Clairity Click-it: Sandpail Full of Nonprofit Links + Free Resources Be Yours

In Ecosystems Come and Go, Seth Godin writes:

“We can lament the end of an ecosystem. After all, we worked hard to get here and we counted on it. We’re comfortable with it and we understand it.

Or, we can accept that ecosystems come and go, and focus our energy on how the next ecosystem gives us a chance to do our work, new work, different work, but work that matters, for people who care.”

The world changes. Constantly. As a result, what used to work well no longer serves us.  It may not exactly be ‘broken,’ but it still needs a ‘fix.’

Which is why I’ve collected lots of resources over the past two weeks – all with the hope you’ll find something to help you adapt to changing times, with attunement, buoyancy and clarity.  Need new ideas? Skills? Perspectives? They’re all here. Check them out! You’re guaranteed to find something that will shift your thinking.

As always, a big thank you to my sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the hours of time hunting, gathering and choosing the eclectic resources I believe will best meet the needs of the diverse range of folks who comprise our critically important social benefit sector.

You’ve got this!

Thank you for doing your vital work, with gratitude,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. If you’re an enrolled Clairification School student, your JULY TIPS are live.  If you’re not yet enrolled, there’s no better time.

Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…

Articles

Annual (Year-Round) Fundraising

Click-it: 6 Creative Ways to Solicit In-Kind Donations for Nonprofits. We don’t talk enough about in-kind gifts. If they can replace something you would otherwise have had to pay for, they can be an important component of your revenue mix.  The experts at Momentum suggest a number of ways goods or services can enhance your organization’s financial flexibility

Donor Retention

Click-it: The Real Reason Donors Aren’t Coming Back. Lisa Greer, Philanthropy 451, weighs in on why donor retention has been so bad for so long. The solution? A shift in mindset.

Events

Click-it: 8 Event Ticket Marketing Strategies that Increase Sales.  If you want to increase your ticket sales, look no further than this article from the experts at Eventgroove. There are some good ones here!

Click-it: Break the Event Cycle: Fundraising Strategies for Lasting Relationships. While nonprofits often rely on galas, auctions and other large events, these efforts may not be building long-term relationships. The experts at Firespring offer suggestions to reduce event frequency, piggyback off existing events, and maximize the ROI of your investment.

Major, Mid-Level, Capital and Legacy Giving

Click-it: Forming Relationships with a LOA or Pledge form? YES! If you’ve never thought of a form as something that can help you build a deeper relationship with your donor, Marcy Heims, the Artful Asker, suggests you think again.

Click-it: The Most Important Philanthropic Ratio. Jim Langly writes on the Market Smart blog about who you really should be spending time with. Not the richest, but the most generous – within their means.

HOW ABOUT THIS: Tell your boss you want them to take a course so they can hold you accountable.  That ought to get their attention!  This Veritus Group Certification Course for Fundraising Managers and Executives is specifically designed for staff who manage major gift officers. It runs in tandem with the certification courses in Major Gifts & Mid-Level Fundraising, so your entire team can learn the same language and implement a consistent system. Depending on your budget, you can sign up for the course that most meets your needs. OR… take advantage of the generous 20% discount if you enroll three or more from your team. Email me for details on the group pricing. 

NOTE:  The next cohort begins August 25, 2025, and you get $200 off if you register before July 25^th.  Something to consider!

Online and Digital Fundraising and Marketing

Click-it: How using a content offer instead of a direct ask in a dear reader affects click-through rate. This experiment by NextAfter suggests that providing immediate value to your audience and aligning with their interests can incentivize engagement and make your offer more appealing and actionable than a direct ask. In fact, first offering some useful content increased click-throughs by a whopping 733%! As I always say: “If you want gifts, you must give them.”

Click-it: 10 Automatic Text Message Sequences for Your Nonprofit. The texting experts at Rally Corp suggest ten ways to send a sequence of text messages, ringless voicemails, or emails to connect with donors, follow up with volunteers, or get event RSVPs.

Psychology of Giving

Click-it: Donor Trust 2025: The Alarming Data–and What Fundraisers Should Do Now. Plain and simple, if donors don’t trust you they aren’t going to give to you. Roger Craver, the Agitator-DonorVoice comments on the recently released 2025 Donor Trust Report from BBB Wise Giving Alliance. The news is not good. This article outlines a number of areas where donors’ antennae are raised. Privacy concerns, fear you’ll share their data, concerns about AI, antipathy toward “cookies,” and more. What do you do to reassure folks?

Click-it: Brain Science Misfires: 2 Copywriting Lessons on Clarity and Autonomy. If you’ve never read fundraising copywriter extraordinaire Lisa Sargent’s work, you’re in for a treat. She writes about cognitive bias, and how it can inadvertently wreak havoc with your carefully crafted appeal. Watch out for (1) the curse of knowledge and (2) reactance.

Strategy, Planning, Leadership and Management

Click-it: Is Your Charity ‘Age-aware’? Per fundraising guru Tom Ahern, writing on the Better Fundraising Co. blog, your organization is likely off-track if you’re chasing after younger donors. People age into prime giving years. Around age 55, those who are “philanthropically-inclined” can START to give more to their favorite charities. “Don’t trust anyone peddling a glib financial solution like, “We need younger donors.” Great article.

Click-it: Manage Your Time with the Matrix (Not THAT one!). Stop treating every task as equally important. When you do, you’ll never get everything done. And you may just find yourself spending most of your time on the strategies that yield the smallest bang for your buck. Instead, do what the Moceanic experts suggest here.

Technology as Tool

Click-it: Segmentation: The Five Rules and One Big Red Flag. Here’s smart advice from Kevin Shulman, the Agitator-DonorVoice (the 5^th rule cracks me up!).

Click-it: 33 AI Marketing & Fundraising Tools for Nonprofits. Nonprofit Tech for Good has gathered together a terrific list of tools for you to try out. Use them for all kinds of writing, graphics, video, audio, website design, social media, search, just plain brainstorming, and more.

Click-it: Marketing Hacks for the AI Era: Tips, Tricks, and Prompts for Smarter Digital Marketing. This, from Convince and Convert, is a must read if you’re just starting out using AI. Jennifer’s expert AI POV is an essential piece of device (from my humble experience). AI won’t do it for you, but can be a fun collaborator.

Writing

Click-it: Write scenes, not an article. Enjoy this useful advice from Julie Cooper on the Better Fundraising blog. And take it to heart the next time you write a fundraising appeal, gratitude report or newsletter article!

Other Learning Opportunities

WEBINARS, PODCASTS, & ON-DEMAND AUDIO RESOURCES

If you can’t attend live, or are interested in sessions happening at overlapping times, note many are available via recording – but ONLY if you REGISTER!

Annual (Year-Round) Fundraising

Click-it:. Why Are You Not Raising More Money? [Register for free webinar, 7-10-2025]. Join the inimitable (and funny) Joan Garry and DonorPerfect to learn the key components of team-based fundraising, from the relationship between the development staff and the executive director to the core elements of a successful board development committee. You’ll get lots of practical tips.

Click-it:. Generational Giving: How to Better Connect with Each Generation [Register for free webinar, 7-30-2025], Last May, Bloomerang interviewed over 1,000 donors of all ages and asked them to tell us how they discover nonprofits to support, how they stay connected to those nonprofits, their fundraising event habits, donor retention preferences, and more! Join this Nonprofit Tech for Good webinar for tips on how to account for donor preferences in your acquisition, follow-up and retention efforts. Gen Z through Boomers — it’s all here.

Donor Retention

Click-it:  Free Nonprofit Webinar: Maximizing Impact: The Blueprint for Success with Recurring Donors [Register for free webinar 7-23-2025]. In challenging times, monthly donors are true lifesavers. They keep the lights on. They keep your mission going, no matter what happens in the world. In this CharityHowTo 45-minute session, Erica Waasdorp (who wrote two books and lots of resources on monthly giving) will show you how to do exactly that.

Events

Click-it:  Gala Game-Changers: 5 Transformational Changes for a More Engaging & Profitable Gala [Register for free webinar, 7-16-2025]. Join A.J. Steinberg, Founder of Queen Bee Fundraising and Charity How-To for this special session dedicated to transforming the “same-old” gala. These practical and proven tactics will help you captivate attendees, maximize revenue, and create an unforgettable experience. Get ready for 5 specific take-away strategies!

Grants

Click-it: Introduction to Foundation Directory [Register for free webinar, 7-15-2025]. If you’re new to grants seeking, this session from Candid is a “must attend.” Come learn how to use the Foundation Directory, the most comprehensive prospect research tool for fundraisers, with over 239,000+ grant maker profiles. You’ll learn how to search for funders working on causes and with communities similar to those you serve.

Strategy and Planning

Click-it:  From Good to Great: Rework Your Nonprofit Marketing Plan for Year-End Growth [Register for free webinar, 7-16-2025]. Candace Cody of Community Boost joins Auctria for this session designed to help you develop an actionable mid-year audit of your marketing plan, so you can strategically realign your goals, pivot where needed, and maximize momentum ahead of year-end.

DOWNLOADABLE GUIDES, PAPERS, TEMPLATES & OTHER RESOURCES

Strategy, Planning, Management and Leadership

Click-it: Click-it: Meet the Hidden Majority of Nonprofits: The All-Volunteer Organization. This is a fascinating piece from Jan Masaoka in Nonprofit Quarterly. I’m embarrassed I didn’t know 69% of nonprofits—nearly seven in 10—have budgets of less than $50,000. That means most of these nonprofits are all-volunteer organizations (AVOs). The article talks about why these organizations are so important, and also how different rules may apply (e.g., for registration, 990 filing, tax-deductibility and the like). She also talks about new frontiers for online AFOs (e.g., subreddits; Facebook groups).

Click-it: The Ultimate Nonprofit Lingo Guide [Download free resource]. No one has time for jargon. That’s why Nonprofit Hub has thoughtfully compiled a list of over 100 words and acronyms used within the nonprofit industry that you probably hear often. If you’re new to the nonprofit space, this guide will become your cheat sheet.

Did You Miss My Newest Articles?

Here are links to the most recent articles on the Clairification blog. Remember, your goal is not simply to squeeze money out of people. It’s to give donors a squeeze and a hug for being caring and generous. This will make them feel good, which will move them to continue sticking with you.

The New Rules of Fundraising: Human First, Digital Fast

Are These Fundraising Appeal Best Practices Holding You Back?

Want to Raise More Unrestricted Dollars? Your Best Stories Can Lead the Way.

Smart Strategies to Raise Unrestricted Nonprofit Funding

When Gratitude Becomes a Gift: A Powerful Way to Deepen Donor Bonds

Do You Assume Donors Don’t Want to Be Asked?

💡Finally… if you have a question, any question…

Ask your question here. And check out my free fundraising advice column on the Bloomerang blog! You can bookmark the Ask an Expert page for any time you have a question. Here’s one: Why Aren’t My Donor Meetings Turning Into Gifts?

REMINDER for Clairification School students: Don’t forget to log in to your “My Clairification/Subscriber Dashboard/Monthly Tips” to grab your exclusive, timely tips for each month. JULY TIPS are live (Just log in to your Member Dashboard). Your support is much appreciated, and helps me to support you. Thank you!

Here are a few pics that tickled my fancy over the past couple of weeks! 

Don’t you just love how these flamingos make a natural heart? Painting by local artist FNNCH on a home’s external wall. Just found it passing by!

Another natural heart, part of a tree gnarl. Found on a neighborhood tree.

New hospital going up not far from me. July 4th I spotted these cranes overhead, whimsically decorated for Independence Day.

Found this “cow” (note the horns on top) grazing along the street. Hope this inspires you, with a bit of a spring in your step, to MOOOOO……ve on… Together, we can do this job of repairing our world. One action at a time.

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