Clairity Click-it: Cornucopia of Free Nonprofit Resources

Take your pick from this cornucopia filled with free nonprofit resources!

 

This week’s Click-it is a cornucopia filled with an eclectic mix of goodies. Maybe not as good as Thanksgiving turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes or pumpkin pie, but… sometimes your mind and soul need feeding too!

To my friends in the U.S. who celebrate Thanksgiving this week, have a good one filled with many blessings. For those of you scattered elsewhere around the globe, make yourself a nice meal anyway and gather together with people you love. Life’s too short not to.

This poem I wrote several years ago seems particularly appropriate this year, so check out “Attitude of Gratitude” if you’ve a mind to.

And if you can, try to find some time this week to dig into some of these resources.

Now… go make our world a more caring place, and hug yourself some hope!

I am thankful for you,

Claire

Annual Fundraising

Click-it: How I diagnose fundraising writing. Look at your annual appeal right now; you may still have time to fix the most egregious errors – thanks to my friend and colleague Jeff Brooks of Future Fundraising Now.

Click-it: 5 Things you can do this week to get organized for year-end fundraising. Good stuff, as always, from my friend Vanessa Chase of The Storytelling Nonprofit.

Click-it: 6 Year-End Appeals that are Sure to Flop. Tried-and-true advice from Elisabeth Chung at Classy blog.

Click-it: Two Simple Tactics to Boost Year-End Fundraising. Zach Shefska from the Fundraising Report Card offers two simple, to-the-point tips – with examples – that you can easily employ.

Click-it: How Long Should Your #Fundraising Appeal Be? I hope you enjoy this piece from Michael Rosen of ML Innovations. His advice is spot on.

Donor Retention

Click-it: Let’s Stop Putting Donors Into A Bucket. This article by Steven Shattuck of Bloomerang is a reminder that if you put all donors on the same track (or in the same undifferentiated bucket), you’ll likely not be happy with the results. I know you’re in acquisition mode right now, but don’t forget to plan ahead to keep these donors!

Online Social Fundraising

Click-it: 6 Ways Nonprofits Can Use Social Media to Strengthen Donor Relationships. I write monthly about nonprofit social media and content marketing on the Maximize Social Business blog. If you missed this post, check it out now.

Click-it: How to Energize Your Digital Donors Using Social Media [Free Podcast Download]. Julia C. Campbell is my go-to resource for nonprofit social media (could it be because the “C” stands for Claire?), and this podcast on Community Funded is a great listen.

Click-it: 21 Steps To The Perfect LinkedIn Profile comes from Melanie Dodaro of Top Dog Social Media, consistently listed among the top social media influencers.  If you’re setting up a profile for your nonprofit, your CEO or yourself, check out these tips.

Click-it: Helpful Tools to Use to Gain Newsletter Subscribers from Social Media. The point of linking folks from social media back to your website is to get them to join your list.  So you can message them directly from a list that you own.  So get these tips from Amy Hall on Maximize Social Business.

Click-it: Social Media Research, Data and Stats is Beth Kanter’s highly popular, curated Pinterest board, with some of the best charts, graphs, infographics and articles available. It’s a great place to begin your planning process.

Storytelling

Click-it: Free Interactive eBook: Brand Storytelling Insights from 37 Influencers. This E-Book put together by Ceros is not nonprofit-focused, but still has plenty of useful info.

Click-it: 6 Winning Types of Year-End Stories Nonprofits Need To Tell. Your donors deserve a compelling story. One that describes a problem. One that offers a solution they can make possible.  Check out these different types of stories you can tell, offered by Jennifer Gmerick on the Salsa Labs blog

Food for Thought

Click-it: It’s not the bottom, it’s the foundation. We talk about building a culture of philanthropy. Love of humankind.  Why not start here, with Seth Godin’s blog? Also see Empathy as a Bridge. Just because. And see my own article about the power of empathy in your nonprofit work here.

FREE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES + RESOURCES to watch or download

Basics

Click-it: Basics of Non Profit Fundraising in 12 minutes! [Fun, quick presentation to watch] I love Peter J. Heller’s simple, straightforward 12-minute take on how fundraising works – using just a triangle, circle and rectangle.  If you’re just getting started in fundraising, watch this! If you’re an old pro, it’s a great re-connector to the basics. Sometimes they’re easy to lose sight of.

Data/Analytics

Click-it:  Words that Work [Free E-Book] Dr. Russell James and MarketSmart teamed up to bring you this 22-page book with phrases that will help you close more planned gifts.

Click-it: What is Predictive Analytics [Free Webinar on YouTube]. A definition and all the basics presented by Brad Hill. It’s not nonprofit-specific, but it gives you insight into how predictive analytics can be used. Just in case you’re considering purchasing this type of data to assess the likelihood some of your supporters might become more passionately engaged with you.

Click-it: Fundraising Report Card [Free downloadable tool]. Clueless as to how your donors are performing? Are you retaining them? Upgrading them? Get this free tool you can use to get a handle on how you’re doing.  Thanks to Zach Shefska of MarketSmart for cluing me in to this resource.

Events and Sponsorships

Click-it:Ultimate Guide to Fundraiser Sponsorship [Free Guidelines] My friends at Accelevents have put together this comprehensive resource. Just click and read.

Marketing

Click-it: How to Get Agency Results From Your In-House Creative Team [Free E-Book]. Check out this 13-point primer from Guy Arcineaux in Nonprofit Pro. It’s a great guide for assuring your next communications project delivers your intended results.

Online Social Fundraising

Click-it to view: Online Fundraising Basics [Free Webinar to Download] Richard Dietz of Nonprofit R+D walks you through how to structure and improve your fundraising campaigns. Good for folks who are relatively new to online fundraising. Maybe save for 2017 Q3 since I’m writing a blog post now on this topic. Find a few others.

Volunteer Management

Click-it: 6 Steps for Effective Volunteer Management [Infographic] Assurex Global offers up this quick overview of volunteer management best practices, together with a free volunteer management whitepaper on how to select the best candidates, supervise volunteers, train them effectively, and how insurance can provide a layer of protection for your nonprofit.

Channel an Attitude of Gratitude

Your Key to Meaningful Donor Thank You’s — they make more of a difference than you may think!

 

Will you be ready to show your donors how grateful you are for them when your year-end gifts start flooding in?

• Ready to turn your thank you around in 48 hours?
• Ready to pick up the phone and call folks who’ll give much more if you give them special attention?
• Ready to surprise your donors with something special they didn’t expect?
• Ready to get to know your supporters better?
• Ready to set things in motion so your next gift is a slam dunk?

My Gratitude and Retention Playbook covers all this and more!

“The amount of information and specific examples to support it were so useful. We followed the advice carefully, step by step. Appreciated the detailed resources.”

“I felt like you were personally cheering me on through the material. Hands on information that shows HOW to do the things that others only say is important.”

It’s the perfect read for this time of year when we spend some time counting our blessings and being thankful. Click on the link to learn more about what’s inside, or grab it here.

With gratitude for doing the important work that you do.

Photo: Saratica Cornucopia, Flicker Sharing