Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
Pick a treat from the Clairity Click-it Cauldron and… go ahead and click it!
I’ve collected a ton of great articles for you this month! Why so many? It’s a busy, and critical, time of year for fundraisers. I’m hoping you’ll find at least one or two nuggets that will help you make this year’s campaigns your best ever!
I’m also, as usual, sharing some terrific learning opportunities I’ve found for you – webinars, e-guides and reports. All free!
Over on the Clairification blog, I continue to offer plenty of original content all year round. Much of it comes from my 35 years’ experience – 30 of them in the trenches. Then there are also all the new things (plenty of them!) I learn every day in my practice.
Remember, my motto is: “If I know it, I want you to know it!”
If you find value in Clairification, please sign up now for all the benefits ‘Clairification School’ has to offer. Your support makes it possible and, truly, means a lot.
P.S. Please email me at claire@clairification.com if you have any questions about Clairification School. I want to make it possible for you to participate!
Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…
Annual Individual (and Year-End) Giving
Click-it: How to Plan a Multichannel Fundraising Campaign. Ann Green’s Nonprofit Blog provides a mini-timeline to help you plan your integrated campaign strategy – from now through the end of the calendar year.
Click-it: How to Make a Multichannel Fundraising Ask: the Basics. Abby Jarvis of Qgiv discusses the when, who, why, and how of multichannel fundraising in this article in The Balance.
Click-it: Choosing media for your year-end fundraising campaign. This is a spot-on article, especially for small nonprofits seeking to make the best choices with limited resources. It’s part of an outstanding year-end fundraising series by BT Irwin of Small Nonprofit Coach.
Click-it. Is shaming an effective fundraising strategy? Greg Warner of Market Smart shares a sad example of an appeal that attempts to harangue and guilt its donors into giving. Don’t do this!
Boards
Click-it: How to Find Your Next Great Board Member. June Bradham talks on NPengage about identification, recruitment, orientation and more. Guiding principle? Nosce te ipsum.
Content Marketing
Click-it: An Indispensable Guide to 12 Content Marketing Strategies. This is my one of my favorite online marketing gurus, Mark Schaefer of Grow. It’s not written specifically for nonprofits, but you can learn a lot here, including (1) four content business goals; (2) three content types, and (3) putting it all together to reach your goals.
Click-it: This Digital Marketing Process Will Make You Write Better Content. Much of content marketing today happens online. Jason Firch of Nonprofit Source shares a 7-step strategic marketing process that, when followed, will help you create content your audience will love.
Click-it: What’s In My Inbox | OXFAM’s 2017 donor survey is simple and effective. One of the best ways to assure you develop content that’s relevant to your audiences is to survey them, at least annually. Here Pamela Grow discusses what works in a survey from Oxfam in What’s in My Inbox?
Click-it: Is your annual report a vanity piece or a hard worker? This article from Mary Cahalane at Hands-On Fundraising poses some useful questions. Especially if you want to get the most out of your Annual Report mailing!
Data and Metrics
Click-it: World’s Largest Gift Database Shows Decline in Giving of 6% through 1st Half of 2017. If you’re a data geek, or just want to impress your boss and/or board with your knowledge, you’ll want to read this article by Jon Biedermann of Donor Perfect and download the latest statistics on giving. Plus there’s a tip about engaging your major donors to give this year, not next, for tax purposes.
Donor Acquisition
Click-it: Finding New Donors Requires Creating a New Market. See my article on the Bloomerang blog, where I offer a somewhat different take on how to identify new, would-be donors for your cause. Hint: the methodology is similar to getting someone to buy something for the first time.
Management and Strategy
Click-it: Rule #3 for Board Members: Fundraising Has a Significant Return on Investment. I’m a HUGE proponent of spending money to make money. Which is why I’m sharing this article from Gail Perry of Fired Up Fundraising – because I couldn’t agree more. Share this with your board!
Click-it: 3 Tech Tools Nonprofit Leaders Should Buy (and 3 To Stick to the Free Version). This useful article by Mary Cahalane of Hands On Fundraising discusses your website, CRM, email provider, social media marketing and more.
FREE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
The more you learn, the more you grow.
Note: Don’t worry if you find webinars you’d like to attend that overlap. 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!
Content Marketing
Click-it: Master Class: Mapping Out Your Nonprofit Marketing Calendar for 2018! [Register for free Master Class, 12-8-17]. If you’ve never had the benefit of learning from Julia C. Campbell of JCSM, don’t miss this opportunity! She’ll offer a step-by-step guide to mapping out your nonprofit marketing calendar for 2018.
Online Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: Online Fundraising Best Practices for Nonprofits [Register for free webinar 10-31-17]. No tricks; just a treat! I’m delighted to announce I will be offering another free webinar in collaboration with the good folks at Firespring. This will be one-time-only, and it’s completely free for members of the Clairification community. Even if you can’t attend, be sure to register to get the recording!
Click-it: Turning Facebook Likes into Donors [Free online e-course]. Over the past 5 years, the folks at NextAfter have tested and proven a new methodology that approaches Facebook fundraising differently, understanding that people go online to get, not to give. Over 11 sessions you’ll get proven techniques — every single recommendation in this free online course is backed up by data and research from over 300 online fundraising experiments.
Storytelling
Click-it: Authentic Storytelling with Greenpeace: A 10 Step Process [Listen to Free On-Demand Webinar]. Want to learn a terrific process for highlighting your organization’s mission? Tech Soup sponsored this webinar featuring Tsering Lama, with Greenpeace. You’ll get a comprehensive ten-step process that will guide you from start to finish in creating your authentic story.
FREE DOWNLOADABLE RESOURCES
Annual Individual Giving
Click-it: 12 Year-End Fundraising Checklists [Free download]. This collection of checklists covers your most important tasks to assure the overall success of your annual year-end fundraising campaign. Use it as both your planning and follow-through guide! It’s a collaboration between Bloomerang and me.
Click-it: Year-End Giving Infographic [Click to View]. It’s true, 25-35% of giving takes place between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. And MobileCause is spilling the secrets every nonprofit needs to create their most incredible year-end campaign yet. Check out this infographic for data-backed strategies guaranteed to have you celebrating.
Click-it: 90-Day Year-End Fundraising Plan [Download free plan] This resource from Network for Good will help you create a comprehensive plan to engage donors and inspire them to give.
Content Marketing
Click-it: Free Uniqueness Goodies [Register to receive 6-week series]. I’m a big fan of Psychotactics for insights into what motivates people to buy (i.e., donate). This free series of emails will help you develop your unique selling proposition.
Foundation Gifts
Click-it: What Donors Want [Listen to free on-demand podcast]. You’ll find this on SOFII. This podcast interviews a major donor/grantor, Alfonsina Peñaloza of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, to learn straight from this funder’s mouth what major funders are looking for.
Management and Strategy
Click-it: Vital Signs: Monitoring Giving Patterns in the Donor Marketplace [Download free report]. Blackbaud Institute for Philanthropic Impact set out to better understand what influences sector growth and how organizations can respond to the ever-changing market. Learn how to get better returns on fundraising investments by better understanding giving behavior.
Click-it: Starting the Search – A Nonprofit’s Journey to New Accounting Software [Download Free Whitepaper]. Blackbaud has prepared this useful accounting software selection guide – and it’s all free.
Did You Miss My Recent Articles?
Enroll in ‘Clairification School’ to get access to every single article I’ve ever written — and more!
Most recently:
Key Issues in Effective Nonprofit Board Decision-Making
How to Protect Your Nonprofit from Security Breaches
4 Strategies to Dramatically Increase Nonprofit Donations
Boost Nonprofit Marketing Results: Message, Time, Place
Not all Holiday Fundraising is Created Equal
#GivingTuesday or #Gratitude Tuesday? Choose!
Hope to see you in Clairification School!
Photo by Clare Bloomfield
