Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
I hope you enjoy the resources below as much as I enjoy finding them for you. There are plenty of useful articles, plus free webinars and downloadable guides – all hand-picked by yours truly.
I read. A lot. So I figure I may as well add some method and purpose to my madness. You are my purpose!
By the way, like the in-depth articles I write for my online, ongoing ‘Clairification School’, each resource I select falls into a key fundraising, marketing or nonprofit management area.
If you find value in Clairification, please sign up now for all the benefits ‘Clairification School’ has to offer. I’m as much of a ‘public school’ as I can be but, sadly, can’t keep doing this 100% for free. I hate to sound like public television pledge break, but… if you’ve not yet paid your ‘tuition’ – less than $2/week – I hope you’ll consider it.
Your support means a lot,
Annual Giving
Click-it: How to Get Donors to Rip Open Your Next Mail Appeal. Some great tips about the envelope from the folks at True Sense Marketing.
Click-it: Eight Ways to Use Giving Psychology to Raise More Money, Part 1 and Part 2. See my latest guest posts on the Guidestar blog.
Content Marketing
Click-it: 11 Nonprofit Videos That Inform and Inspire. I’m a big believer in borrowing from the best, and the folks at Classy have curated some real winners!
Donor Retention & Gratitude
Click-it: Embalming The Elephant – Release 1.0. You won’t retain donors without correct addresses. This week The Agitator announced a new, almost free service (just $20) that will clean up unlimited address records for you. It’s called TrueNCOA. There are absolutely no strings attached. They clean up your data and send it back to you ready to use. Period. I just had to let you know about it. I find this pretty AMAZING. Check it out!
Management and Strategy
Click-it: Six Steps for Managing Workflow During Unexpected Staff Departures. I found this on the Bridgespan website, and thought it was well worth your attention. Straightforward and to the point.
Click-it: Why we need to stop asking “What do you do?”. This excellent post by Vu Le of Nonprofit with Balls encapsulates the difference between checking things off a “To Do” list and building relationships. It’s a perspective you don’t see every day.
Click-it: What the hiring manager looks for in fundraising. Mazarine Treyz picks my brain in a two-part interview on her Wildwoman Fundraising blog. Learn all my secrets about how to interview prospective fundraisers!
Metrics and Data Management
Click-it: Which Social Media Metrics Should Nonprofits Keep Track Of? If you wonder how to measure the return on engagement from your social media strategies, this article by Steven Shattuck on Nonprofit Hub is a great place to begin.
Click-it: 3 Tools Our For Profit Company Uses That Your Nonprofit Should Too. Zach Shefska of The Fundraising Report Card offers some great tips about how Trello, Slacker and Zapier may be able to help you get better organized and automate repetitive tasks.
Online Social Fundraising
Click-it: 10 Reasons Nonprofits Should Blog. Check out my latest post for Maximize Social Business, and let me know if you’re blogging. And, if not, why not?!
Click-it: Raise More Money with Smart Use of Apps and Online Technology. One of the challenges for nonprofit organizations is learning about the apps and online resources that can benefit them in a rapidly evolving world. Maeve Lander, CEO and Founder of PayNow, shares her thoughts on Michael Rosen’s blog.
Click-it: Secrets of YouTube – what makes a video go viral. I happened on this useful post on The Guardian with five tips on how charities can use video to connect meaningfully with their audiences
Storytelling
Click-it: 25 Questions to Ask to Get the Story. Want to know how to interview people better? Vanessa Chase Lockshin of The Storytelling Nonprofit provides great tips here!
FREE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Boards and Leadership
Click-it: Nonprofit Leadership Transitions and Organizational Sustainability [Register for free webinar, 3-27-17]. Nonprofit Quarterly hosts two sector experts who will discuss three critical “paradigm shifts” nonprofits should make in thinking about succession planning and executive transition. A collection of four papers will come with this presentation.
Culture of Philanthropy
Click-it: Creating a Culture of Philanthropy [Register for free webinar, 3-24-17]. This special webinar is being offered by Linda Lysakowski for Wildwoman Fundraising as part of a “taste” of the upcoming three-day virtual Fundraising Career Conference in April. It’s a terrific opportunity to learn why this is so important for the health of your organization (and YOU!).
Management and Strategy
Click-it: Managing Your Fundraising Team or Yourself [Register for free webinar, 4-5-17]. Mazarine Treyz of Wildwoman Fundraising is making this webinar available exclusively for you – members of the Clairification community. If you want to become a more effective manager, and make everyone with whom you work happier and less stressed (including yourself!), make sure to sign up. Even if you can’t attend live, be sure to register so you’ll have access to the recording!
FREE DOWNLOADABLE RESOURCES
Annual Giving
Click-it: Blackbaud’s 2016 Charitable Giving Report [Free download]. There’s a ton of useful data in here, including some things that may surprise you. Like the fact that online giving accounts for only 10% of all giving (that doesn’t mean you can stop online fundraising though – 10% of $1 million is $100,000, and you wouldn’t want to miss out on that, right?). Also, 79% of all donors are Boomers or older (that doesn’t mean you should stop reaching out to GenX and Millenials, but you definitely shouldn’t throw all your eggs in this basket, right?). There are pros and cons to both online and offline fundraising. Online happens in real time, and folks can give immediately with a “click.” But, if they’re having a busy day, they may just click “delete.” Offline mail hangs around longer. And it stands out more.
Events
Click-it: How to Plan a Nonprofit Fundraising Event on a Budget [Free e-book download]. Grab this helpful resource from Donor Perfect.
Nonprofit Marketing
Click-it: 2017 Nonprofit Communications Trends Report [Free download]. This is published annually by the Nonprofit Marketing Guide, and collects data on staffing and budgets, how communications teams are set up, and effectiveness of communications.
Click-it: 6 Ways to Grow Your Email File [Download free e-book]. Tested and statistically proven strategies to grow you email list from the good folks at NextAfter.
YOU
Finally… Need career advice? My friend Mazarine Treyz is hosting her annual Fundraising Career Conference. Learn how to take your career in the direction you want it to go. Details and register here.
Featured Clairification Resource
You don’t just write killer fundraising appeals at the end of the calendar year! If you want your organization to thrive, you should be putting your compelling story in front of your donors all year long. Want to learn how to make an offer your donor can’t refuse? You may want to get my Anatomy of a Fundraising Appeal Letter. It’s filled with everything I’ve learned about what makes a successful appeal over the years, all tucked it into one handy no-nonsense guide. Plus it includes a template and resource guide. All Clairification products come with a 30-day no-questions-asked money-back guarantee. And Clairification School enrolled “students” receive generous discounts.
1 Comment
My name is Brandon and I’m the product manager at TrueNCOA.com – thanks for the shout out, Claire!
I’d also like to point out to readers that our low-cost process includes a complimentary hygiene report. After users upload their data and process the file, we return a Summary Report with aggregate information about how many moves we identified, how many vacant addresses we found, and other similar items. This helps TrueNCOA users consider potential outcomes before they purchase and download their file for the flat price of $20.
Thanks again for including us on this great list of non-profit resources.