Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
The past two weeks flew by, and now it’s time again for your opportunity to click through to any of these free curated goodies I’ve found for you across the web. I’ve categorized them so you can more easily find what strikes your particular fancy.
Speaking of which, in the last issue I asked if you would do me the favor of completing a super quick survey (1 minute) so I can provide just the right content for you moving forward. Thanks to those who’ve already provided input – you are the best!
I’m offering one more chance to those who’ve not yet participated; then I’ll take everyone’s feedback into account and let you know the consensus.
I know my readers are an eclectic group – executive directors, development, marketing, volunteer and program staff, board and committee members, direct service volunteers and even donors. I don’t want to leave anyone out!
At the same time, I know this is truly a huge sackful of material (I do a LOT of reading), and I don’t want to overwhelm you. If less would be more, please let me know. I do this to be helpful to you, not to overwhelm you. There’s a one-minute survey HERE.
Thank you, as always, for doing the tremendously important work you do.
P.S. Please join me in giving a big shout out to my sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible to offer this to you for free. [If you appreciate it, please let them know. I’m sure they’d love to hear from you, and your thanks will be warmly received: Shhh… they don’t know I’m asking you to reach out; I want them to receive a delightful surprise (which, BTW, is what you should do for your donors as often as possible). Email steven.shattuck@bloomerang.co with a big “Hip, hip, hooray! Thanks for sponsoring the Clairity Click-it!“
Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…
Advocacy
Click-it: What nonprofits need to know about advocacy during election season. Bolder Advocacy and M+R explain what you can/cannot do to support your constituents’ rights while not crossing the legal line.
Annual Giving
Click-it: Five ways to steward potential donors before their first gift. Think about being friendly and donor-centric. If you sound like a stranger, or make it hard to donate, you’re not going to incline folks to support you. Get tips from Carrie Rice of Project Donor Love on the Hands On Fundraising blog
Boards and Leadership
Click-it: TOP Strategy You Need to Know about Nonprofit Board Fundraising. If 100% of your board members aren’t currently giving, please read this article I wrote for the Bloomerang blog. It includes a bunch of practical tips.
Cause Marketing
Click-it: Considering Cause Marketing? Tips for a Compliant Co-Venture. If you’re thinking about diversifying funding streams, you’ll want to read this piece by Abby Jarvis of Qgiv.
Content Marketing
Click-it: Twelve Free Tools for Creating an Effective Editorial Calendar. Get organized and, more important, improve your productivity using these tips from Ann Smarty on the Maximize Social Business blog. There are some really cool tools I’d never heard about!
Click-it: Customer satisfaction survey fatigue. One of the best ways to learn what content to serve up to your constituencies is by sending a survey. We all know that. But… how do you overcome survey fatigue? This is an interesting look at surveys from the consumer perspective (plus it’s from Tom Fishburne, the Marketoonist, so it includes a great cartoon). If you’re going to collect it, use it. And tell folks how you used it.
Donor Retention
Click-it: Why the Retention Resistance? If you’re not yet prioritizing retention, read this from fundraising guru Roger Craver of the Agitator. Then read Top Five Barriers to Retention. It’s spot on (IMHO) and really is a ‘must read’ if you want to stop the churn and burn that makes your fundraising unproductive.
Click-it: What Do You Do When Someone New Makes a Peer-to-Peer or Tribute Gift? Check out my brand new article for Nonprofit Pro to learn how to transform one-time transactional donors into ongoing loyal supporters. This is what makes these particular types of annual giving programs worthwhile!
Management and Strategy
Click-it: The Causes and Costs of Lost Productivity in Nonprofit Workplaces and How to Avoid It. Do you spend too much time on meetings? (37% of your time!) Email? (Could be costing you $5K/employee!) Interruptions? (56 average/day!) Beth Kanter suggests ways to work more productively – with links to lots of great tools — on Beth’s Blog.
Click-it: 7 game-changing things nonprofits can learn from for-profits. Some thought-provoking ideas from the inimitable Vu Le of Nonprofit AF. I can’t even choose a favorite. They’re all good.
Online Fundraising & Social Marketing
Click-it: 10 tips to keep your fundraising emails out of the spam folder. If no one sees your appeal, you’ll have wasted all your hard work. That’s SO sad. Avoid this problem with these practical tips from 4aGoodCause. I like tips #8 and #9.
Click-it: What 10 Social Media Professionals Say Should Be Your Top Priority Right Now. Learn where the pros recommend you focus your efforts in this article from Forbes. Here’s one piece of advice from Neil Schaeffer, Author of The Business of Influence: “They need to not only understand the community better, but also better engage with it in order to generate more word-of-mouth marketing.”
Click-it: How to Increase Email Newsletter Subscriptions. If you want to reach more people with your fundraising appeals you need to build your mailing list. Molly Coke explains how on the Firespring blog.
YOU
Click-it: Write a Letter to the Future. This was too cool not to share. Daniel Pink writes: “I’ve become slightly obsessed with the psychological connections among the past, the present, and the future.” If you are too, this site lets you write a letter to yourself and set when in the future it will be delivered to you. I’m off to send myself a note to arrive in January 2020.
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: Year-End Fundraising 101 for Online Fundraisers [Register for free webinar, 10-30-18]. Jon Powell of NextAfter will show you what strategies work to raise more money during year-end based on years of data, research, and over 1000 online fundraising experiments.
Major and Legacy Gifts
Click-it: How to Jump Start Your Planned Giving Program during Year-End [Register for free webinar, 11-7-18]. Learn to expand your existing program or start a new one with legacy giving expert Lori Kranczer, Esq of Everyday Planned Giving and Melissa Wyers, Executive Director of EveryAction.
Monthly/Recurring Giving
Click-it: The Nonprofit Recurring Giving Benchmark [Register for free webinar, 10-24-18]. Did you know recurring donors are up to 4x more valuable than one-time donors? Want to turn your one-time donors into lifelong constituents? Join Firespring as they host Brady Josephson of NextAfter to discover how to use insights made after analyzing 115 donation pages and 4,500 online and offline communications.
Sponsorship
Click-it: How to Attract, Cultivate and Wow Sponsors [Register for free webinar, 10-31-18].Do you dread finding sponsors for your next event? Are you tired of the standard “Gold, Silver and Bronze” packages and have a sneaking suspicion that your potential sponsors are too? There’s a better way, and you can learn it during this webinar for Clairification with Strategic Fundraising Coach Joanna Hogan.
FREE DOWNLOADABLE MATERIALS
Annual Giving
Click-it: Strategies to Boost Your Annual Fundraising Appeal: Use the 40-40-20 Rule [Download free e-Book]. What’s the 40-40-20 rule? I authored this free e-guide for Bloomerang explaining how 40% of a direct mailing campaign’s success is dependent upon the list; 40% of the success comes from the offer; and 20% is due to the creative aspects of the campaign. Check it out!
Major and Legacy Gifts
Click-it: 9 Hard Truths Every Fundraiser Needs to Face in the 21st Century [Includes link to free download of Ch. 1 of “Engagement Fundraising”]. This article by Michael Rosen of ML Innovations talks about strategies and support needed to do a much better job of engaging donors on their own terms. It’s essentially a book review highlighting key take-aways from Greg Warner’s (Market Smart) new book. You’ll be able to tell from the synopsis why you should buy the book!
Management and Strategy
Click-it: Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity [Download free White Paper]. The chances an event will occur that disrupts the processing of your direct mail responses are small but the impact can be devastating. The folks at Merkle RMG describe the importance of having a well-defined Recovery/Continuity Plan and what it should cover.
Online Fundraising and Marketing
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!
Click-it: 7 Best Practices for Priority Email Delivery [Download free e-Book]. While not written specifically for nonprofits, you’ll definitely pick up some helpful tips in this guide from Marketo to make the most of your hard work. Did you know 20% of the emails you send never reach the recipient? Yipes!
Did You Miss My Recent Articles?
My motto: 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.
- Show Me You Know Me* — 5 Strategies To Sustain Donor Relationships
- Does Your Nonprofit Promote Stock Gifts? You Should!
- Not all Holiday Fundraising is Created Equal
- Scope: The Key to Donor Generosity?
- Beware of a Half-Truth; It May Be the Wrong Half
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 a lot more awareness, volunteerism and money.
P.S. So I can tailor future issues of the Clairity Click-it to best meet your needs, please don’t forget to complete the brief SURVEY! Thank you.
Hope to see you in Clairification School!
