Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
The ‘Clairity Click-it’ is a curated bimonthly newsletter – my gift to you – and I hope you enjoy these resources 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.
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Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…
Board Engagement
Click-it: 6 Ways to Get Your Board Fundraising…NOW! Rachel Muir on the Network for Good blog offers these concrete tips. I’ve used every single one of them over my 30 years on staff as a development director for five different organizations, and can attest to the fact they all work!
Donor Retention
Click-it: Friendship-Building Secrets to Build Donor Loyalty. On a donors in/donors out treadmill? Treadmills are only good in the gym. Check out my article for Nonprofit Pro.
Events
Click-it: Sponsorship Activation, It’s Easier Than You Think. Chris Baylis of The Sponsorship Collective suggests the best way to keep sponsors happy is to assure your audience is happy. It’s a good read (you can also click to access a free webinar and sponsorship template).
Management and Strategy
Click-it: Are you in a groove or in a rut? I love Mary Cahalane’s distinction about habit as a “groove” vs. a “rut.” This is an excellent question all nonprofits should ask about their “sacred cows.”
Click-it: Changes to federal policies could drastically affect philanthropists, nonprofits. Did you know that 2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the charitable contribution tax deduction? When I worked as a director of development and marketing, I often got questions from board and executive leadership regarding my take on how proposed changes to federal tax policy could impact our donors and nonprofit. Want to look smart? Take a moment to read this article from syndicated columnist Bruce DeBoskey, who offers a good overview of what may be on the horizon.
Nonprofit Overhead Myth
Click-it: Am I Wrong for Not Believing in Donating to Charities. This is a good read from Sean Triner on the Moceanic blog in which he spends a good deal of time debunking the nonprofit overhead myth. I agree in spades. If your nonprofit is persisting in perpetuating this myth by proudly touting how low your overhead is, please read this.
Click-it: “I Asked A Simple Question Online This Week”. Here the Agitator takes on the issue of the overhead myth. You have to be an Agitator subscriber to read this one, but if you’re not you can get some of the content from Tom Ahern’s blog. Again, if you’re proudly touting your Charity Navigator score, read this one. It’s a double-edge sword.
Click-it: Understanding the Full Costs of Nonprofits. Finally, here’s an interesting discussion in the form of an interview between Nell Edgington of Social Velocity and Michael Etzel of the Bridgespan Group. They look at the role of funders in perpetuating the overhead myth and look at the question of what it takes to deliver results in different types of organizations.
Online Social Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: The 3 Social Networks That Matter to Your Business and Why. Rebekah Radice weighs in on the Inc. blog. I’d wager these three networks are the ‘biggies’ for most nonprofits as well.
SOMETHING DIFFERENT: YOU
Click-it: How To Get Smart (And Stay Smart). Read or listen to this very smart insight from Sean D’Souza of Psychotactics. Personally, I’m going to give some serious thought to the 3-month vacation model. You?
FREE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
The more you learn, the more you grow.
Note: 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 and Donor Engagement
Click-it: A More Effective Way to Recruit and Reappoint Members of Your Board [Register for free webinar, 6-2-17] Dennis Miller presents for Top Nonprofits to help you build the best possible board leadership. Last week
Click-it: Getting Beyond the Board: Engaging Your Community as Donors and Champions {Register for free webinar, 6-22-17]. Terry Axelrod presents for Bloomerang on how to deeply engage individuals in the broader community who can in turn engage others and perhaps become your next board members.
Donor Retention
Click-it: 12 Nonprofit Thank You Mistakes to Avoid [Register for free webinar, 6-12-17] Join me and sponsor Bloomerang to learn the art of thank you’s that are more than a generic transactional receipt. You want WOW thank you’s that set you up for your next gift.
Major Gift Fundraising
Click-it: Email Essentials for Gift Officers [Register for free 4-day mini course]. Includes word-for-word templates you can use to get folks to open, read and respond to your emails. These were used successfully for a capital campaign by K. Michael Johnson, who writes the Fearless Fundraising blog.
Management and Strategy
Click-it: Meaningful Metrics: Using Data to Inform Fundraising Strategy and Raise More Money! [EXCLUSIVE free webinar for the Clairification community, 5-30-17] Register now to join me and Zach Shefska of The Fundraising Report Card for some eye-opening tips to boost your results! We’ll introduce powerful concepts that will allow you to make more sense out of your fundraising data and ultimately maximize your capacity to raise money.
Online Social Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: How to Report Live from Nonprofit Conferences and Events [Register for free webinar, 6-13-17]. Heather Mansfield at Nonprofit Tech for Good covers special skills and tools needed for live reporting, and presents ideas for building a pre- and post-event planned. Share with your social media managers!
Websites
Click-it: How to Captivate & Engage Constituents with Your Website [Register for free webinar 5-31-17]. Ignited Fundraising hosts Jay Wilkinson of Firespring, who will offer up action steps to take your website from a missed opportunity in your marketing to an engaging center of communication.
FREE DOWNLOADABLE RESOURCES
Annual Giving
Click-it: Sustainers in Focus [Download report here]. This comprehensive guide from Blackbaud about monthly giving programs includes much opportunity, and also a warning: don’t set your sustainer program on autopilot.
Marketing
Click-it: Marketing Your NonProfit With Zero Budget [Download free guide]. This comes from the folks at Donor Drive and includes Google ad grants plus suggestions of ways to use your free add dollars.
Online Social Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: 6 Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Resolutions for the New Year. This super comprehensive article by Abby Jarvis for the Bloomerang blog is a step-by-step guide to getting started, or ramping up, online social fundraising. Check it out!
Click-it: 199 Amazing Free or Cheap Online Tools for Nonprofits [Free downloadable guide] From Wild Apricot, this includes advice to help you determine which tools may be best suited to your particular needs.
Online Social Media
Click-it: 9 Winning Nonprofit Social Media Strategies. Did you know I write a monthly article for Maximize Social Business on social media and/or content marketing for nonprofits? Check out this one, and stick around for lots of amazing social media expertise from folks who work in the for-profit world. They’ve got the money needed to do the research and testing the nonprofit sector needs, so why not borrow from them?
Click-it: 2017 Social Media Marketing Industry Report. I’m a big believer in borrowing from for-profit research (they have more money to spend!). Here’s a look at what’s happening in social media use and planning. Nonprofits tend to lag behind our for-profit brethren, so why not get a head start by reading this report commissioned by Social Media Examiner?
FEATURED CLAIRIFICATION RESOURCE
Major Gifts from A to Z: Get all 4 volumes at a ‘Bargain Bundle’ discount.
If you’re looking to start or ramp up your major gifts program, my Major Gifts Playbook can help. There are four companion guides, with everything your nonprofit needs to succeed with major gift fundraising. And make no mistake: major individual gifts are by far the single largest source of philanthropy. If you’re not getting your share, now’s the time to begin!
[BTW: if you enroll in ‘Clairification School’ you get generous discounts on all products. You also get access to all content on my site – it’s a veritable ongoing, online fundraising school with everything at your disposal. Benefits are yours for a full year.] One click puts you on the pathway to passionate philanthropy for the full year. ENROLL HERE FIRST; then buy your Playbook to grab the discount.
