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Clairity Click-it: Sandpail Full of Nonprofit Links + Free Resources

Seth Godin once famously said, “The ideas that spread, win.” Hugh MacLeod of the GapingVoid just reframed this as “The ideas that spread are the ones that become social objects.” They enable social interaction.

If this brings to mind the recent memeification of the Kamala Harris campaign, or Trump’s red MAGA hat, or the amazing lightening-in-a-bottle nonprofit Ice Bucket Challenge, you’re right. Once you see a social object, you can’t unsee it.

And, of course, when building awareness for your nonprofit’s cause, that’s what you strive for, right? You want to be memorable. But, in a good way.

Social objects are what businesses – for-profit and nonprofit – are built on. So, ask yourself if the idea you want to spread is a social object.

Truly, everything you do in fundraising and marketing should enable a value-for-value exchange. Everyone should get something from the conversation.

Towards that end… let’s get right to this week’s collection of free resources!

If you poke around this issue of the Clairity Click-it, I’m sure you’ll find something provocative to fuel your thinking. What might you do differently to more effectively engage your constituents? To raise more money to fuel your cause and create extraordinary outcomes?  

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.]

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HOT Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links + Free Resources

In the 1967 movie “The Graduate,” some of you may remember the scene where Mr. McGuire takes Dustin Hoffman’s character, Benjamin, off to the side and says “Plastics … there’s a great future in plastics.” Little did we know…

While that turned out poorly for the planet, there’s a similar word that could be the future for nonprofits. And the sage who’s offering it up is none other than the inimitable Seth Godin.

Plasticity

It’s pretty easy for some kids to switch gears. They can go from sad to ebullient in seconds, and switch contexts without much fuss. Others have more trouble.

As we get older, our natural ability to thrive in a new situation can decrease. But, like a muscle or a skill, it responds to practice.

The same is true for organizations. As the world changes faster and faster, it seems clear that organizations that prize plasticity will thrive.

— Seth Godin

I encourage you to be thoughtful about what’s working/not working for you and your organization currently. Be open to change. Organizations that adapt are organizations that thrive. Organizations that are buoyant are organizations that flourish. People too.

If you poke around this issue of the Clairity Click-it, I’m sure you’ll find something provocative to fuel your thinking. What might you do differently to make your work easier, more fulfilling and more successful? Find something, then… go make something happen!  

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. 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.

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.]

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Proud Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links + Free Resources

This is a great month to do something you’re proud of. And to support others who are showing their spirit and pride. Actually, every month is good for these things!

Which, as it often does, brings me to share a bit of wisdom from the sage Seth Godin.

Simple five step plan for just about everyone and everything

The number of people you need to ask for permission keeps going down:

1. Go, make something happen.
2. Do work you’re proud of.
3. Treat people with respect.
4. Make big promises and keep them.
5. Ship it out the door.

When in doubt, see #1.

— Seth Godin

What do you have to be proud of? Think about this both professionally and personally. Pick one thing your organization did last week or month that made you proud. Pick one thing you did personally that made you proud. I encourage you to think about the proud moments and bask, as much as possible, in the positives. While you’re at it, poke around this issue of the Clairity Click-it and find something that speaks to you. Then… go make something happen!

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. 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.

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Anniversary Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links + Free Resources

June 13^th marked the 11^th anniversary of the Clairity Click-it Newsletter.  That’s 312 issues (whoa!), all chock full of resources I hand select for you from across the web. And nothing I select will cost you a dime! I search assiduously, read every single article before sharing with you, and only select trusted resources for webinars, podcasts, white papers, reports and the like.

How can I afford the time, you wonder? I can’t! Which is why I have some sponsors to help underwrite what is, mostly, a labor of love. Please scroll down to the bottom of the page to see who they are, and maybe click on their links to learn more about them.  They’re all terrific resources for you, and definitely worth your attention. I also want to extend a special shout out to my lead sponsor, Bloomerang, for all they do – beyond just their wonderful product — to help nonprofits make lasting change in their communities and the world.

If you’ve been along for the ride for a while, I hope you’ve gleaned some useful nuggets to help you in your work, and maybe even in your personal life. If you’re new, welcome!  I love sharing insights, research and practices from other disciplines, including psychology, neuroscience, behavioral economics, mindfulness, for-profit marketing, and more. If you’ve found this newsletter thought-provoking, educational or just plain practical, please forward it to a curious colleague.  They can subscribe here for free.

But why stop here?

ENROLL in ‘Clairification School’ (modest annual charge to cover my costs) and receive access to ALL original articles (including 1,000+ article archive) + exclusive members’ only benefits: bonus content with actionable tips and ‘how-to’s,’ specific monthly tips, access to webinars and podcasts, and generous discounts on products and courses. Get your exclusive member benefits here!

ANNIVERSARY ENROLLMENT SPECIAL:

In honor of this anniversary, anyone who enrolls in the next week will receive an additional bonus e-guide — “Use Gratitude to Build Relationships that Pave the Way for Future Gifts” — jam-packed with actionable tips.

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

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 I promise to send it back.

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Bustin’ Out Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links + Free Resources

Skipping the good days

Part of the luxury of living near the ocean or the mountains is that you can be picky. If the surf or the powder isn’t great, leave it for the tourists. Good is insufficient, wait for the great moments…

When we’re young, or the project is going really well, it’s easy to waste the good days. After all, there will be another one tomorrow.

What becomes clear, though, is that good days are precious. When you’re feeling even a little creative, don’t wait. Write it down, roll tape, speak up. When you’re feeling reasonably healthy, go for a walk.

They’re all good days, if we choose.

— Seth Godin

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June is bustin’ out all over, and nature beckons. Don’t waste it!  And don’t waste your creative sparks when you feel them either.  If any of the content you unlock in this edition of the Clairity Click-it sparks your imagination, do something with it. Don’t tuck it aside to think about tomorrow. Too often, tomorrow never comes.

Set aside a little time to explore, and see what you find. What calls to you? Pick at least one thing to click on. What did you learn? What did it make you think about doing differently? Write it down and calendar a time to dig into it a bit more sometime next week.

As always, I’ve sorted everything by category, and included a broad spectrum of materials for a range of adult learning styles. A big thank you to my Click-it 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. I’ve got a lot of great stuff for you this week, so let’s get right to it!

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. For a modest $100/year you get all my new blog articles, monthly tips, bonus tips, templates and worksheets, course and product discounts, and access to archived posts, webinars, and podcasts. I am deeply appreciative for your support!  [If the enrollment fee is a hardship, please email me and we’ll work it out.]

Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…

Forward Motion Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links + Free Resources

I just can’t stop taking inspiration from the inimitable Seth Godin.

This week I’m inspired by a piece talking about things we can, and cannot, do. If something about your work (or personal life, for that matter) is keeping you up at night, ask yourself if it’s a problem you can address or a situation you can’t change. This should help you shift priorities to things capable of being accomplished. Otherwise, you’ll just keep pushing that proverbial rock up a hill. And nothing will change. Exhausting!

Inverting the vex

“Life can be irritating.

And sometimes, we can make a choice.

The thing that’s vexing you: is it a situation or a problem?

Problems have solutions. If we care enough, we can find a way to solve a problem, but it might cost more money, require more effort or involve more risk than we’d prefer. If we’re ready to ease some of the constraints, that problem might go away.

Situations don’t have solutions. That’s why we don’t call them problems. There might be constraints we are not prepared to confront, or the structure of the situation may simply make it impossible to change.

If a problem is vexing us, we can use that irritation as fuel, finding the energy to deal with it. We can turn the moment into curiosity and forward motion.

And if it’s a situation? Then being vexed is a choice. If it’s helping you to be irritated, enjoy it. If not, then why bother?

Hunger and exhaustion are physically based. But being annoyed is a concoction based on expectations and the stories we tell ourselves. We can change the story if we try.”

— Seth Godin.

Okay, let’s get in to today’s content. Enjoy these resources I’ve collected over the past two weeks. I dare you not to find at least one that 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 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.]

Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…

Clairity Click-it: MAY Nonprofit Links + Free Resources Be Yours

It’s not always easy to find all the good stuff across the web. That’s why I do the work for you! Thanks again to my Clairity Click-it sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the time hunting and gathering. You’ll find this is another robust issue.

Find a topic that interests you, and… click away!  Whatever type of learner you are, there’s something here for you. Tactical advice. Theory and science. New approaches. Stuff to read. Stuff to listen to. Stuff to watch.

Per usual, I’d love to also share a bit of inspiration from the inimitable Seth Godin:

Bottom of the funnel

“It’s easy to get focused on the public-facing mouth of the funnel.

More followers.

More impressions.

More buzz, hype, promotion. Get the word out.

Just about all the time people who call themselves “marketers” spend is on this. Don’t worry about what happens later, just pour more attention into the top.

But the math is simple:

Most of the people at the top leave long before they engage, buy or spread the word.

Which means that doubling your conversion is exactly the same as doubling the number of people who are aware of you.

It means that by the time you get to 20 people (out of 1,000) who are ready to become committed fans, each of these people is worth fifty times as much effort as you’d put into getting one new stranger to be aware of what you do.

Don’t send a poorly-written mail merge to your best prospects. Send them a handwritten note.

It’s not the bottom of the funnel. It’s the foundation for your future.”

Are you spending your time wisely? Think about it.  If you happen to be an enrolled ‘Clairification School’ student, this month’s Bonus Tip is largely about prioritization and time management. So don’t forget to go to your dashboard and check it out.

To everyone, it is my sincere pleasure and honor to help you find the ideas, strategies, templates and tools you need to make our world a better place. 

Thank you for doing such vital and compassionate work, and giving to others on a regular basis,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Want to resolve to be an active learner next year? I am deeply appreciative to all who enroll in Clairification School. This is what enables me 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!

Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…

Clairity Click-it: Bouquet of Nonprofit Links + Free Resources

Take some inspiration from the inimitable Seth Godin:

If we’re restless, it pays to get up and walk around.

Is stress different?

Along the way, it seems as though we got confused about the best way to deal with the stress that comes from work and from the projects we work on.

“Push through the stress and on the other side, everything will be okay.”

Simply get all the details right, get an A, get into a famous college, make the sale, polish the logo, do the pitch and then… reassurance will follow.

The reassurance of success or even survival. The reassurance of external acclaim or simply relief.

Now that everything’s okay, no need to be stressed!

Until the next time. Which might be tomorrow.

Reassurance is futile, because there’s never enough of it.

Some folks manage to get their projects done without this sort of stress. They’re not using the search for reassurance as fuel.

What’s the difference between giving a speech to your dog and giving one on the TED stage? It’s the same speech. The difference is in the story we tell ourselves about the stakes, the opportunity and what might happen next. If that story gets debilitating enough, it can paralyze us.

If you’re on a backpacking trip, there’s little doubt that ten more minutes of tired to get to the next campsite is a smart investment. A little more tired translates into a lot more rest.

But if you’re at work, there’s not a lot of evidence that more stress is the best way to have less stress.

Look for the story instead.

[PS It’s not easy to change your story. For some people, and in some situations, it’s almost impossible. But that doesn’t mean that more stress in search of reassurance is going to make your search for a useful story any easier. If others in your situation have figured out a story that works for them, that’s a good sign that you might find one too. If no one has, changing your situation (if you can) might be the best way forward. But we need to get unhooked from the cycle of reassurance.]

— Seth Godin

MORAL: TELL YOUR OWN STORY.

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 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.P.S. If you’re an enrolled Clairification School student, your APRIL TIPS are live.  If you’re not yet enrolled, I hope you’ll join us.

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Clairity Click-it: Showers of Nonprofit Links + Free Resources

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 this year 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 that 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.

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 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.P.S. If you’re an enrolled Clairification School student, your APRIL TIPS are live

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Springing Forth Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links + Free Resources

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, and come up with new and better ways to do your job of changing the world.

Seth Godin wants to help you too!

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How to change the world

All successful cultural change (books, movies, public health), has a super-simple two-step loop:

AWARENESS
TENSION
–>Loop<–

It’s easy to focus on awareness. Get the word out. Hype. Promo.

I think that’s a mistake.

Because awareness without tension is useless.

The tension is like pulling back a rubber band.

WHY would someone who becomes aware take action?

Is the action to buy the book? To change one’s diet? To vote?

And then the third step, so important it’s often ignored, is:

Why would the person who became aware and then experienced the tension and release… tell someone else?

So, to recap:

• Tell 10 people.
• Create tension among the 10 so they take action.
• The action causes each of them to tell 10 people.

— Seth Godin

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Spread your nonprofit’s word!

Create some tension that causes people to take action.

And use some of the wisdom gleaned in this weeks issue of Clairity Click-it to help 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. I’ve got a lot of great stuff for you this week, so let’s get right to it!

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.]

P.P.S. If you’re an enrolled Clairification School student, your MARCH TIPS are live – and they include a BONUS this month!  If you’re not yet enrolled, there’s no better time.

Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…