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 Giving
Click-it: 3 Foolproof Ways to Supercharge Year-End Donations. You might be surprised what types of appeals have supercharging powers! Check out my article on the Bloomerang blog.
Click-it: Why You Should use Nostalgia to Promote More Giving. Give some thought to this notion put forth by Greg Warner of Market Smart, and think about how you might incorporate this into your fundraising.
Culture of Philanthropy
Click-it: Do You ‘Hit People Up’ and ‘Twist Their Arms’ When Asking for Gifts? Thinking about fundraising this way will get you nowhere. Fast. And it’s one of my pet peeves! Which is why I’m sharing this article from Andrea Kihlstedt of Capital Campaign Masters. Read and heed.
Data and Metrics
Click-it: The Donor Responds, Are You Listening? Let’s say your donor lets you know they’ve moved. This means they care about hearing from you! Amy Bobrick of Merkle RMG highlights some things you should be paying more attention to, and making note of in your database, so you can follow up and build the donor relationship.
Management and Strategy
Click-it: The Causes and Costs of Lost Productivity in Nonprofit Workplaces and How To Avoid It. There are so many good suggestion in this article from Beth Kanter. I dare you not to find at least one new thing you can do to free up some time you can reallocate to higher priority tasks.
Click-it: One Simple Rule for Fundraising Success, Zach Shefska of The Fundraising Report Card writes about the one thing without which you’re destined to fail. Can you guess?
Online Fundraising
Click-it: 5 examples of great fundraising appeal e-mails. As you prepare for year-end fundraising, why not borrow from the best? The folks at 4aGoodCause have put together some great examples for you.
Click-it: Digital Fundraising + Social Media: Your Guide to Raising More, Check out this post by Sanetra Richardson on the Fundraising Coach blog. As the end of the year approaches, it’s important to plan to integrate your messaging across multiple channels.
Click-it: 6 Online Fundraising Best Practices to Make 2019 the Best Yet. This article won’t just give you a leg up for next year; it’s got some great tips to improve this year’s fundraising results as well. I like #4 and #5. Written by Christina Relacion for the Qgiv blog.
YOU
Click-it: The Gentle Art of Taking a Break. This one’s from Nell Edgington of Social Velocity. You owe it to yourself.
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: How to Maximize Your Year-End Giving [Register for free webinar, 10-9-18]. What could be more timely? Join Dan Kimball and Firespring to learn ways to improve your giving page, social media presence and online giving experience.
Boards and Leadership
Click-it: Fundraising Masters with Jerry Panas [Listen to free on-demand webinar]. Brian Saber of Asking Matters interviews master fundraiser Jerold Panas in this re-released webinar filled with fundamental traits of effective fundraisers, the role of the board in fundraising and how often you can ask.
Click-it: Your Biggest Board Dilemmas Solved [Register for free webinar, 10-9-18]. Leading a nonprofit board can be the hardest part of being a CEO or ED. Join Rachel Muir of Pursuant and Andy Robinson, author of What Every Board Member Needs to Know, Do and Avoid for an interactive session to solve your most burning board dilemmas.
Click-it: Hit the Ground Running with Your New Board [Register for free webinar, 10-16-18]. No factor is more critical in determining a chief executive’s success than their partnership with the board. Join the Society for Nonprofits who will host a webinar with Doug Eadie, board leadership expert, to provide detailed, practical guidance in building a rock-solid partnership with their new board.
Giving Tuesday
Click-it: Giving Tuesday Tips [Watch free 4-session video series]. Vanessa Chase Lockshin of The Storytelling Nonprofit has put together this series of instructional videos to help you plan for the big day.
Major and Legacy Gifts
Click-it: To Fundraise is Human [Download 20-minute podcast]. Greg Warner of Market Smart channels one of my favorite authors, Daniel Pink, to talk about ways everyone on your team can become more comfortable talking with prospective donors. It’s a feel good way to spread the responsibility of building donor relationships around! BTW: Check out an article I wrote on this topic> To Sell is Human; To Give, Divine – Why We’re All in Fundraising Now.
Click-it: Demystifying Planned Giving [Download free on-demand 30-minute podcast]. Paul Nazareth joins the Charity Village Small Nonprofit Fundraising Podcast to offer up simple actionable things for you to incorporate planned giving into your work plan, no matter your size. You can do it!
Click-it: 5 Steps to a Wildly Successful Fundraising Program [Register for free webinar, 10-17 or 10-18-18]. Just a handful of average-sized bequests can be a game-changer for your organization. This webinar will show you how to make it happen, no matter your size or cause. With Christiana Stergiou for Moceanic.
Management and Strategy
Click-it: How to Build a Thriving Nonprofit [Register for free online workshop, 10-16 to 25-18]. This is an amazing opportunity to learn from one of the sector’s top advisors, Joan Garry Consulting, and will be especially useful if you’re a small to medium-sized shop. You’ll get a great sense of her style by reading this article!
YOU
Click-it: Are You a ‘Good-ish’ Person? How to Push Past Your Biases [Listen to free podcast]. Last week I wrote an article suggesting ways we often put our own opinions above truth-seeking, and how this gets in the way of building relationships with our constituents. This podcast from Psychologist Dolly Chugh on the Knowledge@Wharton podcast approaches the issue from another perspective – “to thinking about ourselves as works in progress.”
FREE DOWNLOADABLE MATERIALS
Annual Giving
Click-it: A Short Guide to Answering Questions All Fundraisers Should Ask [Download free e-Guide]. This super-useful guide from Roger Craver of The Agitator-Donor Voice will help you spot problems and trends that will set you to thinking about the possibilities of new initiatives. For example, if your retention rates are low you should be asking “why?” and start examining the experiences you do—or don’t—offer your donors.
Click-it: 18-Point Annual Fundraising Appeal Checklist [Download free cheat sheet]. Grab this comprehensive checklist I put together for the Bloomerang community – and you!
Click-it: Annual Fundraising Appeal FAQ. There are plenty of questions floating around when it comes to your annual appeal. Here I address a few of the thornier issues on the Bloomerang blog.
Click-it: New Data Reveals the Power of Recurring Donations [View free infographic]. If you still have any doubt about the power of recurring donation program to boost your fundraising results, check out this jam-packed infographic from the classy folks at Classy.
Database Management
Click-it: A Buyer’s Guide to Fundraising Software [Download free e-Guide]. CRM or donor database? Cloud-based or installed? Features? Prices? There’s a lot to consider, and this guide written by Jay Love of Bloomerang helps cut through the clutter.
Online Fundraising
Click-it: Write and Design Better Email Fundraising Campaigns [Download free 6-session online course]. The folks at NextAfter have created a valuable compendium of practical advice you won’t want to miss. Every tip is informed by research – 218 fundraising email experiments – so you no longer have to put opinion above knowledge.
Click-it: The Definitive Year-End Fundraising Checklist [Download free compendium of 12 checklists!]. This is something I put together for Bloomerang, and it contains a ton of wisdom I’ve gleaned over more than three decades of in-the-trenches practice. Plus… it’s got new stuff I’ve learned since becoming a coach and teacher!
Trends
Click-it: The 2018 Global Trends in Giving [Download free Report]. Sponsored by the Public Interest Registry and produced by Nonprofit Tech for Good, the report summarizes donor data across six continents about how online technology effects giving, including impact of gender, generation, ideology, religion, and donor size upon giving. Plus non-donors share why they don’t give and whether they plan to in the future.
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.
- Scope: The Key to Donor Generosity?
- Beware of a Half-Truth; It May Be the Wrong Half
- TWO Strategies to Tell a Compelling Nonprofit Story
- 5 Truths: How Often Can You Mail Appeals to Nonprofit Donors?
- How to Fight Nonprofit ‘Resting on Laurels’ Syndrome
- 10-Step Annual Appeal from Start to Finish
If you find value in Clairification, your support via enrollment in Clairification School means a lot! See what others say about why they’ve joined. It’s literally just pennies a day, and it will help you raise (and personally earn) more.
P.S. Don’t forget to complete the brief SURVEY! Thank you.
Hope to see you in Clairification School!
