Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
This week’s bit of wisdom…
Skipping the good days
Part of the luxury of living near the ocean or the mountains is that you can be picky. If the surf or the powder isn’t great, leave it for the tourists. Good is insufficient, wait for the great moments…
When we’re young, or the project is going really well, it’s easy to waste the good days. After all, there will be another one tomorrow.
What becomes clear, though, is that good days are precious. When you’re feeling even a little creative, don’t wait. Write it down, roll tape, speak up. When you’re feeling reasonably healthy, go for a walk.
They’re all good days, if we choose.
June is bustin’ out all over, and nature beckons. Don’t waste it! And don’t waste your creative sparks when you feel them either. If any of the content you unlock in this edition of the Clairity Click-it sparks your imagination, do something with it. Don’t tuck it aside to think about tomorrow. Too often, tomorrow never comes.
Set aside a little time to explore, and see what you find. What calls to you? Pick at least one thing to click on. What did you learn? What did it make you think about doing differently? Write it down and calendar a time to dig into it a bit more sometime next week.
As always, I’ve sorted everything by category, and included a broad spectrum of materials for a range of adult learning styles. A big thank you to my Click-it 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. I’ve got a lot of great stuff for you this week, so let’s get right to it!
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. For a modest $100/year you get all my new blog articles, monthly tips, bonus tips, templates and worksheets, course and product discounts, and access to archived posts, webinars, and podcasts. I am deeply appreciative for your support! [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: BOARDS
Click-it: Turning Your Board Members Into Fundraisers [Download free e-guide]. Board support (whether in time or dollars) can affect donor behavior and impacts a development team’s job satisfaction and likelihood for success. Yet inspiring board members to become fundraising allies can be challenging. So, Network for Good compiled tips on how to empower your board to embrace this important job.
Click-it: Turning Board Members into Fundraisers [Watch quick, free video]. This is part of Chris Davenport’s ‘Movie Monday’ series. Sign up if you’re not yet on the list. This episode offers great practical tips from executive directors who’ve figured it out!
ARTICLES
Annual (Year-Round) Fundraising
Click-it: Why Monthly Giving Matters: The Impact and Sustainability it Brings. This piece by Ronald Pruitt, 4aGoodCause, is one of the most comprehensive A to Z articles I’ve read on the topic. If you’re thinking of starting or ramping up your recurring giving program, use this as your primer.
Content Marketing
Click-it: Nonprofit Annual Report Photos — Everything You Need to Know. Discover exactly why annual report photos matter, what kinds you should use, and see some amazing examples of both real and stock imagery in action. Plus, in this article from Yearly, you’ll learn all the pros and cons of using stock vs. real imagery.
Click-it: Your fundraising communications calendar: how to. If your calendar is hit and miss, or “ask for money when we’re in trouble”, you need to put some structure into your plans. So says Mary Cahalane, Hands-On Fundraising, in this straightforward article about setting goals, segmenting lists, planning messaging, gathering stories and organizing your strategy.
Donor Retention and Recognition
Click-it: The Dos and Don’ts of Donor Wall Design. If you’ve ever found yourself in this situation, you probably had no idea where to begin. Thanks to the experts at Presentation Design Group, we now have this thorough article to get you started with planning and implementation of a personalized, lasting tribute to the campaign donors who made your initiative a resounding success!
Events
Click-it: Increase Turnout with an Early Bird Ticketing Strategy—A Complete Guide. There are multiple ways to promote your event and drive ticket sales, including cause marketing, partnering with influencers, and printing posters with QR codes. However, one oft-overlooked yet effective method is an early bird ticketing strategy. Learn all about it in this article from Eventgroove.
Click-it: 7 Top Tips for Promoting Your Auction on Facebook and Twitter. The folks at Auctria specialize in nonprofit auctions. I think my favorite tips here are #3 and #4 (both good ways to increase your exposure).
Mobile Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: Unlock the Benefits of Ringless Voicemail for Nonprofits. James Martin of Rally Corp explains how to deliver personalized messages to large numbers of people without interrupting their day. Plus, he offers tips on how to implement and run successful campaigns using this automated, time-saving technology.
Online Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: A/B Testing Guide for Non-Profits. The folks at NextAfter are absolute testing gurus, and they generously share the results of all the tests they conduct with the nonprofits with whom they work. If you’re thinking about testing to optimize your performance, this is a must-read. And also check out their archive of past experiments!
Click-it: Beyond Likes and Shares: How Nonprofits Can Foster Engagement on Social Media. If you don’t increase engagement, you won’t convert followers to subscribers, supporters and donors. And that means your social media is a big waste of time. But you can fix it, simply by taking to heart the tips in this article from the Qgiv blog. Plus, there’s a strategy workbook you can download for free.
Strategy and Management
Click-it: Mental Health at Work: 5 Ways to Support Your Employees’ Wellness. I love this from the folks at Stelter. Especially the idea of changing “sick” to “well” time.
Technology
Click-it: Unlocking Efficiency and Impact: How to Use Salesforce’s Einstein GPT for Your Nonprofit. In the times we find ourselves, here’s hoping you have a life-long learning mindset! Tim Forbes, Soapbox Engage, explains how to use new technology for good, not evil. With this first generative AI CRM technology, your nonprofit will be able to easily deliver personalized experiences to your organization’s supporters, get your work done faster, and easily create new experiences through your CRM without the need for knowledge around coding.
Writing
Click-it: How to share feelings. Emotional copy works a zillion times better than reportorial or educational copy. At least if you want to move people to create change. Want to do a better job connecting with your audience? Mary Cahalane, Hands-On Fundraising, is a terrific fundraising writer. So, you can’t go wrong stealing these tips!
YOU
Click-it: The Easiest Way How to Add Your Portfolio to LinkedIn. Neal Schaffer is the expert. You’ll love these tips to help set yourself apart from others in your field.
WEBINARS, PODCASTS, ROUNDTABLES & 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) Fundraising
Click-it: The Power of a Philanthropy Facilitator [Register for live 30-minute discussion, 6-7-2023]. I look forward to being a guest on The Nonprofit Show, where we’ll discuss reframing fundraising as “philanthropy facilitation.” My hosts are Jarrett Ransom and Julia C. Patrick. Your questions will be welcomed!
Business Support
Click-it: What are corporations looking for from your Nonprofit? The folks at Kat & Mouse suggest things you should research before making a partnership pitch. It’s a good reminder of what businesses are looking for.
Donor Retention
Click-it: Unlocking Donor Delight: The Key to Consistently Growing Your Donor Base [Register for free webinar, 6-8-2023]. You’ve probably heard about the studies that show how donor retention is more cost-effective than donor attraction, and so our natural conclusion is to put our efforts into retaining donors over attracting new ones. But why should we have to choose between the two? Join this Bloomerang-sponsored session with Beeline’s Chris Barlow and discover a groundbreaking approach to expanding your donor base while nurturing existing relationships in one seamless strategy.
Events
Click-it: Unleash the Power of Porch Parties: [Register for free webinar, 6-2-2023]. Gail Perry has helped hundreds of organizations host porch parties to acquire, retain and upgrade donors. Join her and BethAnn Locke to discover the true power of these friend-making events.
Major and Legacy Gifts
Click-it: Why Major Donors Give: How to Tap into their Motives and Inspire Transformational Gifts. Greg Warner, Market Smart, shares 11 succinct things that inspire people to make major and legacy gifts, culled from a body of research from Dr. Russell James. If you can tap into donor motives, you’ll succeed with major gift and legacy fundraising.
Click-it: Fake Relationships and How to Avoid Them. Leave it to the Veritus Group experts to remind us your donor’s life journey, and how you contribute to it, are more important to the relationship than the money you can get from them. Read this to remind yourself of the difference between engaging from the heart, not the head. It will, ultimately, make a big difference – not just in your bottom line but in the way you bring meaning and joy to your supporters.
Online Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: The Nonprofit Email Report: Data-Backed Insights for Better Engagement [Listen to free, downloadable podcast]. Last issue I shared this report for you to download. If you’re more of an audio listener, you’ll appreciate this Fluxx-sponsored episode of Untapped Philanthropy. The host sits down with Tim Sarrantonio and Abby Jarvis of Neon One to look at recent email research and how to humanize it to make it useful for you and your nonprofit.
Strategy and Management
Click-it: Surviving & Thriving As a Small Fundraising Shop: Driving Action & Creating Manageable Solutions [Register for free webinar, 6-6-2023]. Join Laurie Ballard, Society for Nonprofits, to learn what’s successful for other small shops, get help assessing your systems and fund development plan, learn ways to engage other key staff and volunteers in mission driven activities. and build manageable multi-channel fundraising initiatives.
Staff Development
Click-it: Staff Not Ready to Change? This One Practice Creates Buy-In for Staff Development [Listen to 8-minute podcast]. Even though fundamentals don’t often change, the way you approach and apply them must be adapted to changing environments. In this episode of the Learning for Good podcast, Heather Burright explores how to take information that might seem like a review and create buy-in so learners actually want to learn and implement a new approach.
Websites
Click-it: Convert Supporters with Powerful Landing Pages [Register for free webinar, 6-14-23]. Did you know that great landing pages result in donors, volunteers and supporters being 10 times more likely to donate, sign up, register or engage with your nonprofit than the type of landing page most nonprofits have? Alas, it’s true. But you’ll learn it’s a relatively easy fix when you join Firespring to learn about common mistakes and tried-and-true best practices.
YOU
Click-it: Using Listener Mindsets To Have More Productive Conversations [Watch free video]. I almost put this under the Major Gifts category, because it’s all about listening – a key major gift fundraising skill. However, the skills Maryanne Dersch talks about can be used in every aspect of your life, professional and personal. It’s a fun listen, with really useful information to help people feel seen and heard.
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.
- Why are Good Nonprofit Fundraisers Hard to Keep? MONEY
- 7 Top Strategies to Move from Random to Purposeful Donor Cultivation
- 10 Common Nonprofit Major Gift Asking Mistakes to Avoid
- Do You Know How to Use AI for Your Nonprofit?
- 5 Guaranteed Ways to Raise Money Through Storytelling
- Evolving Top Nonprofit Storytelling Practices
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: What is the Best Way to Acquire Donor Phone Numbers?
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. JUNE tips are live! If you’re not yet an enrolled student, and don’t have access to ALL my blog articles, monthly tips, webinars, podcasts and much more, you can get in on the fun here!
And now, just for fun, my “discovered” mural of the week — doesn’t it make you feel ready for the beach?
Please support my extraordinary sponsors (see below). The Clairity Click-it content is free, and Clairification School is affordable, because of their generosity.
