Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
The ostracod is extinct. Over millions of years, with good reasons at every step, it evolved to become the creature it was.
And when we add up all of those little steps, we end up with a creature that was no longer fit for its environment.
Organizations develop like this. So do work practices, cultural systems and “the way we do things around here.”
I’m sure there was a really good reason twenty years ago for all the steps that are now involved in the thing you do right now, but your competitor, the one who is starting from scratch, is skipping most of them.
Every day we get a new chance to begin again. And if you don’t, someone else will.
— Seth Godin
I hope you’ll find resources here to help you rethink the way you do things. What you’re prioritizing now may be swell but, then again, maybe not. Perhaps there’s something that will lead to greater engagement and investment. Think about it. Should you be beginning anything anew? To do your best work, you have to stay tuned… pay attention… commit to learning.
This newsletter is designed to help you. I try to give you a taste of what’s working/not working for businesses and causes of all stripes. Sometimes it’s tactical advice. Sometimes it’s theory and science underlying the tactics. And sometimes it’s about adjusting approaches to the work in ways that can make a significant difference.
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. 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,
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…
ARTICLES
Annual (Year-Round) Fundraising
Click-it: TOP 10 list of design mistakes I see in direct response over and over again. Tuck this piece from John Lepp at Agents of Good away for the next time you’re designing (or working with a designer on) a mailed appeal letter. These tips will seriously help you raise more money.
Click-it: The Strange Survey Question that Can Help You Uncover Your “Hidden” Major Donors. This article from Jeff Brooks on the Moceanic blog introduces you to the concept of a Supporter Connection Survey, and how it can help you build donor relationships and raise more money. It’s different from types of surveys you may have used in the past. Information you glean can become the backbone of future appeals, and in a very personal way. If you want to learn more, Sean Triner is offering a free webinar (see below).
Boards
Click-it: 5 Key Reasons Every Nonprofit Board Member Should Donate In January. Jay Love from Bloomerang weighs in on the little-discussed topic of timing of board member gifts. He makes a strong case!
Donor Retention
Click-it: How To Rock Valentine’s Day To Build Donor Loyalty. It’s the perfect opportunity – not to be missed! — for a little donor stewardship. In this article for the Bloomerang blog I count out eight fun valentines you can deliver to show your supporters the love.
Major and Legacy Gifts
Click-it: 5 Ways Dr. Russell James Recommends You Reduce Costs of Giving So Your Supporters Feel Good and Give More. I you want major and legacy gifts, every word from Dr. Russell James is pure gold. Thankfully, Market Smart shares some of his brilliantly sensible thinking here. This article is jam-packed with useful information!
Online Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: 7 of the Most Frequently Asked Questions on Social Media for Nonprofits. There’s nothing I enjoy more than getting my burning questions answered! That’s exactly what happens in this wide-ranging post from Nathan Stelter. No matter your nonprofit role, you’re sure to find something useful here.
Click-it: The Small Nonprofit’s Guide to Inspiring Calls To Action. Learn to make the most of your CTAs, whether on your website landing pages, emails, or social media. This article from Craig Grella of Salsa Labs on the Get Fully Funded blog describes how to make them stand out, best words to use, how to assess effectiveness, and more.
Click-it: 10 tricks for more email engagement from donors. Want to make sure your emails not only get to the right reader but that the reader opens those emails and acts? These terrific tips from the 4aGoodCause blog will set you up for success. You’ll also find links to listen to a free on-demand webinar on this topic and to download a free email marketing calendar template!
Strategy and Management
Click-it: How to Be A Manager People Want to Work For. If you manage people — direct reports, volunteers, or even your boss — you’ll want to read this piece from the expert strategists at the Veritus Group. Learn the 11 traits Google came up with in something called “Project Oxygen.”
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!
Other Learning Opportunities
WEBINARS, PODCASTS, ROUNDTABLES & 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!
Annual (Year Round) Fundraising
Click-it: Your Best Year Ever with Donor Surveys [Register for free online workshop, 2-9 or 10, 2022]. Sean Triner of Moceanic walks you through a proven 3-step plan to build a Supporter Connection Survey. Unlike a research survey, this is a targeted method to uncover hidden mid-level, major, legacy and monthly donors. It’s offered for multiple time zones, so find the one that works best for you!
Content Marketing
Click-it: Nonprofit Annual Reports: Show, Don’t Tell! [Listen to free on-demand podcast]. This Good to Growth (formerly Nonprofit Hub) podcast helps you move away from long-form printed reports to dynamic digital ones. The latter inspire greater engagement – making the effort worth your while.
Culture of Philanthropy (or not)
Click-it: Answering Your Questions about Leadership and Toxic Workplaces [Register for free webinar, 2-11-2022]. The issues causing front-line fundraisers to leave organizations every 15-18 months have been happening for decades. But now, momentum is changing, and non-profit professionals are no longer willing to work at organizations that don’t value them. What to do about this? Richard Perry and Jeff Schreifels of the Veritus Group will lead a discussion, and you’re welcome to send them questions in advance!
Events and Sponsors
Click-it: Simple Steps to Secure and Increase Event Sponsorship Revenue [Register for free webinar, 2-9-2022]. Shifting from in-person to virtual fundraising events has helped bring in much-needed donation funds, but has also made securing event sponsorships more challenging. Learn to go beyond standard approaches to unlock new opportunities in this Network for Good.session by Lewis Flax.
Major and Legacy Gifts
Click-it: Get Your Donors Close to the Need [Listen to free on-demand podcast]. The Veritus Group team talk about how there’s nothing more important than transporting your donors to the scene and connecting them, in human and emotional terms, to your mission. To deeply engage donors in your work and connect with their passions and interests, you must clearly communicate the problem you’re working to solve. You can learn even more about this in this free white paper.
Click-it: Donors Seek Transformational Giving [Listen to free podcast]. In this interview with Nonprofit Hub, Bob Westfall shares findings from the 2021 Major Donor Generosity Report elaborating on how nonprofits can turn transactional giving into transformational generosity. Did you know 88% of an organization’s major donors are not giving at their full capacity? Learn how wealth research and peer events can help elevate donor engagement and support.
Online Marketing and Fundraising
Click-it: Be Found: The Secrets of SEO for Nonprofits [Register for free webinar, 2-7-2022]. Jay Wilkinson from Firespring outlines six steps to mastering SEO – so you don’t remain a “best kept secret.” Learn about: (1) Keyword research; (2) Website optimization; (3) Link building; (4) Fresh content; (5) Landing pages, and (6) Analytics. Jay makes it clear and easy – don’t miss this one!
Text Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: https://www.rallycorp.com/blog/how-to-text-donors-and-not-be-intrusive [Listen to on-demand webinar]. As technology evolves there are always new tools at your disposal. You should at least be considering them if you want to connect as effectively as possible with your constituents! Here James Martin of Rally Corp lays out strategies for using text messaging – it’s more today than just “text to donate.”
Website
Click-it: Donation and Landing Page Optimization Course [Free and on-demand]. This is the most awesome opportunity! NextAfter, together with sponsorship from Virtuous, is offering a free 8-module course designed to equip you with principles and strategies that will lead to more of your website visitors converting on your landing pages and donating on your donation pages. You’ll even earn a certificate. Take advantage while it’s still free.
Click-it: Homepage to HeroPage: Telling Your Story to Create More Supporters [Register for free webinar, 2-8-2022]. Is your website home page a bit ho-hum? Join master storyteller Boris Kievsky for this Qgiv-sponsored session that will share a time-tested blueprint to create a brilliant storytelling-based framework to engage more visitors on your homepage (and every important page on your site) and turn them into supporters.
DOWNLOADABLE GUIDES, WHITE PAPERS & OTHER RESOURCES
Online Marketing
Click-it: 2022 Growth Kit [Click to plant a tree and download your free resource]. First, this is a brilliant engagement strategy from Hubspot and a great example to adapt and borrow. Get creative, and see what you can come up with! Second, they’re giving you a “kit” to do all sorts of things better in the coming year – A/B testing; content creation; social media; loyalty building and more. Oh, and did I mention for every click the folks at One Tree Planted will plant one?
Major and Legacy Gifts
Click-it: Four Helpful Bequest Appeals: Inspired by Behavioral Science and Approved by Donors [Download free White Paper]. Co-authored by Giving Docs and Stelter, this resource identifies the top messaging strategies that get donors to leave bequests.
Click-it: Putting the Mission First: How Nonprofits Can Benefit from Outsourced Donation Processing [Download White Paper]. If you’ve ever wondered if outsourcing your donation processing made sense, you owe it to yourself to digest this paper from the experts at Merkle. It outlines all the pros and cons, so you can make your best decision.
Did You Miss My Newest Articles?
- 6 Strategies to Make a Powerfully Winning Major Donor Pitch that Gets Top Results
- How to Apply Job Interview Skills to Fundraising
- Are You Getting the Best Bang From Your Fundraising Buck?
- 3 Nonprofit Secrets to Rock Major Gift Fundraising
- Can You Smoke What’s in Your Major Gift Pipeline?
- Top Strategies for Open Nonprofit Donor Conversations
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I’m subscribed to a million fundraising blogs and the one I consistently open and read most of, is yours. The content is always carefully curated and helpful, not just sales pitch after sales pitch for your own stuff. You stand out, in a good way.
—Juliane McLean, Development Coordinator, Bridgercare
You consistently remind me of the proven basic facts of fundraising!! Thank you! I consistently share them with our team and with the newbie fundraisers I am mentoring.
– Margie McCurry, Fund Builders Alliance
My motto is: “If I know it, I want you to know it.” Don’t miss out.
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