Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
I’m coming in like a lion… with an abundance of reading and viewing materials to help you with whatever fundraising, marketing and nonprofit management challenges this month may have in store for you. Pick whatever looks useful.
I hope you’ll also enroll this year in ‘Clairification School’. You’ll get access to ALL my original content for a full 12 months, including exclusive weekly articles, bonus webinars and more, in the most cost-effective way I’ve found to deliver it. This is useful content that will help you raise much more than you invest by enrolling. Feel free to check out what others have to say about why they’ve enrolled.
I’m on a one-woman mission to take the mystery, and misery, out of successful donor communications and fundraising. Because…
What you do matters. A lot.
It is my privilege and pleasure to help you do so with as much joy, optimism and effectiveness as possible,
P.S. Your support makes it possible and, truly, means a lot. Thank you sincerely. And let me also thank Bloomerang, my 2020 Clairity Click-it sponsor. Please know how dedicated we both are to helping you do your most important work.
Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…
Annual Giving
Click-it: Small donors make a difference, too. So explains Ronald Pruitt, 4aGoodCause, noting some of the different ways “sweating the small stuff” can be a smart strategy – provided you don’t stop with a single transaction. Build. But first get the building blocks.
Click-it: Why sincere is better than clever. Writing to your donors is about your donors. That’s why Mary Cahalane of Hands-on Fundraising suggests: “Give them a problem to solve. Let them know you trust their kindness and generosity can help solve it. Step out of the way.If the problem you’re presenting is big enough to warrant a request for help, then it’s big enough to take seriously. So take the problem seriously. Take your donors seriously. And give them the spotlight.”
Click-it: What Happened to My Annual Appeal? The Effect of the 2018 Tax Overall on Nonprofit Donations and the Rise of DAFs. Gayle Nelson writes for Blue Avocado about the impact of the 2018 tax law on a trend of declining donations, and suggests ways to leverage gifts that have already been made – but not yet distributed to charity — from donor advised funds.
Donor Retention and Loyalty
Click-it: How to Use Outbound Text Messages to Boost Donor Retention. People don’t pick up the phone like they used to. But they do have the phone near them 24/7. This article on the Qgiv blog suggests how to make the most of how folks communicate today. Did you know text message open rates are as high as 98%? This is something you probably shouldn’t ignore.
Click-it: Dear Board Member, How Do I Love Thee? I almost included this among my new year’s resolutions articles last month on the Bloomerang blog as “Resolved: I Will Help My Board Members Feel Happy.” Is that a daily mantra for you? Regrettably, too many nonprofits have the unfortunate tendency to demonize their board rather than love and support them. This article includes six strategies to help with the care and feeding of your board.
Click-it: 27 Ways to Cultivate Donors and Build Deep, Lasting Relationships. Donor cultivation is a team sport. To sustain loyalty, it’s helpful to build connections between donors and multiple staff. Everyone is a ‘fundraiser,’ and Amy Eisenstein provides a useful list to show you how to involve the different players on your team in building and growing supporter engagement and investment.
Major and Legacy Gifts
Click-it: Two Examples of How to Cultivate Your Donors (Even When They Aren’t Your Donors). I love this from Zach Shefska of The Fundraising Report Card. “It doesn’t matter what someone’s “wealth score” is, what matters is their true connection to your cause, and how you can help them actualize their life story through your organization. Effective cultivation and stewardship starts with understanding a donor’s why, and then tapping into it with each and every communication.” Read some amazing true stories of effective donor cultivation in this article.
Click-it: The 8 Essential Elements of a Gift Acceptance Policy. If you don’t currently have gift acceptance policies, you should. They help protect you, and also make it easier for you when talking with donors. This article from Stelter will give you some ideas of where to begin.
Management and Strategy
Click-it: The Cost of Free. “You lost money but at least you didn’t spend thousands of dollars on design and development!” This is the wrong-headed way too many nonprofits approach the issue of investing in capacity-building staff and infrastructure. Ephraim Gopin of 1832 Communications writes about why you must stop being penny-wise and pound-foolish.
Online Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: 5 Top Tips for Creating a Powerful Video Content Strategy. Mitt Ray and Neal Schaffer are digital marketing gurus. Mostly for profit, but nonprofit too. And since 65% if people are visual learners, may as well learn from the best! Grab some practical tips, and get more comfortable using video in your donor-centered communications.
YOU
Click-it: What’s Really Happening When You Vent All the Time. Could you be getting in your own, and others, way? Mazarine Treyz of Wildwoman Fundraising provides a ‘wearing multiple hats’ paradigm for reframing your situation. Thought provoking.
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!
Donor Retention
Click-it: John Haydon’s Legacy: Improving Donor Retention through Donor Care [Watch brief video and read post]. See Amy Eisenstein’s salute to John Haydon who just recently passed away. His last legacy is a new book, which you can pre-order and use to super-charge your donor retention efforts moving forward. Here’s a brief excerpt: “Thanking is not the effect of a gift. Thanking is the cause for the future relationship.” Thank you for this moving tribute, Amy.
Major and Legacy Gifts
Click-it: The Spirituality of Major Gift Fundraising [Listen to free podcast]. I always find Jeff Schreifels and Richard Perry, Veritus Group, inspiring. This is not about religion; it’s about how your donor feels when they give. Something mystical and very, very positive happens. If you ever feel uncomfortable asking for a gift, you owe it to yourself to listen. “Money blesses the giver.”
Management and Strategy
Click-it: Virtual Conference: Grow Your Good [Register for 5 free sessions, all on 3-4-2020]. Woo hoo! An entire online conference from the good folks at Network for Good dedicated to help you focus on important benchmarks. What will be covered? The future of fundraising – metrics, analytics, direct mail, email design, strategies to steward donors… and more.
Click-it: Is Abuse of Power Epidemic in the Nonprofit Sector? [Listen to free podcast]. Joan Garry, Nonprofits are Messy, conducts an extraordinary interview with Sarah Beaulieu and Kim Jones. Both are experts dealing with issues related to hostile workplaces. Learn how you can act from a place of power when you are at your most vulnerable, where you can get help, and what can you do to turn your situation around.
Click-it: The Hidden Treasure of Fundraising [Register for free workshop, 3-4 or 3-5, 2020]. Join Moceanic for this session dedicated to helping you reframe your approach to fundraising. You’ll discover a winning formula to find the time and budget you need to succeed.
Online Social Marketing and Fundraising
Click-it: Online Fundraising Performance: Does Your Nonprofit Measure Up? Join Jay Wilkinson of Firespring – a presenter you won’t want to miss as his content is awesomely practical — as he shares the best-detailed formulas every nonprofit should use to track metrics and measure the success of their online fundraising efforts.
Click-it: How to Build and Mobilize a Social Media Community [Listen to free podcast]. Amy DaVita of Top Nonprofits interviews Julia C. Campbell, who offers practical advice on how to best leverage social media platforms to further your nonprofit’s mission. I love that she covers how marketing and fundraising can work together, plus she debunks common, and destructive, social media marketing myths.
FREE DOWNLOADABLE MATERIALS
Donor Retention
Click-it: The Experience Impact: Understanding How Experience Affects Where Consumers Spend Their Dollars [Download free white paper]. If you’ve been with me a while, you know I love to borrow from other disciplines, including for profit marketing. The folks at Merkle are expert in both for profit and nonprofit marketing and recently found 66% of consumers care more about experience than price when making a brand decision. Learn how to strengthen your interactive experience with potential donors; otherwise, you are likely to leave money on the table.
Major and Legacy Gifts
Click-it: Inside the Mind White Paper [Download free e-Book]. I find this stuff super fascinating. You’ll learn why traditional fundraising methods don’t work for planned gifts plus which emotions and areas of the brain are triggered by planned gift solicitations. See what you think! All from Dr. Russell James’ research, via Market Smart.
Online Social Marketing and Fundraising
Click-it: The 8 Biggest Mistakes Email Marketers Make and How to Avoid Them [Download free e-Book]. This resource from Marketo covers how to avoid common email marketing mistakes. It applies to nonprofit and for-profit organizations alike. Useful stuff!
FINALLY…
Check out my fundraising advice column on the Bloomerang blog! Ask your question here. And bookmark the Ask an Expert page! Here’s one about hiring a director of development.
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!
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! If you’re not yet an enrolled student, you can get in on the fun here!
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