Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
It’s June – and I’ve got free tips and tools galore, bustin’ out all over!
I begin by thanking my generous sponsor, Bloomerang, for their continued support of my curation of content for you across the web – all with the goal of helping you in your quest to facilitate passionate philanthropy.
If you find one or more articles, webinars or free downloadable guides useful I’ll be happy. And if you find Clairification useful, I hope you’ll consider enrolling in Clairification School to get a full year’s worth of all the wisdom I have to share!
My motto is: “If I know it, I want you to know it.”
Let’s get right to this issue’s links!
Thank you for doing the important work you do.
P.S. I really am trying to make most of my content as close to free as humanly possible (without it costing me money). If you’re on the fence about enrolling, see what others say about why they’ve joined. And if you’re not happy, I’ll refund you. How’s that?
Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…
Annual Appeal
Click-it: A pretty good appeal. No way to not LOVE this. And it makes the point, in spades. From John Lepp and Agents of Good.
Boards and Leadership
Click-it: 4 Inexpensive Board Collaboration Tools for Your Nonprofit. Not gonna lie… these were all new to me! These are recommended if you have board in far-flung places. If you’re all in geographic proximity, I would not recommend substituting virtual meetings for face-to-face. From Kayla Matthews on Nonprofit Pro.
Content Marketing
Click-it: Nonprofit Newsletters Donors Abhor. Check out my recent article on the Bloomerang blog!
Data Management
Click-it: Donor Management Software: 4 Crucial Questions Before Buying. Before you consider different donor databases and CRMs, it’s crucial to first do an inventory of your organization’s specific goals. You don’t want to get sidetracked by bells and whistles you don’t need, nor do you want to overlook critical tools you do need. Read this excellent article by Dan Quirk on Nonprofit Pro.
Online Fundraising
Click-it: 5 Tips for Facebook Fundraising Success. Thinking about venturing into asking for gifts via Facebook? Here are some ideas to get you started from the Bloomerang blog.
Major and Legacy Gifts
Click-it: Questions I Like to Ask Major Donors. These are tried and true for building a meaningful donor relationship, from major gift fundraising guru Jerold Panas.
Click it: Is it Time to Dump Donor Scores? This is a provocative article from Greg Warner of Market Smart about the validity of wealth screening and predictive modeling, and what information is really prognostic when it comes to identifying a likely major donor for your nonprofit.
Click it: New Charitable Gift Annuity Rates Announced. Whether or not your charity offers CGAs, these suggestions from Michael Rosen of ML Innovations are good, in general, for talking with donors who (1) have enough assets to not be taking the standard deduction, and/or (2) have appreciated assets that would be subject to capital gains were they to sell them
Management and Strategy
Click-it: How to hire a fundraising consultant. Mazarine Treyz of Wildwoman Fundraising has you covered, with a bunch of tips and an actual consultant directory!
Marketing
Click-it: 10 things you should know about logos if you’re a nonprofit communicator. At various points in my career I’ve been charged with responsibility for creating new logos. Here’s what I wished I had known, from Julia Reich of Stone Soup Creative. You can also download a free Logo Feedback Worksheet.
FREE AUDIO-VISUAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
The more you learn, the more you grow.
Finding webinars you’d like to attend that overlap? Note that for many of these webinars you can obtain a copy of the recording if you’re unable to join live – as long as you register!
Annual Giving
Click-it: Start a Monthly Donor Program NOW. 7 Reasons why you can’t afford to wait! [Register for free webinar, 6-12-18]. Tips about why you need a program and how to get started — from monthly giving guru Erica Waasdorp, hosted by Charity How To.
Click it: The ‘Why’ of Direct Mail Fundraising [Register for free flash class 6-13-18]. Presented by Wayne Gurley of Allegiant Direct for Donor Search, this class will be an overview of direct mail to feed your fundraising pipeline.
Click-it: The Mid-Level Donor Crisis [Register for free webinar, 6-13-18]. Join Blackbaud and Tim Kachuriak of NextAfter to learn how you can take your mid-level giving programs to the next level.
Click-it: Activism and Fundraising – Successful strategies to raise more money and increase your impact [Register for free flash class 6-20-18]. Seasoned fundraiser Harvey McKinnon joins Donor Search for this session about advocacy and how to launch successful campaigns.
Content Marketing
Click-it: Zero to Done: Creating your newsletter with ease and efficiency [Free On-Demand Video Training]. Vanessa Chase Lockshin of The Storytelling Nonprofit has put together a training will help you create a better process for consistently producing a newsletter that supports your fundraising and communications goals.
Grants
Click it: Your Go-To Guide for Writing a Winning Nonprofit Grant Proposal [Register for free webinar, 6-20-18]. In this interactive webinar hosted by Nonprofit Pro you will learn top tips and strategies to writing a winning grant proposal.
FREE DOWNLOADABLE MATERIALS
Annual Giving
Click-it: The Missing Middle and The Missing Middle Part Two [Download two free e-books]. Here are two books from Mark Rovner and Alia McKee of Sea Change Strategies showing changes in mid-level giving programs between 2014 and today, with suggestions for developing a strategic mid-level donor strategy to build and sustain donor loyalty.
Boards and Leadership
Click-it: 2018 Nonprofit Leadership Impact Study [Download free report]. From Nonprofit Pro, this study addresses the key challenges facing nonprofit leadership teams today along with what they can do to address those challenges.
Content Marketing
Click-it: Donor-Centered Content Marketing Worksheet & Checklist [Free download] Engaging, interesting content springs from your mission. The why of your existence, and the stories that demonstrate your successes in fulfilling that mission and reaching your ultimate vision. Ready to give your donors the content they deserve? Download my newly created worksheet and checklist, courtesy of sponsor Bloomerang.
Donor Retention
Click-it: Metrics that Matter [Download free e-book]. Learn how to make smarter decisions to improve retention and donation revenue. From The Fundraising Report Card.
Events
Click-it: Post-Event Survey [Free Tips and Template]. What better way to build a relationship with event attendees than to ask them what they thought about your event? Grab these tips from Qgiv.
Management and Strategy
Click-it: Putting the Mission First: How Nonprofits Can Benefit from Outsourced Donation Processing [Free White Paper]. If you’ve ever considered outsourcing your donation processing, take a look at this research piece from Merkle RMG.
Metrics
Click-it: M+R Annual Benchmarks [Download free study results]. There is SO much useful information here for online fundraising and marketing. If you want to, you can simply check out how to test your page load speed and compare to benchmarks. Or flip straight to the social media section of the Benchmarks Study.
Online Fundraising
Click-it: Digital Marketing Plan [Download free template]. From NP Source – for help planning your next social media campaign and annual online marketing strategy.
Trends
Click-it: Women in Philanthropy [Download free white paper] Get insights from Optimy about how the rise of women in leadership positions is affecting philanthropy, including foundation giving, growth of giving circles, and what motivates women donors.
Did You Miss My Recent Articles?
Here are links to my most recent articles. Enroll in ‘Clairification School’ to get access to every single article I’ve ever written – with new ones delivered weekly straight to your in-box! You’ll also get free monthly tips from your own “My Clairification” dashboard.
- Transactional Nonprofit Work vs. Transformational Donor-Led Progress‘
- Are You Leading Your Nonprofit Backwards?
- Adopt a Gratitude Culture: 5 Ways to Stop Losing Donors
- How to Cultivate Awe, Gratitude and Altruism to Boost Nonprofit Fundraising
- Donor-Centered Storytelling Boosts Fundraising. Period.
And so ends another Clairity Click-it. If you find value in Clairification, your support via enrollment in Clairification School means a lot!
Hope to see you in Clairification School!
