Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
It’s time for your bi-monthly collection of free curated goodies I’ve found for you across the web — all sorts of actionable tips plus thought-provoking ideas. I know it’s a lot of material, which is why I arrange the information in categories so you can pick what’s most useful to you.
If you would prefer I offer up less material in the future, please let me know. I do this to be helpful to you, not to overwhelm you. There’s a one-minute survey HERE.
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. Since I do a LOT of reading, I figure I may as well share the good stuff.
Many thanks again to my awesome sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to continue to offer this to you for free.
Thank you for doing the important work you do.
P.S. Please complete the brief survey so I can tailor future issues of the Clairity Click-it to best meet your needs.
Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…
Annual Campaign
Click-it: 3 Reasons Why Your Year-End Fundraising Will Fail – unless you heed the advice in this article from Michael Rosen of ML Innovations. There’s great advice here to maximize your chances for success.
Click-it: Is your fundraising “fair” to all of your staff? When it comes to choosing subject matter for your appeal, not all of your programs and services are equal. Jeff Brooks eloquently makes this important point in Future Fundraising Now (with a shout out to Steven Screen of The Better Fundraising Co. blog.
Click-it: Give Your Appeal a Compelling Opening. Get a quick Master Class in writing a compelling fundraising appeal. From the amazing legacy of Jerrold Panas and Panas Linzy & Partners.
Content Marketing
Click-it: Nonprofit Content Marketing Tightrope: Data or Story? Content comes in many forms. Some are more digestible… interesting… inspiring… persuasive than others. Want some tips on serving up yummy, not yucky, content? Grab my recent article for the Bloomerang blog.
Click-it: Not Using Content Marketing Wisely? Your Nonprofit’s Leaving Money on the Table. In this article for the Bloomerang blog I give you my 9 strategic takeaways for using content marketing to help your nonprofit’s bottom line. This will help you build a strategic content marketing plan.
Donor Retention
Click-it: Secret to Upgrading Nonprofit Donors? Emotional Connection. Before enacting any development strategy, put yourself in your donor’s shoes and consider what they want and need to hear. Stop treating donors as if they’re just one of the anonymous masses. Get tips in my recent article for the Bloomerang blog.
Click-it: Donation thank you letters: 7 tips to acknowledge your donors. A quick read, with thank you tips galore. From Ronald Pruitt of 4aGoodCause. Important stuff to think about before you send out your appeal.
Major and Legacy Giving
Click-it: What are you doing to connect with your self-directed donor? The average planned gift is over 100x larger than their average annual gift. Which is why it’s worth developing a legacy giving program. However, the digital revolution has vastly changed best practices for promoting, soliciting, closing and stewarding such gifts. Learn more in this article from the pros at Stelter.
Strategy and Management
Click-it: Why Are We Facing a Fundraiser Exodus? Share this excellent article from Gail Perry, Fired Up Fundraising, with whomever is appropriate at your organization. The culture she describes is a pandemic, and the world is suffering as a result. IDEA: Why not turn the symptoms she describes into a checklist; then ask your staff and board to check off anything that applies to your organization. It could be a good starting point for a discussion.
Click-it: How to Improve and Develop Process at Your Nonprofit. Too many nonprofits operate without written policies, procedures or strategic plans. Zach Shefska from Market Smart describes how you can get away with this for routine tasks (like brushing your teeth) where it doesn’t matter if you skip a day, it’s really not okay for business-critical strategies (like timely, accurate, consistent recording of donor data or promptly sending donor acknowledgments). Processes will help you reach established goals for all your key activities — which is why you should read this article.
YOU
Click-it: 5 ways emotionally intelligent people deal with impostor syndrome. My sister is incredibly talented, savvy and skilled. Whatever she does, she does at A+ level. Yet she’s constantly afraid she’s not good enough. And that folks may unmask her for the imposter she is. This gets in her way. Big time. She works too hard, beats herself up too much, and lives in a constant state of anxiety. I’m sending her this Fast Company article by Gwen Moran; also sharing with you in case you too fear you don’t have what it takes to succeed in your role.
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!
Board
Click-it: Get Your Board to Help You Fundraise—Even if They Don’t Wanna! [Register for free webinar, 10-2-2019]. Firespring’s free webinars are some of the best out there. So take advantage as end-of-year fundraising heats up.
Marketing
Click-it: 2019 Talk Triggers Word of Mouth Awards [Register for free live session, 10-2-2019]. Word of mouth influences 50% of all purchases, and is the single most effective way to grow your business. Yet here’s a study by Jay Baer of Convince and Convert and Daniel Lemin, co-authors of the best-selling book Talk Triggers: The Complete Guide to Creating Customers with Word of Mouth, showing very few businesses have a word-of-mouth strategy. I’m guessing even fewer nonprofits have such a strategy! Learn about 18 successful business strategies. While it’s oriented towards for-profit businesses, I’ve little doubt there will be relevant takeaways for you to borrow and adapt.
Psychology of Giving
Click-it: Online Behavioral Symposium [Register for free sessions, 9-30 and 10-1-2019]. Join the host, Agitator-Donor Voice, for this two-day symposium where academics and practitioners come together to share insights. The sessions will primarily focus on deeper insights around why people help each other. I, personally, can’t wait! For a taste of how this might work in practice, check out this article.
Storytelling
Click-it: Nonprofit Storytelling Tips for Year End Appeals [Download free video]. You know how important stories are to nonprofit appeals, right? Listen to Vanessa Chase Lockshin of The Storytelling Nonprofit as she describes how to use stories to support your fundraising goal and message, and not the other way around. You can also download her Storytelling Success Checklist.
Website
Click-it: Anatomy of a Nonprofit Website: Why Your Donors Aren’t Giving (More) Online [Register for free webinar, 10-8-2019]. A growing number of donors are giving online, but there’s a good chance your website is giving them reasons to reconsider. This practical session with Rachel Clemens, hosted by the Nonprofit Times, will give you all sorts of tips to convert more website visitors to donors. You’ll also get a handy Website Self-Evaluation Kit to help you identify your current website challenges and understand how to fix them.
FREE DOWNLOADABLE MATERIALS
Annual Campaign
Click-it: Asks That Make Your Donors Take Action [Download free e-book]. Among my favorite fundraising gurus are Steven Screen and Jim Shapiro of The Better Fundraising Co. Just in time for end-of-year, they created this free book just for you!
Donor Retention
Click-it: Guide + Checklist: Nonprofit Donor Retention A – Z [Download for free]. Your job is to inspire your donor’s enduring passion for your cause, and loyalty to your organization. This doesn’t simply happen. It’s work. That’s why I teamed up with Bloomerang to create this free guide and checklist. Use it to help create a plan, build relationships with your donors, and ultimately increase donor retention.
Click-it: Retain More Sustainers by Actively Engaging Them [Download free white paper]. Sustainer programs are growing at an incredible pace and have solidified themselves as an integral part of many nonprofits’ fundraising programs. Learn why, and what you can do to build a robust monthly giving program, from the experts at Merkle RMG.
Events
Click-it: Events and Major Gift Fundraising [Download free white paper]. Do you hate events as much as I do? And as much as Richard Perry and Jeff Schreifels of the Veritus Group do? Events have their place, but they’re decidedly not the most cost-effective way to raise money. You probably need fewer events and more one-on-one donor time. Learn all about it in this brilliant, recently updated paper.
Giving Tuesday
Click-it: Get Your Giving Tuesday Email Templates [Sign up for free download]. Save yourself some time by downloading these free email templates, including suggestions for thank you’s, from the online giving specialists at Qgiv.
Did You Miss My Recent Articles?
Here are links to my most recent articles.
- Why Donor Wooing Requires WOWing
- 8 Secrets to Keeping New ‘Third Party’ Donors
- Easy Ways to Boost Your Nonprofit’s Monthly Giving
- How Do You Creatively Reward Your Nonprofit Donors?
- How to Apply Job Interview Skills to Fundraising
- How Jargon Destroys Nonprofit Fundraising & Marketing
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Hope to see you in Clairification School!
