you need to stay grounded.

This week’s Click-it is dedicated to helping you increase your fundraising revenue through a number of different strategies: monthly giving, sponsorships, targeted campaigns (e.g., #GivingTuesday), targeted communications, cause marketing, crowdfunding, cultivating mid-level donors, and more. These strategies will both help elevate awareness for your cause and increase your base of supporters.

And towards the end of the “Click-it,” as usual, you’ll find a bunch of completely free resources!

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Quick Guide to Get Your Nonprofit “Crowd On”

quick_guide_to_get_your_nonprofit_crowd_onI’ve been thinking a lot about crowdfunding lately.

Bzz… bzz… buzz… buzz… Do you hear it?

It’s the sound of the times. It’s the bees flying around crowdfunding campaigns like honey. Sweet, golden honey.

Are you getting yours?

With the mainstream shift into digital communication, and the advance of technology through online donation and peer-to-peer fundraising platforms, crowdfunding is something I believe you should seriously consider if you’re not already getting your “crowd” on.

Especially if you have…

  • A big campaign going on.
  • Or a specific project that lends itself well to the telling of a compelling story.
  • Or you need to raise a lot of funds in a relatively short time period.
  • Or there’s a strong tie to some big event – anniversary; holiday; news story.
  • Or your current constituents are more inclined towards being ambassadors than asking or giving.
  • Or you’re having a hard time breaking out of the “box” of folks you think might be interested in your cause, and are looking to build your audience in new ways.

So I’ve put together a few resources, and some of my own thoughts, to help you think things through.

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