Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
As you’re planning ahead, and readying your year-end fundraising initiatives, take a little time to think about your communication delivery mediums. Not to mention your message content. Are you reaching the right audiences, and making it easy for them? Are you sharing messaging that’s relevant to your constituents, and also authentically you?
Take some inspiration from the inimitable Seth Godin:
On the West Side Highway in Manhattan, there’s currently a billboard for some sort of placebo supplement. In the corner is a QR code for more information.
Unless the person in the passenger seat has a telephoto lens on their phone, there’s no way in the world that this is going to work.
My late friend Jay Levinson said that the most effective billboard would say, “FREE COFFEE, NEXT EXIT.” A call to action, relevant to the viewer, easy to see and understand.
Actual billboards are a whole category of media, but now we’re surrounded by a new kind, a smaller, more evanescent and common one: Social media posts. You might see a thousand of these a day.
Social media began as text updates from one human to another, but thanks to photo sharing, some of the posts have become something else entirely. A chance to create consistent, actionable and clear reminders of what you are and what you stand for.
But keeping Jay’s edict in mind, they work best when they’re about the viewer as much as they are about you. They work better when they can be seen and understood from a distance. And they work better when they “sound like you.”
I publish the Clairity Click-it to offer all kinds of resources for all kinds of nonprofit consumers. Whatever your role, you’ll find something in this issue to nourish you. So, start digging through the 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 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 make our world a better place.
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 donation you get all my new blog articles, exclusive monthly tips, bonus e-guides, 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…
ARTICLES
Boards and Committees
Click-it: Foolproof 3-Step Strategy To Turn Board Members Into Fundraisers. Engaged board members can make your year-end fundraising soar. But, how do you get them inspired? Check out my foolproof 3-step board engagement strategy on the Bloomerang blog. I give away my top secrets for reframing fundraising so it’s something your board members will actually approach with joy, not dread.
Click-it: Development Committee Fundamentals. Do you have a development committee? Who’s on it? What do they do? Per Carolyn Bess Consulting, a board’s development committee can be an absolute force, providing a turbo boost of resources. But their role is widely misunderstood and not always well-managed by the organization itself. In this article, you’ll learn how to build and support a group that will be a real asset to your fundraising program.
Content Marketing
Click-it: 5 reports nonprofits should produce annually. The more you tell stories about impact, the more your supporters will be drawn into those stories – culminating in greater engagement and investment. Where to tell these stories? The folks at Storyraise suggest five reports you should be creating to showcase your impact, cultivate donor relationships and encourage meaningful gifts.
Culture
Click it: The defensive arrogance of TL;DR. This thought-provoking blog from Seth Godin makes an argument for a culture of exploration. When we lean into exploration, we’re far more likely to find something that matters. Because we worked for it. Which is the antithesis of “Too long; didn’t read.” When it comes to building sustainable relationships with donors, sometimes the shortcuts are not the best way to go.
Data
Click-it: 8 Most Valuable Nonprofit Recurring Reports to Assess. Unless you regularly run reports to assess your progress, you can’t really tell how your fundraising is doing. Stop doing this work blindfolded by running these 8 reports suggested by Joshua Meyer of Bloomerang in this article for the Quam Taylor blog.
Donor Retention
Click-it: Maximizing Donor Relationships: Harnessing the Honeymoon Phase in Fundraising. In fundraising taking advantage of every potential opportunity for cultivating relationships is essential! Consider the honeymoon period as the two to eight weeks immediately following a donor’s gift. What should you do during this critical time? That’s what Pamela Grow discusses in this article on her blog.
Events
Click-it: Empowering Youth Sports and Athletes: Sports Fundraising Ideas. One of the most talked-about stories from this year’s Olympics (so far) is the involvement of hip-hop legend Flavor Flav in sponsoring the American women’s water polo team. Many athletes and teams are in desperate need of financial backing to continue their pursuit of excellence. Even if your nonprofit is not a school or community center, you may find these ideas from Eventgroove useful for your own kid’s or grandkid’s sport leagues or church group teams.
Click-it: How Does a Nonprofit Silent Auction Work? 3 Tips for Success. If you’re new to the world of silent auctions, learn what you need to pull off a success from the experts at Auctria. This is an A to Z map of what it takes to build a well-oiled machine, plus they give you 3 easy tips for success.
Major, Capital and Legacy Gifts
Click-it: The Art of Major Donor Stewardship. This article dives into the issue of major vs. annual donor stewardship, and then follow with 5 strategies to be effective. Lots of great advice in here, including how AI can help nonprofit fundraisers streamline their workflows and learn more about their major donors. The team at Momentum are experts at this!
Click it: The Best Route To Approaching Donors: Hand-Head-Heart. This is a repost of a popular article on the Blue Avocado blog, and one that lays out some essentials when it comes to major donor fundraising. I’ve used a similar model my entire career.
Storytelling
Click-it: How to Build a Storytelling Arc for a Nonprofit Fundraising Campaign. Vanessa Chase Lockshin, The Storytelling Nonprofit, lays out a 3-step roadmap for building a full campaign – kind of like a Netflix series – that builds your readers’ interest and engagement over time. Plus there are links to other free resources!
Strategy
Click-it: This is why you can’t find a great development director. I wish every executive director would read Mary Cahalane’s article. Every word here is true. And, alas, I’ve seen too many organizations lose great people because they didn’t adhere to this wisdom.
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) Giving
Click-it: How Monthly Giving Helps Nonprofits Survive Hard Times [Reigster for free webinar, 8-13-2024]. This is going to be good! The “Queen of Monthly Giving,” Erica Waasdorp, joins Rally Corp to share her invaluable advice, from making monthly giving easy to encouraging ACH transfers instead of credit cards to reduce fees and minimize declines. Get all sorts of tips and tricks – and bring your questions!
Click-it: Empowering Fundraisers: A Practical Guide to Gain Confidence and Knowledge to Make the Ask! [Register for free webinar, 8-14-2024]. Join the wonderful Kiersten Hill of Firespring for this session about using a variety of tools such as leveraging branding, marketing and sponsor opportunities to build strong donor relationships. Soak it all in, and… get ready to make your confident ask!
Click it: Busting Fundraising Myths: Are Offline Donors Really More Valuable than Online Donors? [Register for free webinar, 8-20-2024]. There’s a long-held belief among “fundraising experts” that offline donors make larger gifts, have greater lifetime value, and retain better than online donors. But is it true? Join Nathan Hill and Courtney Krus of NextAfter as they bring
cold, hard data to the conversation to see if this assumption is true. They’ll share the most recent research on donor value plus how to use online and offline together to grow your fundraising program.
Major and Legacy Gifts
Click-it: Say ‘Yes’ to the Gift: Using Third Party Resources to Accept Gifts of Noncash Assets [Register for free webinar, 8-21-2024]. If you’ve ever had to tell a supporter your organization can’t accept a noncash or illiquid asset, or that you can’t create a charitable gift annuity because you don’t have the capacity to administer them, you won’t want to miss this session! Increasingly charities are using third parties to accept these kinds of gifts, and you can learn all about it from a panel of experts put together by the gift planning experts at Stelter. You can also read an article on this topic here.
Strategy and Planning
Click-it:. Do Nonprofits Think Too Small? [Listen/watch free 30-minute podcast]. I was happy to join Julia Patrick, The Nonprofit Show, for a conversation about some of the things that continue to puzzle me about how social benefit sector organizations hamstring themselves. Here, I try to reframe things so you can accomplish more – and have more fun doing it!
DOWNLOADABLE GUIDES, PAPERS, TEMPLATES & OTHER RESOURCES
Major and Legacy Gift Fundraising
Click-it: Removing Obstacles to Major Gift Fundraising [Download free paper]. If you’re having trouble securing major individual gifts, but can’t quite pinpoint the reason why, this paper from the Veritus Group will help you. The paper outlines some of the most common and avoidable issues they’ve seen, suggesting what you can focus on to improve your fundraising program
Click-it: Creating an Inspiring Legacy Proposition [Open free workbook] Grab this workbook prepared by Ligia Pena to craft a legacy proposition that aligns with both your and your donor’s values. A good legacy proposition conveys, in words, an image of what the future can look like thanks to legacy gifts. It should be unique, evidence-based, emotional, brand consistent and sprinkled with a bit of storytelling. Here’s a process to get you started.
Storytelling
Click-it: The Complete Guide to Storytelling for Nonprofits [Download free guide]. By following these steps outlined by CauseVox, you can craft compelling narratives that resonate with your audience, drive engagement, and amplify your mission.
Trends
Click-it: Is Covid in the Rear-view? What Food Bank Data Tells Us About the Future of Nonprofit Fundraising [Download free paper]. The team at True Sense Marketing have written up an interesting piece on fundraising norms both pre-and post-Covid, taking a look at donor lifecycles for “new,” “recaptured,” 2nd year,” and “multi-year” donors. It’s a fascinating read, and a great argument for striving for a large cohort of multi-year supporters. The paper has a number of useful, strategic suggestions.
Did You Miss My Newest Clairification Articles?
Here are links to 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.
Nonprofit Gift Planning: Do You Use the Language of Love?
Lift Up Your Nonprofit Donors with Their Olympic Moment
3 Nonprofit Secrets to Rock Major Gift Fundraising
Top Reasons Why Nonprofit Major Donor Qualification is Essential
YOU MATTER: The Soul of a Nation Could Be on the Line
How do you fight and lead for change during scary times?
NOTE: You’ll notice many of my recent articles have been oriented towards major, individual fundraising. Why? Because it’s where you’ll raise the most money. And, we’re entering into that time of year when more folks think about philanthropy. If you want to really become a master of major gift fundraising – a highly valued skill – this might be a great time to consider exploring certification.
I highly recommend this fully revamped course from the Veritus Group: Certification Course for Major Gift Fundraisers. If you’re the executive or manager, there’s a companion course for you! The next cohort begins August 26th, and will be the last course of this calendar year. If you have any questions, just reply to this email and I’ll be happy to discuss whether this course may be right for you. I promise to be honest. USE MY CODE, CA5, FOR A DISCOUNT.
Finally… if you have a question, any question…
Check out my free fundraising advice column on the Bloomerang blog — and feel free to ask your own questions! Here’s a recent one: What Are Some Storytelling Pitfalls To Avoid?
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 live on your Clairification School Dashboard! 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 grab your time-limited special BONUS!
I’m still on my “hunting for hearts in the urban wilds” kick. “Love of humankind,” aka philanthropy, is all around — if you only look for it! Here’s more of what I found!
Simple heart graffiti on a wall.
Heart tangled into a tree’s root structure.
Heart carving on a tree. Or is this nature’s work?
A message to please come from a place of love. Towards… whatever.
A sidewalk message to be creative with your communications so you shine forth!
Love is all around! Please support my extraordinary sponsors (see below).
The Clairity Click-it content is free, and Clairification School is affordable, because of their generosity.
