Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
Here’s something to bring into your conversations with family, friends, colleagues and supporters as you navigate what can be a stressful time of year.
“In the Culture Code, Dan Coyle observes that good leaders learn how to listen in a specific way. Like a trampoline. Absorbing the message and then adding height and perspective to the conversation by asking questions, increasing our understanding.
Even if you learn nothing from listening except “this is what this person believes,” you still enhance your understanding of the world.
If you feel 100% comfortable discounting what someone is saying, listen anyway. Because you’ll learn something. You’ll learn how they think.
And if you learn a new piece of valuable insight, you win.”
— Hugh MacLeod, The Gaping Void
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 making our world a better place,
Claire
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!
Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…
SPECIAL FEATURE: Update for Wither Twitter?
Click-it: Update: Guidance on Post-Musk Twitter. In the last issue of this newsletter, I included initial guidance from M+R. Since developments out of Twitter have been coming in fast and furious since then, they’ve updated their advice.
Click-it: LinkedIn Company Page Best Practices for 2023 [Infographic]. While you’re pondering whether to leave Twitter or stay, amping up your game on other social media sites makes sense. Here are some tips from Social Media Today.
Click-it: 5 LinkedIn Summary Examples (and 7 Tips) to Help You Attract More Leads. Neal Schaffer is one of my “go-to” social media gurus, and here’s a newly revised article to help you should you be contemplating a move away from Twitter. You’ll find a list of inspiring LinkedIn summary examples, plus a best practices list to help you boost your profile.
ARTICLES
Annual (Year-Round) Fundraising
Click-it: 4 DIY Fundraising Ideas to Share With Your Volunteers. One of the best ways to leverage current donor support is through peer-to-peer fundraising. Here are four suggestions from Sarah Sebastian, One Cause, on the TopNonprofits/NXUnite blog.
Click-it: These 3 Signals Show Your Subscribers Are Ready to Donate. In this article from Beeline, learn the importance of recency, frequency and money as signals people are ready to take a next step. Then learn how to apply these indications of interest, right now, to raise more money!
Content Marketing
Click-it: Stay Connected With Your Donors by Creating a Communications Calendar. People who support you want to hear from you. Don’t let them down! This is not just a job for your marketing people. Everyone needs to work together. Grab some tips from Ann Green’s Nonprofit Blog.
Donor Retention
Click-it: Nonprofit Donor Retention 101: Always Do This. Donors in, donors out. Donors in, donors out…Don’t let this endless see-saw happen to you! Build a love and loyalty plan to keep donors close. Remember: The greatest gifts you can offer are (1) heartfelt gratitude, and (2) consistent communications on impact. See my article on the Bloomerang blog.
Click-it: The Key to Donor Retention? I love this article from Lisa Greer, Philanthropy 451, discussing a fabulous strategy for connecting with donors and getting inside their heads. Were I you, I’d think about instituting my own “insight panel” as a way to meaningfully engage key supporters.
Events
Click-it: Creative Ways to Use QR Codes at Your Fundraising Event. This article on the GreaterGiving blog explains what QR codes are, easy ways to use them to promote your event, how to accept donations, and how to save paper by using them for auction catalogues or anything else you might dream up. You might even put the codes on volunteer t-shirts!
Giving Tuesday
Click-it: Fundraising And Marketing Lessons From Giving Tuesday Part Two. Ephraim Gopin, 1832 Communications, open all 271 of the GT emails he received. This is what he found, and his take-aways for you moving forward.
Online Social Fundraising
Click-it: 9 Must-Know Text Message Marketing Stats for Nonprofits. Text messages have a phenomenal open rate – 98% vs. roughly 22% for emails – and the good news doesn’t stop there! Check out this infographic from the text messaging experts at Rally Corp; consider adding this to your mix of messaging strategies.
Click-it: Digital Fundraising Innovations and Trends to Watch in 2023. The trends discussed by Maria Clark on the NonProfitPRO blog prioritize tapping the unique, inherent powers of social media — friction-free giving, easy repeatability and second-gift encouragement, and personalization — vs. proactively accumulating donor contact information. Both can be important, and complementary.
Strategy and Management
Click-it: Why Won’t You Hire Administrative Support For Your Frontline Fundraiser? Just yesterday I was talking with someone who had this very problem. It’s a challenging one, and no one has a better handle on what you need, and why, than the team at the Veritus Group. Check this out, then grab their free download outlining the division of labor for what an admin person does versus the frontline fundraiser.
Click-it: A/B Testing Turkey?. A fascinating article demonstrating that much of the conventional wisdom on testing is hogwash. You don’t have to be big. You don’t necessarily have to confine the test to one variable. But… you can’t just guess based on whim. Read this post from Tim Kachuriak at Next After!
Website
Click-it: 4 components of a perfect year-end donation page. You still have time to make a few important tweaks. The folks at 4aGoodCause have your back with these timely suggestions.
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!
Content Marketing
Click-it: Five Biggest Mistakes in Content Creation [Register for free webinar, 1-18-2022]. Team members from TechSoup will share some common mistakes that can become BIG mistakes when creating content for marketing your nonprofit to constituents.
Donor Retention
Click-it: How to Defeat Fundraising’s Silent Enemy: Donor Attrition [Register for free webinar, 12-20-22]. Learn 6 key drivers that can double the lifetime value of your donors. And much more. You’ll have no better teacher than Jay Wilkinson of Firespring. His presentations are always jam-packed with actionable items!
Strategy and Management
Click-it: New Year’s Resolutions for Fundraisers [Register for free webinar, 12-21-2022]. Ready to put this year to bed? Sometimes it can lift your mood to think of a clean slate and future plans. Join Network for Good to learn what other fundraisers are envisioning for next year.
YOU
Click-it: Three Tips to Be a Better Conversationalist [Listen to podcast now]. These are quick tips, courtesy of the Greater Good Science Center, you can use anywhere. Great for talks with your boss, connecting with your board, meeting with major donors, and in your personal life too.
DOWNLOADABLE GUIDES, WHITE PAPERS & OTHER RESOURCES
Donor Retention
Click-it: Create an Email Welcome Series for Donors [With Templates]. Don’t squander the good will of the folks currently donating to you! Especially with new donors, it’s important to make a good first impression. Shay Lessman describes one of the best strategies for getting a second gift on the Qgiv blog. Don’t forget to lighten your workload by downloading the free templates.
Online Social Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: A Social Media Strategy Template That Works [Free Social Media 101… and beyond]. Neal Schaffer is one of my “go-to” social media experts, and here he’s taken the time to create a primer with absolutely everything you need to know to create and execute a strategy that will be worth your efforts. Go into the battle for eyeballs and engagement fully armed with the tools you’ll need to succeed.
Events
Click-it: Your Nonprofit Organization’s Ultimate Guide to a Successful Raffle [Download free eBook]. This eBook features key insights and strategies for running successful fundraising raffles, complete with examples from Eventgroove’s nonprofit customers.
Did You Miss My Newest Articles?
Here are links to the most recent articles on the Clairification blog. You can see I really don’t want you to squander the good feelings you’re triggering during this season of giving! The goal is not simply to squeeze money out of people. It’s to give donors a squeeze and a hug for being caring and generous. This will make them feel good, which will move them to continue sticking with you.
- How to Help Donors Give Astutely Before Year-End
- Don’t Blow Your Post-Holiday Opportunity to Thank Your Nonprofit Supporters
- Happy Days of Thanks(for)Giving
- 13 Top Secrets of Donor Thank You Letters Revealed
- Giving Tuesday: Don’t Take the Money and Run
- Why Prompt, Personal Thank You’s are Nonprofit Donors’ Inalienable Right
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 timely one: In Which Year Are Gifts Made On Or Before December 31, But Received In January, Counted?
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. DECEMBER tips are live! If you’re not yet an enrolled student, you can get in on the fun here!
Claire… I don’t know how often folks give YOU a thumbs up… but let me try… I’ve successfully retired 5 times after raising mega-millions for universities and hospitals… I still run my consulting business… every time I start reading your “tips” I shout YES!! Many of the methods are newer…but the basis remains the same. People need you!
— Margie McCurry. Ph.D., CFRE, The McCurry Group
I came across your website and I hit the goldmine! Thank you for sharing so much valuable information!!
– Erica Martinez
One of the best articles re marketing and fundraising that I‘ve read in a long time. I am passing it on to the usual suspects — my boss, Development Committee…
— Margot Harrigan. Director of Development. Community Health Awareness Council
My motto is: “If I know it, I want you to know it.” Don’t miss out.
Please support my extraordinary sponsors (see below). The Clairity Click-it content is free, and Clairification School is affordable because of their generosity.
