Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
One is very skilled at following the recipe. Quality control, consistency and diligence.
The other understands how the recipe works, sees patterns and opportunities and changes the recipe to fit the problem to be solved. It’s about metaphor in addition to process.
Both are useful.
If you think this is a post about cooking, you might be the first kind of cook.
— Seth Godin
Whether you’re a recipe follower or a change maker, you’ll find resources here to match your style and meet your needs. Find a topic that interests you, and… click away!
I publish the Clairity Click-it to offer all kinds of meals for all kinds of consumers. Lots of food for thought. And this issue has plenty to nourish you. So, start digging through this issue’s 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 Clairity Click-it sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the time hunting and gathering.
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 your vital work, and helping make our world a better place,
Claire
P.S. Want to resolve to be an active learner next year? Your support via enrollment in ‘Clairification School’ means a lot, and I am deeply appreciative. 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…
SPECIAL FEATURE: GIVING USA 2022 RESULTS
Rather than do a separate summary, I thought I’d simply point you to the stats, facts and figures of philanthropy as reported by others I respect. Of course, you can read the full report yourself. But you really don’t need to purchase it after reading these synopses. It’s always useful to know the trends, and it makes you look smart to your boss and board! Honestly, not much has changed overall. There are changes in specific industries however; yours may be one of them.
Click-it: Giving USA: Total U.S. charitable giving remained strong in 2021, reaching $484.85 billion. This comprehensive summary comes from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at the University of Indiana. You’ll get the full breakdown of giving by donor sources, and a discussion of how giving was tied to current events.
Click-it: State of Fundraising: Giving USA 2022 – 8 Key Highlights. This is Amy Eisenstein’s pragmatic, straightforward take. “No news is good news.”
Click-it: 2021’s Surprisingly Strong Giving Followed by Dark Clouds. This is the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s view, looking at rebounds after Covid and worrying about the potential impact of inflation in the year ahead. Also, the influence if major individual donors is growing. This is a thorough synopsis which also looks at impacts on different types of charities.
Click-it: What the Giving USA Report Tells Us About Where Philanthropy Is Heading. If you prefer to listen, rather than read, tune into this podcast with Amanda Cole, Editor in Chief of Nonprofit Pro, as she interviews Laura MacDonald, chair of the Giving USA Foundation, and Una Osili, chair in philanthropy and economics and associate dean for research and international programs at Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.
Click-it: Unpack Giving USA 2022 [ Register for free webinar, 8-16-2022]. Join a panel of fundraising experts from The Nonprofit Alliance and TrueSense Marketing as they break down the latest findings. If you’re wondering “what’s next” for your organization, this webinar is for you.
ARTICLES
Culture
Click-it: 4 Antidotes for Scarcity Mindset. This thought-provoking post from Yura Sapi on the Community Centric Fundraising blog will help you breathe through your stress and anxiety. It’s a reminder, on a deep level, that it’s not about the money.
Click-it: How organizational values can intensify and improve fundraising and strategy. Is your team, including staff, board and donors, in alignment around your values? Sometimes they can become the elephant in the room. In this article, Renee Rubin Ross discusses how to address this important topic with your stakeholders.
Digital Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: 5 Examples of Engaging Supporters with Text Messaging. Did you know 98% of text messages get opened vs. 25% of emails? Maybe it’s something to consider? Here Rally Corp shares a variety of ways to put this digital tool to use.
Donor Retention
Click-it: Eight Ways to Lose Your Donor. This post from Richard Perry and Jeff Schreifels at Veritus Group is admittedly sarcastic, and the points made may seem obvious. But Richard, Jeff and I see these mistakes happening every day. Be honest: Do you do any of these things? Perhaps not intentionally, but due to inertia? You have a sacred duty to your donors to treat them better. Oh, and when you do you’ll be amazed how much more money you’ll raise. Win/win.
Events
Click-it: 4 Ways to Get Ahead of Fall Fundraising this Summer. The folks at Eventgroove specialize in events, and here they have some terrific tips to help you plan ahead. Think of Giving Tuesday as an “event,” consider a Halloween event, and generally review trends as you consider virtual or in-person in the months ahead.
Major and Legacy Giving
Click-it: How to Calculate the Number of Major Gift Officers You Need. Be realistic about the ROI you seek, and how long it will take to get there. Investing in major gifts staff makes a ton of long-term sense. You don’t want to be penny-wise and pound-foolish in this regard. But… Richard Perry of Veritus Group makes a strong case for being patient. Here’s his advice on the NonProfitPRO blog. Share it with your powers-that-be.
Click-it: Getting Started With Planned Giving. Here’s a 360 degree view of what it takes to get started. Your “Planned Giving 101” from Sandy Rees of Get Fully Funded.
Strategy, Management and Planning
Click-it: Count Inflation Into End of Year Fundraising Plans. Barbara O’Reilly, Windmill Hill Consulting, suggests you double down on asking strategies. Don’t be shy. But also triple down on thanking strategies.
Trending
Click-it: 8 Must-Know Nonprofit Trends for 2022. Trends show you where the marketplace is headed, so it’s helpful to monitor them to stay ahead of the game. Amanda Cole of NonprofitPRO has put together this list to keep you in the know. Pick one where you think you could do a better job; develop a plan to do so. You might also download “40 Nonprofit Trends for 2022.”
Other Learning Opportunities
WEBINARS, PODCASTS, COURSES & ON-DEMAND AUDIO RESOURCES
If you can’t attend live, or are interested in sessions happening at overlapping times, note many are available via recording – but ONLY if you REGISTER!
Annual (Year-Round) Giving
Click-it: Amp Up Your Appeal’s Persuasive Power with Research from Psychology and Neuroscience [Register for free webinar, 9-1-2022]. To be a donor-centric fundraiser requires an understanding of how donors make decisions. If you know what encourages/discourages giving, you can hugely influence donor choices. Learn about the emerging field of fundraising psychology in my live session for Bloomerang. I’ll share some of my favorite “tricks” to help you connect with triggers most likely to influence would-be donors to say “yes” to your fundraising offers.
Click-it: Digital Must-Haves for Fall Fundraising Success Part 1: Dynamic Ask Strings. Ever wonder how much to ask for? And how to tailor ask amounts for different donor segments across multiple channels? There’s a science to it, and that’s what you’ll find in this useful article from EveryAction.
Branding
Click-it: Nonprofit Brand Feasibility Study [Register for free webinar, 8-9-2022]. Join Patrick Kirby, Founder of Do Good Better Consulting and Amanda McKinnon, Founder of MINT Branding and Marketing, as they share a step-by-step checklist of ways to engage your community to understand how your nonprofit is seen by those who have the potential to support your mission.
Donor Retention
Click-it: How to Create a Nonprofit Donor Survey [Listen to podcast]. Donors like it when you show them you know them. One of the best ways to find out more is to send a survey. Vanessa Chase Lockshin, the Storytelling Nonprofit, shares some actionable “how to” tips.
Major, Capital and Legacy Gift Fundraising
Click-it: What I learned from 100 days of rejection [Listen to TED talk]. This quick, and funny, TED talk by Jia Jiang could be entitled “How to Fulfill Your Life Dream by Asking.” It’s perfect for major gift fundraising, because this is where fear of rejection gets in our way big time. Thanks to Marc Pitman for alerting me to this wonderful resource. Don’t let rejection get you down! Embrace it, persevere, and turn rejection into opportunity.
Click-it: Three Nitty-Gritty Secrets to Solicit Your Biggest Donors [Listen to free podcast]. Tune in to Andrea Kihlstedt and Amy Eisenstein, Capital Campaign Toolkit, for their best advice on increasing your chance of successfully securing lead gifts. I like their second tip!
Multi-Channel Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: Multi-Channel Marketing: What Is It and Why Does it Matter? [Register for free webinar, 8-11-2022]. The experts at Qgiv have put together a panel of marketing experts to discuss how you can launch a multi-channel marketing campaign that supports your fundraising goals. You’ll learn a lot, including: SEO tips; display and paid search; social media donations; contemporary reply devices for direct mail; segmentation; email best practices; texting ideas; website redesign, and more!
Click-it: The Power of Integration to Capture and Retain New Donors [Register for free webinar, 8-23-2022]. Every donor has a mailbox, phone, email inbox, and TV. See what happens when you bring them together. You’ll learn how Shriners Children’s™ implemented omnichannel donor journeys at every opportunity, from a direct mail welcome series that includes mail, phone, and digital touches to sustainer reactivation using connected TV, display, remarketing, phone, and email. Brought to you by the good folks at Moore.
Online Fundraising
Click-it: 5 Secrets of Email Marketing Geniuses [Register for free webinar, 8-9-2022] There is more power and leverage in one email subscriber than 100 Facebook likes or 50 Twitter followers if email marketing is done right. Problem is, 9 out of 10 nonprofits don’t do it right. Join the fabulous presenter, Jay Wilkinson of Firespring, to learn about 5 types of nonprofit emails; anatomy of an email marketing campaign; 6 email marketing mistakes to avoid, and 5 secrets of email marketing geniuses.
Click-it: 4-Steps to Acquire More Online Donors [Download free, on-demand webinar]. The experts at NextAfter share a tested and proven model to acquire new donors online, including proven techniques to optimize every step of the process.
Click-it: What about those leaked reports from Facebook and Instagram? [Listen to on-demand podcast]. Amy DeVita, Top Nonprofits, hosts one of my favorite nonprofit digital media gurus, Julia Campbell, for a terrific discussion about the evolution of Meta (was Facebook) as a fundraising and messaging platform (including Instagram and WhatsApp). She tackles questions about whether to leave the platforms, how to use them to serve your best interests, how to keep them accountable, and how much bandwidth to devote to them.
Strategy, Management and Planning
Click-it: The Nonprofit Marketing Summit [Register for free 3-day online conference, 8-16-18, 2022]. This is jam-packed with content, and will help you with just about everything as you plan ahead for year-end fundraising and beyond. It features 60+ high-impact sessions led by nonprofit industry leaders from organizations including TikTok, Meta aka Facebook, Twitter, TechSoup, Charity Water and many more! Brought to us all by Community Boost.
Trends
Click-it: “What excites you about the nonprofit space in 2022?” 11 Nonprofit Leaders Answer the Question [Download 11 interviews]. The folks at Funraise have sourced the wisdom of the crowd, with action-packed discussions with such experts as Francesco Ambrogetti, Chad Barger, Julia Campbell, Madison Gonzalez, Rachel Muir, Kishshana Palmer and more!
DOWNLOADABLE GUIDES, WHITE PAPERS & OTHER RESOURCES
Case for Support
Click-it: Creating a Case Statement: Step-by-Step Guidebook [Download free resource]. As we head towards prime fundraising season, one of the things you must be really clear about is your case for support. This step-by-step guidebook from Nonprofit Learning Lab will help you describe your purpose and rationale for fundraising. Also included are activities and worksheets to guide executive leadership, board members, and staff on developing your core content. Use these resources during staff meetings, training, and retreats.
Digital Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: Your Digital Marketing Handbook [Download free Guide]. I set out to write a guidebook for you on this topic, only to come across this excellent one from the planned giving experts at Stelter. No need to re-invent the wheel! Their focus is on using digital for planned giving, but the strategies hold true for any type of nonprofit awareness-building and conversion campaigns.
Year-End Fundraising
Click-it: 13 Year End Fundraising Tips [Download free e-Guide]. Here’s a guide I authored for Bloomerang, specifically designed to help you get all your ducks in a row – now! – so this year’s end-of-calendar-year fundraising is your best ever! Now’s the time to start “pre-suading” donors with non-solicitation communications. You’ll find plenty of practical tips here.
Did You Miss My Newest Articles?
- Top 5 Strategies to Prepare for Fall Fundraising NOW
- What Monkeys Can Teach Your Nonprofit
- How to Persuade New Donors to Join Your Nonprofit Mission
- Are Monthly Donors Good Legacy Giving Prospects
- How to Find Your Nonprofit’s Highest Likelihood Major Donors
- 10 Strategies to Skyrocket Major Gift Fundraising
Finally… if you have a question, any question… Check out my free fundraising advice column on the Bloomerang blog! Ask your question here. And bookmark the Ask an Expert page for any time you have a question! Here’s a new one: How To Frame And Record Combined Asks For Capital, Endowment, And Operations!
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. AUGUST tips are now live! If you’re not yet an enrolled student, you can get in on the fun here!
Such a great read, filled with so much wisdom on challenges many non-profit development leaders face.
–– Nesha Crossman, Chief Development Officer, Forest Home
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
You remind me what is most important and why I love this profession. I find your posts, new and old, so spot on. You nail it.
—Heather Wardle CFRE, Vancouver BC
My motto is: “If I know it, I want you to know it.” Don’t miss out.
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