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The recent conflation of Inauguration Day and the Martin Luther King Day holiday in the U.S. has me thinking about freedom. And also the push/pull between freedom and responsibility. Freedom without responsibility (i.e., being held responsible for your actions) doesn’t work well for anyone but one person. Responsibility without freedom is stressful. To work well, they need to play well together. Neither freedom nor responsibility are given; they’re taken.

What will you do to achieve the necessary balance to keep your organization, your community, and our world in check?

Seth Godin suggests it has a lot to do with the culture you/we build.

The freedom loop

We spend almost no time teaching toddlers about freedom. Instead, the lessons we teach (and learn) for our entire lives are about responsibility. It’s easy to teach freedom, but important to teach responsibility. Because if you get the responsibility taken care of, often the freedom will follow.

When someone points out a lack of responsibility, it can feel like an affront on freedom, when it’s actually a chance to create more freedom for the rest of the community.

You can drive as fast as you want. But you are also responsible for not running over someone in a school zone…

The speed limit is not taking away our freedom, it’s reminding us of our responsibility.

When we build a culture of people who eagerly seek out and take responsibility, we build a culture that enables a special kind of resilient freedom.

— Seth Godin

I hope you will make this the year you really work on instilling a culture of philanthropy — love of humankind. It will make all the rest of your work easier, more fulfilling and, ultimately, more fruitful. This issue of the ‘Clairity Click-it’ begins with some resources relating to current trends and headwinds, then follows with a mix of topics to help you approach the coming year thoughtfully. I encourage you to dig through this curated content from across the web and pick one or more doable strategies. Approach this with a learning mindset, vowing to find at least one thing you’ll do a bit differently.

As always, a big thank you to my sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the hours of time hunting, gathering and choosing the resources I believe will be most useful to you.

It is my sincere pleasure and honor to help you find the ideas, strategies, templates and tools you need to succeed.

Thank you for doing your vital work, and making our world a better place,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Please scroll down to see all my Clairification School sponsors who enable me to offer enrollment in ‘Clairification School at an affordable price [NOTE: If the enrollment fee is a hardship, please email me and we’ll work it out.]

Let’s begin with a prayer for our brothers and sisters, and the families and friends, of those facing the Los Angeles firestorm. May they, and all the responders, find protection, shelter, support, hope and strength to start healing and rebuilding. And may the scorched land and devastated communities similarly heal. Should you wish to help, some options are listed at the bottom of this newsletter.

Now, time for some inspiration and, perhaps, a resolution for the new year.

The reality of meliorism

“Nearly 150 years ago, George Eliot gave us a name for our project. She pointed out that we could ameliorate the problems of the human condition, day by day, year by year, toward better.

Max Roser highlighted three sentences that seem like they can’t all be true: “The world is much better. The world is awful. The world can be much better.” But of course, they are. And they continue to be.

I wish meliorism had a catchier name because the concept deserves to be more widely understood and embraced.

This is the point. This is at the heart of our work and the challenge of our days.

Toward better.”

— Seth Godin

Let’s make it THE YEAR OF MELIORISM!

I’m counting on you – each of you — to use some of the insights you glean in this week’s issue of the Clairity Click-it to be better, do better, and help others do the same.  I hope, as you dig through this hand-curated content from across the web, it will make your job easier, and more fulfilling.

I pick every resource thoughtfully (no AI used here) specifically to bring you the big ideas and useful tools you need to make our world a better place. It is my sincere pleasure and honor to help you find the ideas, strategies, templates and tools you need to succeed.

As always, a big thank you to my sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the hours of time hunting, gathering and choosing the eclectic resources I believe will best meet the needs of the diverse range of folks who comprise the critically important social benefit sector.

You’ve got this!

Thank you for doing your vital work, with gratitude,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Your support via enrollment in ‘Clairification School’ means a lot, and I am deeply appreciative. It is my honor to deliver original articles direct to your in-box every week, give you on-demand access to all my webinars and archived articles, and offer up exclusive monthly tips, bonuses and more! It’s less than $2/week [If the enrollment fee is a hardship, please email me and we’ll work it out.]

Let’s begin with this week’s bit of wisdom…

Generosity and gratitude

A gift doesn’t diminish the giver. Sharing creates connection, possibility and energy.

And the magic of gratitude is that it improves everything it touches, especially the person who offered it in the first place.

So, what holds us back?

Fear. Fear of connection, of change, of seeing what is possible. It might feel safer to focus on scarcity.

Generosity and gratitude often go together. They light a path on the way to better.

— Seth Godin

Of course, I led with that sage advice because now is the time for channeling as much gratitude as you can muster. All those year-end donations you received? If you want them to be repeated in the coming year, there’s nothing more important you can do than deliver a prompt, personal thank you focused on the impact the donor’s gift will make. Don’t make this one about you, all your accomplishments, and all the need that still exists. Simply be thankful.

This last Clairity Click-it of 2024 is filled with a mix of topics to help you begin the coming year thoughtfully. I encourage you to dig through this curated content from across the web and pick one or more doable strategies. Approach this with a learning mindset, vowing to find at least one thing you’ll do a bit differently (if not today, then tomorrow; save the idea and put it on your calendar so you’re sure to revisit it at the appropriate time).

As always, a big thank you to my sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the hours of time hunting, gathering and choosing the resources I believe will be most useful to you.

It is my sincere pleasure and honor to help you find the ideas, strategies, templates and tools you need to succeed.

Thank you for doing your vital work, and making our world a better place,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Please scroll down to see all my Clairification School sponsors who enable me to offer enrollment in ‘Clairification School at an affordable price [If the enrollment fee is a hardship, please email me and we’ll work it out. Truly, if I know it I want you to know it!]

As we enter the season of light, and you move into full-steam-ahead year-end fundraising mode, there’s something I want to remind you about your messaging.

“Oh, by the way, it’s not about you.

The biggest mistake you can make is thinking your organization is the story.  People aren’t buying your organization.  When someone asks: “What do you do?” they’re not interested in your organization so much as what your organization accomplishes.

Imagine you’re at a dinner party and someone asks “What do you do?”  Are you going to tell them your entire life story?  Every aspect, from job to education to family to hobbies? No, of course not! You’ll tell them one thing about yourself.  Why?  Because they don’t know you. They’re not yet that interested in you. First, you have to intrigue them.

The same holds true with your nonprofit.  Whenever someone asks the “What do you do?” question, whether explicitly or implicitly, your job is simply this: tell them about ONE thing you accomplish.

“If you write what you yourself sincerely think and feel and are interested in,” Rachel Carson wrote as she contemplated the loneliness of creative work after her unexampled books about the sea made her one of the most beloved writers of her time, “you will interest other people.”

– Maria Popova, The Marginalian

Now is a good time to personally re-connect with your organization’s mission. What really jazzes you about the work your efforts make possible? If you’re not excited, don’t expect others to get excited. Philanthropy is a passion business!

Okay! It’s biweekly newsletter time again, and my hope is some of the free resources I’ve collected and curated for you will help you share your passions and guide others on the pathway to passionate philanthropy. As always, a big thank you to my Clairity Click-it sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the time hunting and gathering.

Thank you for doing your vital work, and helping make our world a better place,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Your support via enrollment in ‘Clairification School’ means a lot, and I am deeply appreciative. It is my honor to deliver original articles direct to your in-box every week, give you access to all my webinars, and offer up exclusive monthly tips, bonuses and more! 

Once again, I’m sharing a bit of inspiration.

Kinds of Power

There’s the James Bond villain sort of power, based on division, dominance and destruction. This is the short-term power of bullies, trauma and mobs.

And then there’s a more resilient form of power. This is power based on connection, discussion and metrics. A power based in reality over the long term.

Divisive power tears things down. Resilient power builds things up.

Resilient power creates the conditions for the community to produce value over time. Resilient power uses optimism and fairness to create value because participants can see ways they can participate and contribute.

Fear might be for sale, but that doesn’t mean we have to buy it.

Better is possible.

— Seth Godin

What will you do in the weeks and months ahead to demonstrate your resilience and step into your power on behalf of those who need your help?

What will you do to engage others in your mission and vision?

What will you do to make the world, or your little corner of it, a better place?

Hopefully, you can use some of the insights you glean in this week’s issue of the Clairity Click-it to help you move forward. So, start digging through the curated content from across the web. I hope it will make your job easier, and more fulfilling.

As always, a big thank you to my sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the hours of time hunting, gathering and choosing the resources I believe will be most useful to you. It is my sincere pleasure and honor to help you find the ideas, strategies, templates and tools you need to succeed.

Thank you for doing your vital work, and making our world a better place.

You’ve got this!

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Your support via enrollment in ‘Clairification School’ means a lot, and I am deeply appreciative. It is my honor to deliver original articles direct to your in-box every week, give you on-demand access to all my webinars and archived articles, and offer up exclusive monthly tips, bonuses and more! It’s less than $2/week [If the enrollment fee is a hardship, please email me and we’ll work it out.]

I’m beginning again, as I often do, with a bit of borrowed insight, this time from a colleague’s email message. No matter if, or how, you voted in the recent U.S. elections, we are living in a time of profound division, rapid change and a lot of uncertainty. How will the social benefit sector respond?

“Now we’re at another critical moment as a country.

One that will again call upon our sector to do the hard work of healing our individual and collective wounds, mending the fissures in our communities, and holding us accountable to our stated values.

And to do that, it’s going to be absolutely critical that nonprofits are really, really strong – from the inside out.

Funding… skilled staff who are not on the verge of burning out… board members that support and advocate for their organization… financial acumen… clear strategic vision and planning… strong systems and infrastructure…

These non-sexy things are often treated as the sideshow to the main attraction (programs). But they aren’t the sideshow. They are the bones of a strong organization and in the coming years, they are going to make all the difference.

Investing in these non-sexy things will mean the difference between organizations that have the energy and stability to anchor and guide us… and those that burn out.

I don’t know what’s on the horizon for our country. But I do know that whatever it is will require us to get clear about what we value and how we want to move through the world individually and as a collective.”

— Brooke Richie-Babbage, Leadership Forward

Hopefully, you can use some of the insights you glean in this week’s issue of the Clairity Click-it to help you move forward. So, start digging through the curated content from across the web. I hope it will make your job easier, and more fulfilling.

As always, a big thank you to my sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the hours of time hunting, gathering and choosing the resources I believe will be most useful to you. It is my sincere pleasure and honor to help you find the ideas, strategies, templates and tools you need to succeed.

Thank you for doing your vital work, and making our world a better place.

You’ve got this!

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Your support via enrollment in ‘Clairification School’ means a lot, and I am deeply appreciative. It is my honor to deliver original articles direct to your in-box every week, give you on-demand access to all my webinars and archived articles, and offer up exclusive monthly tips, bonuses and more! It’s less than $2/week [If the enrollment fee is a hardship, please email me and we’ll work it out.]

I’m beginning again, as I often do, with a bit of borrowed insight, this time from a colleague’s newsletter:

If I had to sum up my advice for this week, it would be to don’t be scared.

There are many reasons to feel scared. I understand that and want to acknowledge that feeling. 

However, we must remember that within our DNA is something deeply coded to be helpful, kind, compassionate, and focused on collaboration and community. These aren’t learned behaviors; they are natural, like breathing when the environment allows for them. 

Much of what I’m going to ask of you in the coming weeks is to breath, to step back and ask questions, and to focus on helping those around you, especially those not afforded some of the privileges that someone likely reading a LinkedIn newsletter may have. 

We got this.

— Tim Sarrantonio, Neon One

Good advice for stressful times.

And, of course, there’s usually more than one stressor. Right?  Today, let’s just focus on your work in making the world smarter, kinder, more just, more caring, more peaceful and more joyful.

Which brings us to year-end fundraising – that crucial time of the calendar year when many nonprofits raise the lion’s share of their contributed income.

Hopefully, you can use some of the insights you glean in this week’s issue of the Clairity Click-it to help you. So, start digging through the curated content from across the web. I hope it will make your job easier, and more fulfilling.

As always, a big thank you to my sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the hours of time hunting, gathering and choosing the resources I believe will be most useful to you. It is my sincere pleasure and honor to help you find the ideas, strategies, templates and tools you need to succeed.

Thank you for doing your vital work, and making our world a better place.

You’ve got this!

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Your support via enrollment in ‘Clairification School’ means a lot, and I am deeply appreciative. It is my honor to deliver original articles direct to your in-box every week, give you on-demand access to all my webinars and archived articles, and offer up exclusive monthly tips, bonuses and more! It’s less than $2/week [If the enrollment fee is a hardship, please email me and we’ll work it out.]

Throwing shade or throwing light?

One takes a little more effort than the other.

While throwing shade might be more fun, it eventually runs out of energy. It’s designed to end conversations, not start them, to intimidate, not encourage.

Turning on lights helps everyone.

— Seth Godin

You are on a meaning-seeking journey. Through your work, you create positive change and make lives easier and better. One person, family, community, region at a time.  Your donors seek the same.

Part of your job is to bring meaning, not just to the beneficiaries of your organization’s mission but also to the people who contribute towards your meaningful outcomes.

It turns out when you consider what brings meaning and value to philanthropists – donors and volunteers – you do a more effective job creating abundance all around.

Use some of the resources in this week’s issue of the Clairity Click-it to help you on your journey. And to help your supporters on theirs. Whatever your role, you’ll find something in this issue to nourish you. So, start digging through the curated content from across the web. I hope it will make your job easier, and more fulfilling. Get curious!

As always, a big thank you to my sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the hours of time hunting, gathering and choosing the resources I believe will be most useful to you.

It is my sincere pleasure and honor to help you find the ideas, strategies, templates and tools you need to succeed.

Thank you for doing your vital work, and making our world a better place,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Please scroll down to see all my Clairification School sponsors who enable me to offer enrollment in ‘Clairification School at an affordable price [If the enrollment fee is a hardship, please email me and we’ll work it out.]

I’m beginning again, as I often do, with a bit of borrowed insight:

The hierarchy of insight

It looks like this:

• data
• information
• knowledge
• understanding
• wisdom

Which do we measure the most, spend the most obtaining and argue about most often? We might have it backwards.

— Seth Godin

Do you glorify data above understanding? Opinion above knowledge? Information above wisdom? Give some thought to what informs your current strategies, and think about what else it might be helpful to know.

Hopefully you can use some of the insights you glean in this week’s issue of the Clairity Click-it to help you. So, start digging through the curated content from across the web. I hope it will make your job easier, and more fulfilling. There’s lots to get curious about!

As always, a big thank you to my sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the hours of time hunting, gathering and choosing the resources I believe will be most useful to you. It is my sincere pleasure and honor to help you find the ideas, strategies, templates and tools you need to succeed.

Thank you for doing your vital work, and making our world a better place,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Please scroll down to see all my Clairification School sponsors who enable me to offer enrollment in ‘Clairification School at an affordable price [If the enrollment fee is a hardship, please email me and we’ll work it out.]

P.S. Even if you don’t care about all the Clairification School benefits, and are happy just being on the Clairity Click-it newsletter list, if you enjoy reading it and want to send a little love my way by enrolling. I promise to send it back.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is in the news so much these days, I thought I’d help us all take a step back to discover, or finally understand, some of the basics. What it can do; what it can’t. Towards that end, my “special feature” this week includes some different perspectives on AI basics.  And, of course, I couldn’t omit what the inimitable Seth Godin has to say (below). He always has a knack for cutting through to the hear t of the matter.

Omitting the herbs

Without salt, human beings don’t survive long.

But it’s possible to eat for a month without tasting an herb. The food will sustain you.

Herbs are an expensive non-obvious addition, while also being a bargain if the goal is to create delight, interest or satisfaction.

As we digitize our interactions, the first thing to go are the herbs. We strip away anything that’s not obviously functional.

The first 100 interactions you have with an AI will leave you amazed, and then a bit empty.

And when a skilled user experience professional arrives, the first thing she does is add back the herbs. Tiny speed bumps, moments of tension, opportunities for traction or surprise.

— Seth Godin

Do you want to raise a bunch of money before the end of the year? More than last year?  Then, as the folks at Nike say, “Just Do It.”

No ifs, ands or buts. Stop making excuses.  You can do this! Look for your special moments. Give folks opportunities – more than a few – to make a demonstrable impact. Give them meaning and purpose. Make yourself, your donors, your community and the world feel just a little bit better. Move the needle, every day.

And use some of the wisdom gleaned in this week’s issue of the Clairity Click-it to help you. Whatever your role, you’ll find something in this issue to nourish you. So, start digging through the curated content from across the web. I hope it will make your job easier, and more fulfilling. There’s lots to get curious about!

As always, a big thank you to my sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the hours of time hunting, gathering and choosing the resources I believe will be most useful to you. It is my sincere pleasure and honor to help you find the ideas, strategies, templates and tools you need to succeed.

Thank you for doing your vital work, and making our world a better place,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Please scroll down to see all my Clairification School sponsors who enable me to offer enrollment in ‘Clairification School at an affordable price [If the enrollment fee is a hardship, please email me and we’ll work it out.]

P.S. Even if you don’t care about all the Clairification School benefits, and are happy just being on the Clairity Click-it newsletter list, if you enjoy reading it and want to send a little love my way by enrolling, I promise to send it back.