Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
Take some inspiration from the inimitable Seth Godin:
If we’re restless, it pays to get up and walk around.
Is stress different?
Along the way, it seems as though we got confused about the best way to deal with the stress that comes from work and from the projects we work on.
“Push through the stress and on the other side, everything will be okay.”
Simply get all the details right, get an A, get into a famous college, make the sale, polish the logo, do the pitch and then… reassurance will follow.
The reassurance of success or even survival. The reassurance of external acclaim or simply relief.
Now that everything’s okay, no need to be stressed!
Until the next time. Which might be tomorrow.
Reassurance is futile, because there’s never enough of it.
Some folks manage to get their projects done without this sort of stress. They’re not using the search for reassurance as fuel.
What’s the difference between giving a speech to your dog and giving one on the TED stage? It’s the same speech. The difference is in the story we tell ourselves about the stakes, the opportunity and what might happen next. If that story gets debilitating enough, it can paralyze us.
If you’re on a backpacking trip, there’s little doubt that ten more minutes of tired to get to the next campsite is a smart investment. A little more tired translates into a lot more rest.
But if you’re at work, there’s not a lot of evidence that more stress is the best way to have less stress.
Look for the story instead.
[PS It’s not easy to change your story. For some people, and in some situations, it’s almost impossible. But that doesn’t mean that more stress in search of reassurance is going to make your search for a useful story any easier. If others in your situation have figured out a story that works for them, that’s a good sign that you might find one too. If no one has, changing your situation (if you can) might be the best way forward. But we need to get unhooked from the cycle of reassurance.]
— Seth Godin
MORAL: TELL YOUR OWN STORY.
Okay, let’s get in to today’s content. Hopefully some of the resources I’ve collected over the past two weeks 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.]
P.P.S. If you’re an enrolled Clairification School student, your APRIL TIPS are live. If you’re not yet enrolled, I hope you’ll join us.
Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…
ARTICLES
Annual (Year-Round) Fundraising
Click-it: How including an Impact Callout on a Gift Array Impacts Average Gift and Donor Conversion. I love sharing the results of A/B tests conducted by other organizations, because they help you think of things to try and test on your own. Plus, they show that little tweaks can have large consequences. The key learning from this experiment is that highlighting the impact of a donation can significantly increase average gift size and revenue. By focusing on how the donor’s gift can make a difference, they saw a 174.5% increase in transactions! A big high five to NextAfter for making these results publicly available.
Click-it: Toybox: Not just an Easter appeal. Here’s a stellar example of a direct mail appeal on the SOFII blog. It’s beautifully designed. The request is clear, and it gives donors a better understanding of what their donations will achieve. It also proved remarkably successful as an online appeal which meant that, alongside the letter, results were phenomenal.
Click-it: 2 human quirks you can use to fundraise better. I love applying psychology, neuroscience and behavioral economics to the practice of fundraising, and so does Mary Cahalane, Hands-On Fundraising. You can’t use all of these triggers at the same time, but pick a few and commit to incorporating them into your practice this year. You’ll be giving yourself a leg up!
Donor Retention
Click-it: How to design an impact report. This is an excellent piece from thought leader Tim Sarrantonio that will help you not only build a report, but also understand where it fits in the donor’s journey and the generosity experience you want to shape for them in order to drive loyalty.
Click-it: How to Nurture the Beauty of Small yet Special Moments With Your Donors. Zach Christensen at Stelter, reminds us to be on the lookout. Keep your eyes and ears open about what people are saying and how they’re interacting with your organization’s outreach. If something is promising, act on it. Grab some creative ideas in this article.
Events
Click-it: How to Combine an Online Raffle and In-Person Raffle. The experts at Eventgroove outline how to boost your fundraiser’s reach by running a virtual raffle alongside your traditional raffle. The article includes real examples, plus tips for success.
Grants
Click-it: Standardized answers to the Sustainability Question. This is from Vu Lee, NonprofitAF, and he definitely wishes foundations would stop asking this question. However, for when they do (most of the time), here are some suggestions for how to handle it. Some of these had me laughing out loud!
Major, Capital and Legacy Gift Fundraising
Click it: Your Guide to AI & Major Gift Fundraising. If you’ve been jonesing for a new major gift officer, or even just a project manager or assistant to organize you, you owe it to yourself to check this out. Because AI just may be your very own major gift fundraising fairy godmother. The folks at Momentum literally have brought this down to a science – for every step of the donor journey — while not losing sight of the art.
Click it: 4 Ways Your Assumptions about Major Donors Are Hurting Your Fundraising. This article from Market Smart has some great tips of things to avoid doing. Like stop making it about you. Stop preaching and trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Stop being incurious. Stop presuming you know everything you need to know. You’ll also find links to helpful related resources.
Online and Mobile Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: How to Create a Nonprofit Thank You Video. Have you ever had one of these sent to you? I have, and can tell you they really make a donor smile, smile, smile! If you want to stand out, and make supporters feel really good about their connection with you, give this a try. Learn how from the experts at Rally Corp.
Click-it: The Power of Gamified Nonprofit Marketing and Fundraising. If you’ve wondered about how to make engagement with your brand more compelling and fun, this article by Kristy Morris on NonProfitPRO offers great ideas. You’ll get three strategies to implement, and three real-life examples.
Click-it: The future is here: Leveraging data for personalized donor experiences. Your website interactions can reveal more about your donors than you may be aware. The RKD Group breaks down what you can learn, if you only pay attention.
Strategy, Management and Planning
Click-it: 5 Research-Based Fundraising Strategies For Modern Campaigns. Avoid the trap of tradition. Just because you’ve always done something a certain way, doesn’t mean you should continue. It may not be exactly “broke,” but it could likely be improved quite a bit through the application of new science and/or tools. See what Sheena Sullivan has to say in this post on the Bloomerang blog.
Click-it: 7 Time Leaks That Are Zapping Your Nonprofit Productivity. Sandy Rees, Get Fully Funded, outlines seven things you should do less of so you’ve more time for the things that are true priorities. Plus you’ll learn how to do your own time study.
Technology: So Many Kinds of Digital Innovation
Click-it: How AI Can Help You Personalize Your Fundraising Work. This is big. Because the more personal you are in your outreach, the more likely you’ll build the types of relationships that turn into lasting support. The team at Auctria has put together an overview of the role AI can play in helping you, both through predictive and generative tools. Learn how to use both, and grab some specific tips.
Trends
Click-it: 4 Insights From Fundraising Effectiveness Project Report’s 2023 Data. NonprofitPRO reports on recent results showing donors and dollars both trending downward. While the data can be depressing, I look at it as a strong impetus for nonprofits to redouble their donor retention and upgrading strategies. This is something we’ve neglected far too long, hoping strategies relied on twenty and thirty years ago would still work today. Some do. Clearly many don’t. Time to wake up and seize the new day!
Other Learning Opportunities
WEBINARS, PODCASTS, CONFERENCES & 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!
Branding
Click it: Galactic Generosity: Navigating the Attention Economy with Stellar Recurring Donations and Brand Experience [Register for free workshop 4-29-2024]. Join Tim Sarrantonio, Neon One, and Eric Ressler, Cosmic, for this session providing actionable strategies to enhance your brand and optimize the donor experience while inspiring your imagination. Participants will embark on a journey to create a compelling and enduring presence for their nonprofit, ensuring it shines brightly in the crowded cosmos of causes.
Online & Social Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: Game On: Benchmarks 2024 [Register for free live announcement, 4-24-2024]. M+R releases their new Benchmark report April 24th, and if it’s anything like past iterations you won’t want to miss it. This year will feature a virtual Candyland of useful information about digital ads, email, mobile messaging, social media, web performance, and more.
Click-it: 7 Ways to Grow Your Nonprofit’s Following on Social Media [Register for free mini-webinar, 5-1-2024]. Learn from Heather Mansfield, Nonprofit Tech for Good, how to let your supporters and donors know how to find your nonprofit on social media. Why? The era of organic growth is over; time to get proactive.
Storytelling
Click-it: Storytelling for Impact [Register for free webinar, 4-30-24]. I always love to hear from Kiersten Hill at Firespring because you’re sure to get a lot of useful take-aways. Here you’ll get: (1) storytelling frameworks (e.g., the “Hero’s Journey”); (2) tools to aid in the process of compiling the most compelling stories; (3) social media story tools to build community and motivate action, and (4) exercises your team can use to enhance and refine your storytelling process.
Click-it: The impact of storytelling on fundraising [Listen on-demand, or read transcript]. Josh Kligman and Jeff Rum of Storyraise invited me to join them for a conversation about why storytelling is SO important. Plus, we offer a number of concrete tips you can use right away. If you missed us live, you can hear/read us now.
DOWNLOADABLE GUIDES, PAPERS, TEMPLATES & OTHER RESOURCES
Grants
Click-it: Essential Nonprofit Grants Checklist [Download free resource]. If you need help managing your grants, this checklist from MIP fund accounting is for you. Use this resource to track the pre-award, post-award and audit stages of the grant process. Check off each step from being awarded to the accounting and reporting.
Major Gift Fundraising
Click-it: Caseload Management Checklist [Download free resource]. The major gift gurus at Veritus Group have put together this checklist of your essential tasks, broken down by what’s needed on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and semi-annual basis. It’s all included in a one-page, printable checklist to help you keep these priorities visible on a daily basis.
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. So, use my exclusive Clairification Code – CA5 – to register and grab a nice discount for the next session beginning April 22nd (You can still get in). There are also cohorts forming beginning June 10th and August 26th,. For those, use Code – CLAIRE – and you’ll get 20% off if you register 30 days in advance. Don’t delay! These classes closer to the end of the calendar year fill up.
Did You Miss My Newest Articles?
Here are links to the most recent articles on the Clairification blog. Remember, your 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.
Wishing you bouquets of joy this week!
Do you wish you had a dime for… ?
Why You Must Put Real Resources into Building Nonprofit Donor Loyalty
Two Ways Nonprofits Get Donor-Centered Fundraising Wrong
These Fundraising Appeal Fallacies Will Cost You Money
Invite Nonprofit Donors Into Your Story, Giving Them a Powerful Role to Play
Loyalty is the New Nonprofit Donor Currency: Part 2
Loyalty is the New Nonprofit Donor Currency: 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 You Celebrate Your Nonprofit’s Anniversary?
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. APRIL TIPS are live! If you’re not yet an enrolled student, and don’t have direct, immediate access to ALL my blog articles, monthly tips, webinars, podcasts and much more, you can get in on the fun here! Your support helps me to support you.
And now, some fun things I found on walks in Carmel-by-the-Sea over the past week…
Bubbling over… outdoor sculpture
Love bouquets… outdoor sculpture
Nature’s vase: let no good stump go unfilled
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.
