Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
It used to be easy to put off the future until after you retired or died. We could live with the world we had long enough to avoid dealing with significant cultural or technical change. Sure, teenagers might listen to loud music or have long hair, but that didn’t mean you had to.
And there were parts of the world where the future would arrive five years after it had reached California or Kenya. Plenty of time to prepare.
But now, thanks to the network and to wired culture, that insulation is gone.
The future is here. It’s not going away. And a new future is going to be here tomorrow.
— Seth Godin
Whoa! The future is here, and it’s undeniably uncertain. What a challenging time in which to do fundraising. And what an exciting one!
Yesterday is SO yesterday. And nonprofits everywhere are learning “business as usual” not only isn’t, but won’t ever be again. Virtual events? Check! Online meetings with major donors? Check! Cryptocurrency gifts? Mass text messaging? QR codes? Artificial intelligence? The list of the new goes on and on.
At the same time, there’s a lot about the old that’s well worth learning and revisiting. This newsletter is designed to give you a taste of it all. Tried-and-true and trends. It is my sincere pleasure and honor to help you find the ideas, strategies, tactics, templates and tools you need to make our world a better place. I’d like to again thank my Clairity Click-it sponsor, Bloomerang, who have stood with me and you throughout these rapidly changing times.
Thank you for doing such vital work, and may the year ahead bring many blessings,
Claire
P.S. Want to resolve to be an active learner next year? Your support via enrollment in ‘Clairification School’ enables me to deliver original articles direct to your in-box. Plus you’ll get access to all my webinars, exclusive monthly tips, bonuses and more.
Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…
OPINION FEATURE: Whither the Nonprofit Sector?
Click-it: The Impact of Corporate Giving on Nonprofits: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. This interesting piece by Wayne Elsey in NonProfit Pro offers a lot of food for thought. He writes: “Americans viewed the nonprofit sector as a sanctuary for do-gooders in the past. It’s no longer so. It used to be that corporate leaders gave lip service to philanthropy. However, that’s changed too. Now philanthropy and social good are getting ever-more baked into corporate business models. Moreover, the change is disruptive.” See what you think.
Click-it: Understanding the Challenges, Opportunities, and Impact of the Nonprofit Sector [Article + downloadable Report and Fact Sheet]. While based on data from an Independent Sector study, the author of this synopsis, Mirae Kim, offers interpretations on diversity and representation within the sector and details the first-year impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on nonprofits.
ARTICLES
Annual (Year-Round) Fundraising
Click-it: How To Balance Doom & Gloom with Happy & Hopeful in Your Fundraising Appeal. I love this article from Julie Cooper, Fundraising Writing, so much I wish I’d written it! If you heed her advice, you’ll raise more money in the coming year. Period. And it’s nice to have some guidelines and research on which to fall back (and share with your boss)!
Major and Legacy Giving
Click-it: Here’s Why Blended Asks Should Be A Strategy In Your Fundraising Toolbox. Major donors plan how much they want to give to you, whether an outright or deferred gift. They’re going to need to know – in advance of coming to a decision – how much you’re going to ask them to consider giving over the course of a year. In this article for the Bloomerang blog, I explore how to put blended asks into practice.
Online Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: Everything You Need to Turn Social Media Followers into Email Subscribers {Download free e-Guide]. I use Aweber as my email server, which is how I happened on this resource. Lots of good tips. I especially like the bonus tip of a contest to get subscribers to share your posts on social media, thereby growing your reach – so you can then convert more new contacts to email subscribers!
Psychology of Giving
Click-it: Please Don’t “Continue To”. This is such a simple, unbelievably useful tip from Steven Screen, The Better Fundraising Co. blog. Use it or lose it!
Strategy and Management
Click-it: Wrapping Up The Year T. Clay Buck asks this very important question: “What are you holding on to that you haven’t given yourself or your organization permission to let go of?” The point is well taken. (Don’t get overly distracted by the wrapping paper metaphor in the article.) How many reports do you keep creating that no one reads or uses? Maybe this is the year to Marie Kondo your fundraising plan?
Writing in General
Click-it: You’ve been misquoting these inspiring phrases your whole life. I’ve always been a fan of using quotations to help make a point. Which is why, when I happened on this article on the Fast Company blog, I just had to share.
YOU
Click-it: Five New Year’s Rituals for Nonprofit Professionals. The always thought-provoking Beth Kanter offers these meaningful practices to help boost your productivity and enhance your self-fulfillment in the year ahead. Just pick one!
Click-it: LinkedIn Endorsements: Do They Still Have Any Value? Your Complete Guide to Understanding, Leveraging, and Maximizing Them. Neal Schaffer is a LinkedIn expert and can help you maximize both your personal and organizational profiles. Learn what’s trending and how to make the best use of this platform!
WEBINARS, PODCASTS, COURSES & ON-DEMAND AUDIO RESOURCES
If you can’t attend live, or are interested in sessions happening at overlapping times (I’m looking at you October 20th!), note many are available via recording – but ONLY if you REGISTER!
Donor Retention
Click-it: Maximizing the Lifetime Value of Your Donor Database [Register for free webinar, 1-28-2022]. Your database, and how you use it to segment and tailor communications, can have a huge impact on donor retention and upgrading. Steven Shattuck of Bloomerang joins us for this sure-to-be enlightening session. It’s a great opportunity to get all your questions answered, whether it comes to managing your current database for success or selecting a new one!
Major, Capital and Legacy Gifts
Click-it: Finding the Hidden Problem in Your Major Gift Program [Register for free webinar, 1-13-2022]. Join Jeff Schreifels of the Veritus Group to learn how new donors moving you’re your major donor program are masking the poor giving behavior of current donors, causing you to lose more money than you realize. Unless you understand what’s going on, it’s hard to improve.
Click-it: How To Get Your Board on Board With Planned Giving [Register for free webinar, 1-12-2022]. If your board is of the mindset you don’t have the resources to invest what’s needed to develop a strong planned giving program, have them join you for this session with Phil Purcell, Salvation Army, hosted by the legacy giving experts at Stelter.
Click-it: How to Plan an Effective and Efficient Capital Campaign Using New Tools and Technology [Register for free webinar 1-11-2022]. If there’s a capital campaign on your horizon, be sure to join Amy Eisenstein and Andrea Kihlstedt, Capital Campaign Toolkit co-founders, for amazing practical tips to help you get ready to run a successful operation with the highest possible return on investment.
Online Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: 5 Secrets of Email Marketing Geniuses [Register for free webinar, 1-18-2022]. Jay Wilkinson of Firespring is an awesome presenter, and this session is filled with practical tips – I promise! Your time will not be wasted, and you’ll definitely walk away with at least one thing you can implement right away.
Text Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: How to Text Donors and Not Be Intrusive [Register for free webinar, 2-2-2022]. James Martin of Rally Corp will join me for a live session – get all your questions answered! – covering all the ins and outs of how and when you can send messages to your lists (plus new rules coming down the pike for both texting and emails). He’ll cover (1) how recent changes might impact your plans; (2) tips for building lists and SMS opt-ins across all of your communications efforts, and (3) four different types of texts, and when to use each to get the results you need.
DOWNLOADABLE GUIDES, WHITE PAPERS & OTHER RESOURCES
Annual (Year-Round) Fundraising
Click-it: 2021 Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Study [Download free paper]. COVID-19 has had an impact on every part of the industry. The data from this study will show the impact on peer-to-peer fundraising and how it is recovering, yet still affected by the pandemic. NonProfit Pro is offering this study to help you gain a deeper understanding of peer-to-peer fundraising and what you can do to run a successful campaign, virtually or in-person.
Boards
Click-it: Roberts Rules Guide [Download for free]. Nonprofit Hub put together this handy little booklet to help E.D.s and boards with some of the basics: Who speaks, when, and why; Committee reports and structures; Board director and officer positions, and the motion/voting process.
Click-it: 6 Ways to Thank Your Nonprofit Board Members. From Joan Garry, Nonprofits are Messy, comes this article about six key attributes to look for in your board members. If any of your board have any one of these qualities, take the opportunity to thank them. Now!
Donor Retention
Click-it: Mid-Level Giving: A Million Dollar Missed Opportunity [Download free white paper]. Did you know, on average, mid-level supporters represent roughly 3% of the active donor file and account for 10 – 30% of annual revenue? Mid-level donors generally give $1,000 to $10,000 per year, yet they’re treated the same as donors who give $25 or even less. Because of these, many of these donors don’t give you as much money as they could (or might even want to!) were you to treat them differently. Learn all about how to do a more effective job from the experts at Merkle.
Major and Legacy Gifts
Click-it: Free Donor Assessment [No obligation – for real]. If you just count total dollars raised, and not dollars lost, you’re missing out on lots of potential. How much donor value are you losing year over year? Do you know? Veritus Group is offering a free assessment to show you how much money you’re losing from the same group of donors who gave last year. Oh no! This type of loss kills many nonprofits’ growth. They’ll tell you the data they need from you, then run a FREE report. Easy peasy, and no obligation whatsoever. This is a true gift – and a great way to kick off a new year!
Click-it: How to Create Your Nonprofit’s Annual Story Strategy [Free guide and e-course]. Grab this guide and downloadable free e-course from Vanessa Chase Lockshin, The Storytelling Nonprofit, to learn how to use stories to raise more money in the coming year
Strategy and Management
Click-it: How to Put Together Your Annual Fundraising Plan [Article + free downloadable Template]. You’ll soon be tasked with putting together your plan for the coming year. Don’t simply tweak last year’s plan; you can do better! Use this article from Qgiv as a road map. And don’t forget the parts about assessing resources and making assignments. There’s also a downloadable planning template.
Did You Miss My Newest Articles?
- The Secret of Donor-Centered Fundraising: No Money Involved
- Top 10 Countdown: Most Popular Clairification Articles of 2021
- How Do You Keep Former Nonprofit Board Members Engaged?
- 4 Strategies to Connect Nonprofit Donors to Cherished Values
- How to Deal with Disgruntled Donors: Don’t Waste Valuable Complaints
- How to Use Psychology to Pre-Suade Donors to Give
Finally… if you have a question, any question…
Check out my free fundraising advice column on the Bloomerang blog! Ask your question here. Or email me with it directly. NEW: What’s The Best Way To Share Tax Information With Donors?
REMINDER for Clairification School students: Don’t forget to log in to your “My Clairification/Subscriber Dashboard/Monthly Tips” to grab your exclusive, timely tips for each month. JANUARY tips are live! If you’re not yet an enrolled student, you can get in on the fun here!
You embody the philanthropic spirit in your work. We are all better at our craft because you inspire, teach, love and care about the joy of philanthropy and the difference it makes for people, places and needs.
— Sue Gaub, CFRE, Phoenix Rescue Mission
I hope to be able to focus on applying your amazing teachings this year. Your work has made a difference to me. Claire, you really do bring clarity.
— Rezwan Razani, Footprint to Wings
My motto is: “If I know it, I want you to know it.” Don’t miss out.
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1 Comment
This is amazing!