Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
I recently joined a new nonprofit board. This has me thinking about the type of support board members need to be the leaders you need them to be. So… you’ll find a number of articles to help you in this regard. Plus, as always, LOTS more resources in a variety of categories.
Before we get into it, I want to send a shout out to my 2020 Clairity Click-it sponsor, Bloomerang, for keeping this newsletter free. Remember, my motto is: “If I know it, I want you to know it!” They’re making it possible for me to spend time curating and sending this newsletter to you on a biweekly basis. If you appreciate this as much as I do, please let them know!
I hope you’ll also enroll this year in ‘Clairification School’. You’ll get access to ALL my content for a full 12 months. People tell me all the time it’s a bargain, especially considering the tips that help them build saleable skills and raise much, much more than they invest by enrolling.
What you do matters. A lot.
It is my privilege and pleasure to help you do with as much joy, optimism and effectiveness as possible,
P.S. I have a fundraising advice column on the Bloomerang blog! Ask your question here. And bookmark the Ask an Expert page!
Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…
Annual Giving
Click-it: Nonprofit Fundraising: How to Run an Effective Campaign. Check out this super comprehensive A to Z basic fundraising resource. Great if you’re just starting out; also a terrific review for development directors who’ve been doing this for decades and are ready to step things up. From Abby Jarvis at Qgiv.
Boards
Click-it: Part 1: Boards Need Staff to Support Scary Fundraising Role. If you want board members to step up to the plate, you’ve got to stop the blame game. It’s hard for board members to say no to specific, reasonable requests. It’s easy for board members to put their service on the back burner when it’s unclear what’s expected. Check out my two-part article on the Bloomerang blog, and then….
Click-it: Part 2: 3 Strategies to Find a Fundraising Role for Every Board Member. Learn to put your support of the board into action! I take a close look at specific ways board members can facilitate getting to the point of readiness to make a philanthropic ask. Hopefully they’ll be willing to help with the ask as well, but the work of getting to that point should never be overlooked or diminished. It’s part and parcel of a board member’s ‘fundraising’ role. And it’s a less threatening place to begin.
Click-it: A Proven Path for Nonprofit Boards from Conflict to Progress. If your board lacks focus, or if members aren’t enjoying their service, read this from Renee Rubin Ross. It may help you develop a board assessment and/or build a retreat agenda.
Click-it: Nonprofit Governance Is Not Intuitive. This article by Mike Burns on Nonprofit Pro makes a strong case for assigning board members mentors. This is particularly important for new members and new board officers. Do you offer this type of support?
Donor Retention
Click-it: Dear Donor, How Do I Love Thee? When your donor love and loyalty strategy consists largely of tactical “to-do’s” you check off your list (e.g., send a thank you letter; make a thank you call; create a thank you video) you’re focusing largely on process (how) rather than people (why). Process is dutiful, yet lacks the feeling of being heartfelt. In this article for Bloomerang I suggest how you might do a better job.
Click-it: First-Time Donor Calls. Speaking of donor gratitude – and the outsized role it plays in donor retention — calling to say thank you can work wonders! If you don’t have the bandwidth to call everyone, the folks at Bloomerang have a new feature to help you figure out the best folks to call.
Click-it: 5 Call-to-Actions for Your Nonprofit’s Donation Confirmation Page. If you want to keep donors engaged, you must put in place proactive strategies to bring them close to you. What better place to start than with your donation confirmation page? Check out this article on Nonprofit Tech for Good by Christy Noel at MobileCause. I like #2 and #5.
Online Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: What Bill Murray can teach you about email marketing. You’re going to absolutely want to adopt this simple suggestion from Will Valverde of M+R. Bottom line: A good email is a terrible thing to waste! Repetition can be a tremendous, cost-effective and very productive strategy.
Click-it: Our top 5: Email campaigns meet social media. Here are five terrific examples of integrated digital campaigns from which you can borrow – all from our friend Ronald Pruitt at 4aGoodCause. The idea, of course, is to get the biggest bang for your buck by sharing your message across multiple mediums.
Major and Legacy Gifts
Click-it: Why Planned Giving Isn’t Just about Fundraising. Calling all brand builders, experience creators and legacy inspirers! This article from the planned giving marketing experts at Stelter shows you the way to build winning relationships with your supporters that should result in passionate philanthropy.
Management and Strategy
Click-it: The Performance Imperative & The Performance Practice [Download free step-by-step guides]. Leap Ambassadors have created these incredible resources to help you build and execute a framework for social sector excellence. What a gift for you and your team! Perfect if you’re a new E.D. building a culture for success, or just wanting to move your organization to the next level through continuous improvement. You’ll receive a framework of seven organizational disciplines you can use to lead.
Psychology of Giving
Click-it: How Asking Affects the Asked. I found this Agitator-DonorVoice article fascinating. The bottom line is people behave differently when they know (or think) they’re being observed. The more you ask for feedback from donors (e.g. via survey), the more likely you are to elicit positive behavior.
Storytelling
Click-it: 5 Essential Storytelling Secrets. Lori Jacobwith of Ignited Fundraising brilliantly crystallizes key principles of fundraising storytelling. This is worth a look just for the cool example of a ‘brief story’ in #2.
Click-it: 13 Unique Ways A Business Can Use Video To Engage Its Audience. When you use video to tell your stories you reach folks who’d never have taken the time to read the same story. You’ll engage them more emotionally too. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, a video may be worth 10,000! Borrow these tips from for-profit marketers on the Forbes blog. And don’t forget #13: You can shoot a video on your iPhone!
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: Why do People Give? [Download free podcast] Join this free-ranging conversation between Mark Phillips, Queer Ideas blog, and Lyndall Stein. It includes all sorts of ideas about what fundraising is/is not good at, plus ways to improve marketing on a small budget.
Boards
Click-it: Get Your Board to Help You Fundraise—Even if They Don’t Wanna! [Register for free webinar, 2-19-2020]. Want your board to be a well-oiled fundraising machine? It’s doable! Join Firespring and learn how to motivate your board members to fundraise, set goals and kick off campaigns, create individual plans they’ll rock, track without nagging and more.
Donor Retention
Click-it: Creating Stellar Donor Experiences by Understanding Your Donors [Register for free webinar, 3-17-2020]. In this Mid-Level Master Series, Pursuant’s Hilary Noon will explore ways to use technology to understand donor DNA, and then use what you’ve learned to create relevant donor experiences.
Donor Surveys
Click-it: 5 Ways to Increase Your Survey Response Rate [Register for free webinar, 2-27-2020]. A survey is a terrible thing to waste! Join Sarah Cho, Director of Research for Survey Monkey, to get tips to make surveys more engaging and secure data your entire organization can act on.
Grants
Click-it: 10 Ways to Improve Relationships with Your Grantmakers [Download free on-demand webinar video]. This is your chance to learn from a previous grant maker, Diane H. Leonard, what funders are looking for. She’ll also cover how you engage your board and staff in relationship development and management. On the Bloomerang blog.
Management and Strategy
Click-it: Introduction to Google Analytics for Nonprofits [Register for free webinar, 2-24-2020]. Want to boost marketing performance? Learn to take advantage of all the features, including advanced ones, offered by this free analytics service. Know it’s necessary to dig into your data but aren’t sure where to start? Don’t think of yourself as a data person? This webinar with Journity, hosted by Nonprofit Tech for Good, is for you either way.
FREE DOWNLOADABLE MATERIALS
Annual Giving
Click-it: The Quick Start Guide to Recurring Giving [Download free resource]. Investing in a recurring giving program can have a huge impact on your long-term financial health. Whether you need to create a program from scratch or want to strengthen and grow your existing community, grab this guide from Classy.
Database
Click-it: The Buyer’s Guide to Nonprofit Donor Management Software [Download free e-Guide]. In the market for new fundraising database software, but don’t know where to begin? Network for Good comes to the rescue with this Guide! This takes a look at exactly what functionality to look for, and the questions you should consider when evaluating your options.
Donor Surveys
Click-it: Donor Surveys: Ultimate How-To Guide for Nonprofits [Download free e-guide]. Everything you need to create a high-performing donor survey. From the good folks at Market Smart.
Online Social Marketing and Fundraising
Click-it: Experiences Matter: Digital Trends For Nonprofit Marketers [Download free white paper]. It’s no secret today’s consumers need engaging and personal experiences to capture their attention. Here the experts at Merkle examine emerging digital trends and offer concrete recommendations for how to harness data, identity, creativity, and technology to deliver the relevant experiences that meet today’s donors’ expectations.
Did You Miss My Recent Articles?
Here are links to the most recent articles on the Clairification blog. I think you’ll find these fairly practical. Hope so!
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- 3 Rules for Thanking Nonprofit Donors that Should Never Be Broken
- Remember Who We Are: Philanthropy Facilitators
- 8 Strategies to Celebrate Nonprofit Donors on Valentine’s Day
- How to Kill Your Nonprofit Career: Gumball Theory
- Philanthropy, Not Fundraising: I Have a Dream 2020
- 3 Ridiculously Easy Strategies to Boost Fundraising by 27%
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