Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
Every two weeks I take the best articles, free webinars, downloadable guides and other goodies I’ve found across the web during that period and put them all together for you in this e-newsletter. Please join with me in thanking my awesome sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to continue to offer this to you for free.
My motto is: “If I know it, I want you to know it.” Life’s too short, and our problems are too big, to keep information all to oneself.
Let’s get right to this issue’s links!
Thank you for doing the important work you do.
P.S. If you find Clairification helpful, I hope you’ll consider enrolling in Clairification School to get a full year’s worth of ALL the wisdom I have to share! See what others say about why they’ve joined. It’s literally just pennies a day, and it will help you raise (and earn) more.
Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…
Annual Giving
Click-it: Don’t Make These Mistakes with Your Year-End Appeal. This article from Tina Cincotti of Funding Change is a great way to kick off this first Clairity Click-it as we enter into prime year-end fundraising season. I agree with everything she’s written!
Click-it: Will Online Donors Really Cover Transaction Fees? There’s been a lot of conversation on Twitter lately on this topic, and thoughts vary. It does seem the worst case scenario is that it neither depresses nor increases response. So… why not give it a try. This study from Lawrence Direct Marketing showed more than half of donors covered the fee.
Click-it: Year End: Ideal Asking Amounts. How much should you ask for on the mailed response or online donation form? There’s a huge science behind “ask strings,” and Roger Craver lays them out in this research-informed Agitator article. There’s also a downloadable Guide and Ask Strings Chart!
Management and Strategy
Click-it: From Seeds to Full Bloom: The Back End of Customer Cultivation. Amy Bobrick of Merkle Response RMG walks you through the steps, following receipt of a donor’s gift, to build a lasting relationship. Along the way, she describes how a back-end processor can be an effective ally.
Click-it: Surveying Survey Tools. If you’ve been meaning to do a donor survey, but weren’t sure where to start, this guest post by Marlee Walters on the M+R blog is a great place to begin.
Online Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: How to make the most of your Google Grant as a small nonprofit. Michael Rasko on NTEN shares ways small nonprofits can be even more successful than large ones in this regard, and offers four tips to help you succeed.
Click-it: Social Media Calendar: The Definitive Guide. Are you happy with your current means for scheduling and distributing all your social media posts? If not, check out this article from the folks at Loomly, who offer great advice, some free templates and a new tool (I’m not endorsing them, but note they offer a 50% discount to nonprofits).
Click-it: 10 Facebook tips for the social nonprofit. People today expect to be able to engage with you on social media. FB is still a big kahuna. So the folks at 4aGoodCause want to make sure you’re doing it the best way possible. I like #4 and #7.
Click-it: Bright Ideas: “About Bridging” If clicking on the links inside this Qgiv blog post don’t make you smile, I don’t know what will! Find some great ideas for P2P fundraising, or for simply telling your nonprofit story in a more compelling way.
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: Amp Up Your Fundraising Appeal’s Persuasive Power: Research from Psychology & Neuroscience [Register for free webinar, 9-20-18], Join me and Bloomerang for this look at smart, research-based tools from the fields of psychology and neuroscience you can use to improve messaging and calls to action.
Click-it: It’s a Peer-to-Peer World [Register for free conference, 9-18-18]. Woo hoo! An entire conference… all online and all free. Plus it’s on a super important topic. IMHO, P2P is one of the most underutilized fundraising strategies, and a way to really broaden your donor base and turn current small and mid-level donors into the functional equivalent of major donors. Thanks to the sponsors: ACG, Cathexis Partners, Connected Nonprofit, Nonprofit Pro, OP3, and Turnkey for offering this amazing opportunity.
Click-it: How You Can Optimize Your Recurring Giving Program [Register for free webinar, 9-11-18]. Donor Search hosts Brady Josephson of NextAfter with some awesome research to share with you – just in time to try some new things for year-end giving. You’ll get ideas to try for yourself and insights into real experiments that have worked for other organizations to grow their recurring giving program.
Data and Metrics
Click-it: 5 Key Metrics to Understanding How Analytics Can Have a Big Strategic Impact on Your Nonprofit. Do certain web pages drive folks away? Do other pages attract folks like bees to honey? Are people having trouble finding what they’re looking for? Are folks finding you online almost exclusively from one referral source? This article on NonProfitPro by Eric Burger describes how to find out.
Donor Retention
Click-it: The Power of Donor Love [Listen to free on-demand podcast]. Jeff Brooks interviews Jen Love and John Lepp of Agents of Good on his Fundraising is Beautiful podcast. You’ll learn how Courier font is a practical tool for donor love, why innovation in fundraising so often doesn’t work, why ugly powers great fundraising, and how fundraisers can take better care of themselves.
Giving Tuesday
Click-it: Your #GivingTuesday Game Plan [Register for free webinar, 9-12-18]. Uncover marketing techniques and templates, including a 12-week #GivingTuesday campaign timeline in this live presentation with Mobile Cause.
Management and Strategy
Click-it: Advanced Next Level Fundraising Strategies [Register for free webinar, 9-12-18]. Join Mazarine Treyz of Wild Woman Fundraising for an exploration of innovative fundraising strategies with concrete case examples.
Click-it: The problem with money. Fundraising is not the only strategy available to your nonprofit when it comes to generating needed financing. Francesco Ambrogetti explores alternatives on the 101 Fundraising Blog.
Online Social Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: LinkedIn Marketing Concepts for Nonprofit Professionals [Register for free Flash Class, 9-13-18]. Learn three different ways to use this powerful, underutilized tool for establishing yourself as a thought leader, building awareness, and researching potential donor prospects. Presented by Marc Halpert for Donor Search, and based on his book “You, Us, Them: LinkedIn Marketing Concepts for Nonprofit Professionals Who Really Want to Make a Difference.”
Click-it: How to use Facebook’s Free Fundraising Tools to Drive Donations [Register for free webinar, 9-20-18]. Join nonprofit social media guru Julia Campbell and CharityHowTo to get up to date and get your questions asked!
FREE DOWNLOADABLE MATERIALS
Annual Giving
Click-it: The Nonprofit Recurring Giving Benchmark [Download free study]. This is an epic research project conducted by the folks at NextAfter. If you have a recurring giving program, or are thinking about implementing one, you need to read this. There are LOTS of actionable tips.
#GivingTuesday
Click-it: How to Kick Butt & Take Names on #GivingTuesday. Learn how crowdfunding can help you run a rock solid #GivingTuesday campaign that mobilizes your community, creates fundraising ambassadors and sets you up to kick off your year-end appeal. All courtesy of the good folks at Firespring.
Major and Legacy Gifts
Click-it: A Beginner’s Guide to Finding The Best Donor Prospects Hidden In Your Database [Download free e-book]. Stop thinking you don’t have major donor prospects. If you have donors, you’ve likely got gems hiding in plain sight. Learn how to find them with this guide from Bloomerang.
Click-it: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Major Donor Letters [Download free guide]. Prepared by Tim Chaten of Market Smart, this will give you four types of letters you should be sending your major donors and help you every step of the way from qualification to stewardship and everything in between!
Did You Miss My Recent Articles?
If I know it, I want you to know it!
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.
- Forget about Building Nonprofit Loyalty. Deliver Meaning.
- Fundraising Appeal Q & A: 6 Concrete Tips to Overcome Common Challenges
- How to Transform Reluctant Fundraisers into Ready Fundraisers
- True Meaning of Nonprofit Friendraising vs. Fundraising
- Want to Recharge Your Personal and Nonprofit’s Life? Borrow Wisdom.
Questions? Just ask me. claire@clairification.com
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!
