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Today I want to remind you that part and parcel of your personal mission, as a philanthropy facilitator, is to bring supporters opportunities for meaning and purpose.

Because when you help increase others’ sense of wellbeing, not only is the world a better place but these folks are more likely to demonstrate gratitude by giving of themselves.

Meaning drives us to act with generosity and resolve.

There is no substitute for this, not even happiness – the pursuit of which is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution). But is that really what it’s all about? If so, the U.S. is failing. Did you know the U.S. dropped out of the top 20 happiest countries for the first time ever, dropping from #15 to #23?

“Point is: the good life isn’t about “happiness.” It’s about meaning. Meaning is more resilient. More significant. More enduring. It emerges when we live out our most noble motivations. It’s a process, not a point in time. It’s a never ending game. All we can do is choose to keep playing.

What would happen if we stopped measuring happiness, and started measuring the amount of meaning we experience? And more importantly, if we reoriented our lives, our work, and our organizations toward cultivating more of it?”

— Hugh MacLeod, Gaping Void. Why We’re Measuring the Wrong Thing

Or consider this:

 “For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one’s surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it.”

–Viktor Frankl

MacLeod argues autonomy, purpose, community, mastery, and connection are far more holistic and effective heuristics than measuring “happiness,” as these have been shown to increase feelings of well-being. I would add these are things philanthropy facilitators should strive for as well, rather than focusing solely on monetary transactions.

If you help people find meaning and purpose, the money will follow.

Okay, let’s get in to today’s content. Hopefully some of the resources I’ve collected over the past two weeks will help you enact your mission. 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. 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 hearing from many nonprofits who are feeling at sixes and sevens when it comes to planning for the uncertain year ahead. I certainly understand. The pace of change today is fast and furious, and it often feels yesterday’s truth is today’s untruth.

What’s a sensible nonprofit to do in response?

I want to make an argument for action. Rather than react, get proactive. Don’t allow your fight/flight/freeze instincts to take over right now. Your constituents rely on you not to disappear or hunker in a bunker. They need you to fight.

Get curious!

Don’t succumb to those who would say “Well, obviously, we need to cut back right now.” Or to those who might tell you “We obviously can’t make any waves.” There are other ways to behave.

Obvious vs perhaps

“Obvious” closes the door to inquiry.

“Perhaps” opens it.

— Seth Godin

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. 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. 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.]

What will you do to spring forth and meet the moment? 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. 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.]

These are not usual times. Are you considering how world events may impact those who rely on you. Not just beneficiaries, but donors and volunteers too. They need you to do your work, but… maybe not in the usual way. Maybe there’s a better way; one more fitting for the times.  Here’s what Seth Godin has to say:

“Usualing”

This is not a real word, but it’s useful nonetheless.

When we default to doing what we did without examining our options, we’re ‘usualing.’

It’s a helpful way to save time, because we can’t re-examine every possible option or we’d never get out the door in the morning. We wear our usual clothes, leave at the usual time, take the usual form of transport, drink the usual coffee and that’s all before we even get to work.

This efficient habit might not always be the most effective, though.

When a new opportunity arises, it might make sense to say “I’m usualling” to remind yourself that you’ve decided it’s not worth your time to consider.

And this is how we fall behind. A little at a time.

— Seth Godin

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. 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.]

It’s a new day. What will you do with it? Will you march forward, backward or get stuck in place?  Hopefully, whatever you do, you won’t be lulled into complacency. The work ahead is hard, but as James Baldwin wrote: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” 

Lulled.

Selfish is easy.

Short term is easy.

Complacent is easy.

Turning our head and ignoring the problem is easy.

Going along to get along is easy.

But easy isn’t the point.

Better is.

Challenging the status quo is difficult, and worth it.

— Seth Godin

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. 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 would be most appreciative.

It’s been pretty cold in my neck of the woods, so let’s warm up with a cup of cocoa, coffee or tea and some good reads. I’ve got a lot of great stuff for you this week, so let’s get right to it!

The Clairity Click-it exists to bring you a range of voices from across the nonprofit world so you can resource, learn and digest at your own pace, coming to your own decisions. My hope is some of the free resources I’ve collected and curated for you will energize and enthuse you as you work towards guiding others on the pathway to passionate philanthropy.

As always, I’ve also got a little piece of wisdom to share with you from the inimitable Seth Godin:

The generous ask

“If you don’t ask, you don’t get.”

That’s problematic advice.

Taken to an extreme, it turns us into hustlers.

The alternative is to realize that the best asks are actually offers.

When we offer to help someone get to where they were going, we’re approaching the relationship with generosity, not selfishness.

What work would we need to do to have sufficient skill, insight and reputation to be able to offer someone else a chance to reach their goals? That’s how we get. Not by asking, but by offering.

Always remember to make your ask an offer.  Show your supporters the opportunity involved – for them – in becoming more engaged and invested in your mission. Bring them joy, purpose and meaning, and they’ll do the same for you.

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.]

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!