Winter Wonderland 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!
“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
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…
SPECIAL FEATURE: Something You May Not Have Thought Of
ARTICLE
Click-it: How to Drive Impact With Action-Based Donations. This fundraising strategy, highlighted by the folks at Momentum, may not be on your radar. But it’s an excellent way to keep your cause top of mind for folks as they go about their daily lives. For my money, it’s an excellent acquisition method that you’ll want to pair with a robust cultivation/retention program. Need to get more donors in the door? Want them to come primed to continue engagement with you? Check this out.
ARTICLES
Annual (Year-Round) Giving
Click-it: How to Promote Matching Gifts to Your Audience: 5 Best Practices. Candace Cody at Causevox lays out five strategies to maximize the benefits of your challenge grant. Examples are included for you to emulate.
Click-it: How to Start, Grow, and Maintain Your Monthly Giving Program. This is a meaty read from Neon One you won’t want to miss. It summarizes and expands on tips from Erica Waasdorp, arguably the sector’s leading authority on recurring gifts. Whether you’re thinking of starting a program or already have one, I dare you not to find at least one new idea you can implement right away.
Click-it: How To Transform Donor Engagement. This article, from BrightDot, is about reframing your approach to fundraising. Rather than making it a slog, focused on money, what about making it an exciting adventure you and your supporters are on together? Turns out when the journey is shared it naturally creates the type of community wanting to stick with you through thick and thin.
Boards
Click-it: The Hidden Ingredient of a High-Functioning Board. Thank you Joan Garry for highlighting this. In my own experience, this is so, so true. I’m going to bet you won’t guess this one. But after you learn the answer, you won’t forget it.
Events
Click-it: From Paddles to Profits: A Guide to Hosting a Stellar Live Auction Event. A lot can go wrong with a live auction. That’s why you owe it to yourself to learn the right (and wrong) way to go about it. The folks at Auctria are specialists, and have a ton of great tips to guide you towards success. Check it out!
Click-it: Peer-to-Peer Fundraising: Key Strategies and Ideas. If you’ve ever considered using peer-to-peer fundraising strategies in conjunction with an event, the folks at Eventgroove have the answers to your questions. Learn what to do and get specific tips for success in this article.
Click-it: Spark Summer Giving: Unique Summer Fundraising Ideas. The text messaging specialists at Rally Corp offer up some great event ideas + ways to use texting, peer-to-peer strategies and social media to enhance engagement and simplify giving. You’ll be running the same event, but amplifying your generated revenue. Sounds good, yes?
Grants
Click-it: Both Sides Of The Table. Ephraim Gopin, 1832 Communications, writes about the foundation grants process from the perspective of applicant and funder. There are some great tips here, so be sure to give this a read.
Major, Capital and Legacy Gift Fundraising
Click-it: What Is The Major Gift Potential of Your Volunteers? It’s a lot more than you may think. Check out Rachel Muir’s piece on the Bloomerang blog to learn three myths that hold you back, plus how to use data to unearth your volunteers’ major gift potential. There’s also a tip for creating a volunteer event to reveal major gift potential.
Click-it: Your Campaign’s Not Over When You Reach Your Campaign Goal. What should you do when you’ve reached your capital campaign goal? Amy Eisenstein, Capital Campaign Pro, has some important advice you’d do well to heed.
Click it: Understanding Wealthy Donors: 3 Truths Every Gift Officer Needs to Know. Greg Warner of Market Smart busts some myths and helps you learn why understanding your major donors matters.
Online Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: Email Marketing: Beginners Guide. This is a comprehensive article from The DigitalXX designed for beginners. It’s not written for nonprofits per se, but if you’re starting a new nonprofit, or just coming into a job as an E.D., you’ll find this useful. Plus, it’s not a bad refresher for anyone in fundraising or marketing, just to make sure you’re not overlooking any basics.
Click-it: Why It’s So Hard to Tell Stories – and How to Make It Easier. You may have noticed I’ve been sharing a lot of resources about storytelling, both in this newsletter and on my own Clairification blog. That’s because they are so critical to capturing people’s attention, connecting with them on a human level, and driving them to action. The folks at Moceanic agree. Stories can be magic. They also can be difficult to tell well. Learn how here.
Psychology of Giving
Click-it: Change the Recipe, Change the Results. Steven Screen, The Better Fundraising Co., always shares succinct foundational principles of effective fundraising. Today it’s about how to avoid the trap many nonprofits fall into as they grow.
Strategy
Click-it: Breaking a Fundraising Taboo This engagement strategy, showcased in Chronicle of Philanthropy and employed by Charity: water, is kind of brilliant. They dip their toe into today’s hot-button issues to showcase how they think about their mission as a unifier. It’s always good to show how what you do is relevant, and this turned out to be a fruitful way to attract new supporters.
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!
Database
Click-it: Practical tips on adding demographic data to profiles [Register for free webinar, 6-5-2024]. Learn from Candid the simple steps for conducting a demographics survey and discover how and why funders use demographic data. You’ll also gain access to tools and templates to collect this data in an efficient, respectful and appropriate way. Added benefit: Sharing leader demographics on your Candid profile helps earn a Gold Seal of Transparency so you can boost your visibility and attract more funding.
Online Social Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: Social Media 102 [Register for free webinar, 5-21-2024]. If you’ve previously had the pleasure of attending one of Kiersten Hill’s webinars for Firespring, you know they are packed with concrete take-aways. This one has how to: (1) use social media to connect with constituents; (2) monitor conversations to stay ahead of the curve; (3) get people to advocate on your behalf, and (4) navigate social media advertising and understand when to use it.
Psychology of Giving
Click-it: The Behavioral Economics Nonrofit Playbook [Download free e-book]. I love this resource, and can’t believe it’s free. Thank you, thank you, thank you NextAfter! Discover 32 behavioral concepts, each unpacked with clarity and backed by real-world examples and experiments, tailor-made for the nonprofit landscape.
Storytelling
Click-it: The impact of storytelling on fundraising [Listen to on-demand panel discussion]. Josh Kligman and Jeff Rum of Storyraise chat with me about (1) the best types of stories nonprofits can tell: (2) the worst types of stories; (3) including interactive components in your stories to create experiences, and more.
Technology
Click-it: Leveraging Email Appending in Fundraising [Register for free presentation, 5-28-2024]. Join NXUnite and NPOInfo for this session exploring the innovative approach of reverse email appending. Wouldn’t it be great to know what this is all about the next time your boss or a board member ask you?
Website
Click-it: Why does your website need a content strategy? [Listen to on-demand podcast]. Join Farra Trumpeter, Big Duck, and Natalie Yelton, Kanopi, as they share key performance indicators to use while writing new content for your site and insights on how to lead with accessibility.
DOWNLOADABLE GUIDES, PAPERS TEMPLATES, ASSESSMENTS & OTHER RESOURCES
Annual (Year-Round) Fundraising
Click-it: The Recurring Giving Report: Data-Backed Insights for Sustainable Generosity [Download free report]. Donor retention is on the decline – but not for monthly donors! If you want to retain 80 – 90% (rather than 20 – 45%), this resource is for you. And it’s backed up by data provided by Neon One. Learn how to build, or improve, your recurring giving program. It’s not rocket science, and definitely doable by nonprofits of all sizes.
Click-it: Revolutionizing Your ROI: A Guide to Monthly Giving Programs [Read free guide]. Adam Wenger, Double the Donation, has put together everything you need to (1) make the case for a monthly giving program; (2) establish clear objectives; (3) develop strategies to reach your goals, and (4) take your current program to the next level. No matter where you are with monthly giving right now, you’ll find this a seriously useful primer.
Major Gift Fundraising
Click-it: Removing Obstacles to Major Gift Fundraising [Download free paper]. This Paper from the Veritus Group includes a list full of common obstacles to major gift fundraising. plus some tips, thoughts, and recommendations for how to address them.
BTW: If you want to learn everything you need to know about developing a systematic approach to major gift fundraising, take a serious look at this major gifts certification course. I LOVE this course SO much, and want you to take advantage. There are cohorts forming beginning June 10th and August 26th,. Use my exclusive Code – CA5 – and you’ll get $100 off. If you register 30 days in advance, you’ll automatically save 20%. Don’t delay! The end of the calendar year will be here before you know it, and these are the last dates these classes will be offered this year.
Did You Miss My Newest Articles?
Here are links to the most recent articles on the Clairification blog.
EVENTS
Nonprofit Event Fundraising: They’ll Never Forget How You Made Them Feel
Top Proven Nonprofit Fundraising Event Planning Tips
Common Sense Nonprofit Event Planning Advice
REFRAMING YOUR APPROACH
How to Stop Being a Radiance Slayer
The Meaning of Philanthropy, Not Fundraising – Part 2
The Meaning of Philanthropy, Not Fundraising – Part 1
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 one: Should Your Board Have Term Limits?
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. MAY tips are now live! If you’re not yet an enrolled student, you can get in on the fun here!
I really do wish every small nonprofit would read what you write. Best fundraising read of the week (maybe the month). Thank-you for sharing with us all.
–BT Irwin, Small Nonprofit Coach
You are having a ripple effect in the many nonprofits you inspire through folks like me – and I hope you experience the joy in that every day. Thank you for sending out such great resources. I look forward to your regular emails and the helpful content you deliver.
– Jennifer M. Standen, Development Manager, Bethany Christian Services
If there were a Mount Rushmore for Philanthropy, Claire Axelrad would certainly be on it. Every nonprofit would benefit by ditching forgettable fundraising in favor of passionate philanthropy with Claire.”
– Jay Wilkinson, Founder & CEO of Firespring
And now, some fun things I found on walks over the past two weeks…
Mural wall in San Francisco Mission district. Blow it up big to read the poem.
Plea for social justice. Mural in San Francisco Mission district.
Flowers spring forth from a tree stump in Golden Gate Park panhandle. I’ve been watching and waiting. Finally!
See what you’re able to find this week! Either within or without the Clairity Click-it. 😉
And please support my extraordinary sponsors (see below). The Clairity Click-it content is free, and Clairification School is affordable, because of their generosity.
