Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
I’ve collected bountiful gifts for you to help you succeed in this most generous of seasons – and beyond!
As you may know, I’m dedicated to sending these curated resources on a bimonthly basis to share with you the best information out there. As others helped me, so do I wish to help you.
Of course, if you’ve not done so already, I hope you’ll also enroll this year for all the benefits ‘Clairification School’ has to offer. You’ll get access to all my content for a full 12 months, including original weekly articles, bonus webinars and more, in the most cost-effective way I’ve found to deliver it. Literally, it’s about a quarter a day. Your support makes it possible and, truly, means a lot.
Thank you for doing the important work you do.
claire@clairification.com. I read and respond to every single email.
P.P.S. Please send a shout-out to my Click-it sponsor, Bloomerang, who are doing more than their fair share in helping me bring this resource to you. I put a lot of work into curating and sending it to you, and it’s just me here. I’m not a large corporation. Since I can’t afford to lose money, they’re underwriting my time and helping me help YOU. Just click here to let them know they’re awesome!
Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…
Annual and Year-End Fundraising
Click-it: Ultimate Guide to Last Minute Year-End Fundraising Strategies. Bloomerang asked me to share my best tips with you, so here are 7 last minute indispensable year-end fundraising strategies + 16 specific action tips.
Click-it: December fundraising do’s and don’ts. You still have time to put some of these strategies from Ronald Pruitt of 4aGoodCause in place. And even if you don’t do it this year, check them out and put them away for your next campaign.
Click-it: 3 Tools Power Ambassadors to Year-End Wins. Here are some great last-minute strategies to make it easier for your donors and volunteers to help spread the word. All from Nancy Schwartz at Getting Attention.
Boards and Leadership
Click-it: Increase Your Organization’s Influence in 15 Minutes a Month. A super useful idea from Andrea Kihlstedt of Capital Campaign Master, all about creating a Board Leadership Forum. This is also a great way to cultivate major gifts!
Content Marketing
Click-it: Photos to Fire Up Year-End & Protect Privacy. This is an excellent piece – with concrete advice — by Nancy Schwartz of Getting Attention on what to do if you can’t share real client photos or stories due to confidentiality concerns.
Data Base Management
Click-it: The Donor Responds. Are You Listening? The Value of Data from Your Donation Processor. Amy Bobrick of Merkle RMG writes about the data donors provide every time they respond to your appeals and other messaging. Are you capturing this data?
Major and Legacy Giving
NOTE: I’m offering quite a few resources on major gift fundraising this month, as I’m a firm believer every nonprofit (regardless of size or cause) should actively pursue major gifts from individuals. Please take this opportunity to check out my most popular e-Course: Winning Major Gift Strategies for the small and medium-sized shop. It begins January 22nd, goes for 8 weeks, and is on ‘early bird’ sale now until December 29th. You know this is the most cost-effective way to raise funds, right? Think about it!
Click-it: The Major Donor Right in Front of You. Richard Perry and Jeff Schreifels of Veritus Group offer an amazingly simple idea to find major donor prospects among your current volunteers.
Click-it: The Priorities of Your Major Gift Caseload. Check out Richard Perry’s guest post on NonProfitPro for help understanding why you can’t treat every donor on your prospect list exactly the same way.
Click-it: 7 Simple Steps to Qualify Your Donors. Before you decide which donors to cultivate you need to qualify them. Because not every major donor prospect will want to be cultivated! Get some tips from Greg Warner of Market Smart.
Click-it: The 3 Things Your Donors Really Want. This is a reflective piece by Nathan Stelter about the reciprocal nature of giving and receiving – especially if you hope to attract and retain passionate major donors. There are some great ideas for reshaping the way you approach your work.
Management and Strategy
Click-it: 5 Tips to Kill Stupid Ideas and Still Keep Your Job. This basic advice from Roger Craver on The Agitator/Donor Voice blog will stand you in good stead throughout your career. Lead from facts, evidence, research and experience, not from heresy or gut.
Mission Statements
Click-it: 10 Killer Nonprofit Mission Statements to Learn From. Sadly, most nonprofit mission statements miss the mark. Often, it’s hard to tell one from another. This article on the Classy blog offers some examples of missions that matter – because they’re written to be specific and answer a reader’s who, what, when, where and how questions.
Online Fundraising
Click-it: How to Create a Successful Fundraising Email. I’ve got 25 tips for you over on the Bloomerang blog, plus a sure-fire 7-step formula to assure your email does its job. Just sending something is not sufficient. Even if it’s too late to put all this info to use this year, tuck this away to study and use throughout the coming year.
Storytelling
Click-it: What I learned about writing and storytelling from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. This is a charming read from Roy Peter Clark on Poynter, and you’ll learn a lot. You may even sing a bar or two!
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!
Grants
Click-it: What Donors Want [Listen to free podcast]. Want to get your proposal to the top of the pile? Check out this interview with Adam Askew from Comic Relief (sponsored by I.G. Advisors)about a grant making organization’s perspective on grant seekers, and what makes some stand out from the crowd. I’ll give you a hint: They want to be both inspired and reassured.
Click-it: What If Pizza Shops Were Funded Like Nonprofits? [Watch 6.30 minute video] This went viral on social media, and it’s an all-too-true portrayal of how some funders treat their grantees. Good for a chuckle; then a good cry. Courtesy of Steven Shattuck at Bloomerang.
Major and Legacy Gifts
Click-it: 9 Useful Proven Strategies to Get the Major Donor Visit [REGISTER for my free webinar 1-8-19]. Major gifts from individuals represent the single greatest potential source of revenue growth for non-profits – by far — for the next decade. That’s true for nonprofits of any size or shape! But you won’t get far unless you meet with folks face-to-face. The key to success is getting the visit! Learn how in this session I’m offering in partnership with the great folks at Market Smart and The Fundraising Report Card.
Click-it: How to Build and Sustain Your Major Gifts Pipeline [Register for my free webinar, 1-9-19]. Nonprofit Hub will be hosting me for this walk through identifying, qualifying, cultivating, asking and stewarding your way to major donor fundraising success. There’s no more cost-effective way to ensure your long-term sustainability – so check it out!
Management and Strategy
Click-it: How Dashboards Can Help Your Nonprofit Achieve Its Goals [Download free webinar]. Nonprofit Quarterly presents Hilda Polanco leading a guided tour through the land of nonprofit dashboards. She offers real-life examples of the way these tailored tools are designed to portray key indicators and help in the creation of common language around goals, an integrated strategy, and course correction.
Monthly Giving
Click-it: Monthly Giving with Harvey McKinnon, Author of Hidden Gold and The Power of Giving [Listen to free podcast]. Tuck this away for early next year, and make 2019 the year you really commit to prioritizing a strategy that’s been proven to significantly increase donor retention and generosity. All on the Generosity Freak Show from the good folks at NextAfter.
Online Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: Three Year End Email Templates – Includes what to say [Watch free video]. Steven Screen gives you three templates to knock your year-end fundraising email out of the park via Movie Mondays. Include: (1) Simple ask with deadline. (2) Outcome of donor’s gift. (3) Reasons to give now. (4) Shared values. (5) Ask with deadline. (6) Signature. (7) P.S. You still have time!
Click-it: Goodbye Facebook Video, The Journey [Watch free video]. Are you producing video on Facebook? Watch this video by Michael Stelzner of Social Media Examiner! It will make you want to stop and move to YouTube.
FREE DOWNLOADABLE MATERIALS
Direct Mail
Click-it: The direct mail, door drops and household deliveries showcase [Download free showcase of samples]. If you don’t yet know about SOFII, now’s the time to find out! You’ll find all sorts of useful articles, case studies and examples. Bookmark this!
Donor Management
Click-it: Understanding the Costs of Charitable Giving [Download free white paper]. While looking into donation processors for a client, I came across this interesting article prepared by PayPal about the costs associated with different forms of giving (e.g., check, credit card and digital wallet). What works for the charity might be different than what works for donors. What works for younger donors might be different than what works for older ones. And so forth. I found it fascinating, and thought you might too.
Management and Strategy
Click-it: 2018 Year-End Review Workbook [Download free planning resource]. The good folks at Qgiv have put together this framework for you to evaluate what worked/what didn’t last year and set yourself up for fundraising success in 2019. Sweet!
Website
Click-it: Six Website Tools Your Nonprofit Can’t Live Without [Download free e-Book]. Get ready to rock online fundraising and marketing next year with these practical tips from the savvy folks at Firespring.
Year-End Giving
Click-it: 5 Giving Tips for the Last 3 Days of 2018 [Download free infographic]. You’ve still got time to improve the odds you’ll rock year-end fundraising – but just barely! Check these tips from the folks at MobileCause out and see if you can do just one little tweak to improve your odds.
Did You Miss My Recent Articles?
If I know it, I want you to know it!
Here are links to my most recent articles.
- 3 Nonprofit Secrets to Rock Major Gift Fundraising
- Are You Reading Your Major Donors Correctly?
- Shared Cure-Alls: Philanthropy and Placebo Effect
- 7 Magic Words that Increase Charitable Donations
- Major Donor Fundraising: What to Know about New Tax Law
- You Deserve to Rock Nonprofit Email Subject Lines!
If you find value in Clairification, your support via enrollment in Clairification School is a blessing. I promise to pay it back, and continue to offer lots of specific advice to help you raise greater awareness, more volunteerism and passionate philanthropy.
Hope to see you in Clairification School!
