Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
Exciting news! Bloomerang has agreed to sponsor the Clairity Click-it this year – making these resources available to you for free for another 12 months. Yippee! Created by fundraisers for fundraisers, Bloomerang makes it easy for nonprofits of all shapes and sizes to build and manage donor relationships key to long-term success. I am so pleased to partner with them, because their research-informed, donor-centered philosophy meshes with mine. I hope you’ll join me in extending to them a warm welcome!
This edition of the Clairity Click-it is a bit different. Rather than load you down with a bunch of new fundraising and marketing ‘hard skills,’ this time I’m focusing on YOU. And so-called ‘soft skills.’ I know how stressful the end of the calendar year has been, and it’s time to de-stress.
Since January/February brings a bit of a lull, I’m encouraging you to take some time for reflection, planning and personal growth. I know, there’s never really a lot of breathing room – but breathing is super important!**
So… to kick off the year, I’m offering a few articles that caused me to take a step back and reflect. And I’m including my personal reflections — along with some ‘clairifying’ suggestions — as to how you might use these ideas to make the year ahead your most fulfilling year ever.
Welcome to 2018. May it be a good year.
P.S. As others helped me, so do I want to help you. I’m dedicated to paying it forward after 30 years of in-the-trenches nonprofit work. If you’re able, I hope you’ll return the favor and enroll this year for all the benefits ‘Clairification School’ has to offer. You get a full 12 months of original weekly articles, bonus webinars, monthly tips and more, in the most cost-effective way I’ve found to deliver it. Your support – less than $2/week — makes it possible and, truly, means a lot.
** Maybe you don’t have this problem, but I have a sticky note next to my computer to remind me to BREATHE.
Questions? Just ask! Please email me at claire@clairification.com. I read and respond to every single email.
Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…
YOU
Click-it: Your soft skills inventory. Nobody says it better than Seth Godin.
The annual review is a waste. It’s not particularly useful for employee or boss, it’s stressful and it doesn’t happen often enough to make much of an impact.
If you choose to, though, you can do your own review. Weekly or monthly, you can sit down with yourself (or, more powerfully, with a small circle of peers) and review how you’re shifting your posture to make more of an impact.
Some of the things to ask:
What am I better at?
Have I asked a difficult question lately?
Do people trust me more than they did?
Am I hiding more (or less) than I did the last time I checked?
Is my list of insightful, useful and frightening stats about my work, my budgets and my challenges complete? And have I shared it with someone I trust?
If selling ideas is a skill, am I more skilled at it than I was?
Who have I developed?
Have I had any significant failures (learning opportunities) lately, and what have I learned?
What predictions have I made that have come to pass? Am I better at seeing what’s going to happen next?
Who have I helped? Especially when there was no upside for me…
Am I more likely to be leading or following?
Click-it: Wandering, Awe and Kindness: Tools for Finding Purpose and Clarity in 2018. Ben Mangan is Executive Director of the Center for Social Sector Leadership at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. Here he offers a short list of practices he uses to reflect, restore and envision what he wants to do in life. They’re all intriguing, and I encourage you to read the full article:
- Wander aimlessly
- Write like no one else is reading
- Experience the energy of art up close
- Seek wonder outside your knowledge base
- Be irrationally kind
Click-it: The Secret You Know but Do Not Know You Know. I always tell fundraisers that the number one key to success is passion. If you don’t have passion for the mission, you can’t sell it. If you do, it’s contagious. Michael Rosen of ML Innovations suggests how to connect with your passion in the year ahead.
Click-it: When you are stuck, procrastinating, or perfecting…Tara Sophia Mohr of Playing Big says: “Think of something in your work life that you want to do, but that you are not yet doing – something you want to bring into being, but that you are not taking much action around…What are the uncomfortable feelings that would come up for you if you started to take purposeful, direct action toward that goal you feel stuck or blocked around?” This article offers suggestions to help you lean in and take action toward your goals in the year ahead.
Your CULTURE
Click-it: A Call to Inaction: Nonprofits, Give Your Staff a Break. Nobody says it quite like Vu Le of Nonprofit AF. And while I don’t agree with everything in this post (e.g., I’m not sure vowing to give staff time off during the busiest fundraising time of the year is the best idea I’ve heard), I do agree you need to give folks more breaks. And insist they take vacation. Insist! But do it in a staff-centered way. Not the way one of my old bosses used to do it. She’d generally be quite clear about the dates I was absolutely forbidden from taking time off; then suddenly give me just a few day’s notice to tell me I must take off at least a week right away because my vacation balance was getting too high!
As Vu says, giving your staff a bonus day here and there improves productivity and quality of work. According to this article, a firm “conducted an internal study of its employees and found that for each additional 10 hours of vacation time employees took, their year-end performance ratings improved 8 percent. What’s more, frequent vacationers were significantly less likely to leave the firm.” That’s big news, especially in light of Penelope Burk’s research which documented the high cost of employee turnover.
Click-it: What makes a good job good? This blueprint lays out what nonprofit employees want from employers. Courtesy of PNP Staffing Group. It’s a competitive market, and if you want to find great talent you’re going to have to pay for it. But… there’s more than salaries to consider. The most prominent concerns around taking or keeping a job are: (1) professional growth and development; (2) on the job promotion, and (3) performance recognition and rewards. How do you rate in these three critical areas? Do you keep your staff engaged? Do they feel supported and cared for?
Look at these perceived gaps between what is sought and what is found:
Click-it: New habits. This is another post from Seth Godin. I love how it translates to making a new year’s resolution to try something different this year. Something so you don’t become stale, to yourself or others. What will you add to your plate this year to make a difference in your results? Will you drop something off your plate to make this possible? Or will you bring new resources on board?
I bought a CD yesterday.
That didn’t used to be news. I used to buy a CD every week, week after week, year after year. It adds up.
Hi-rez streaming changed that habit for me, but it took about a year before the itch (mostly) subsided.
Old habits die hard, and it’s entirely possible that your customers are on fumes, buying your old stuff now and then, down from often and on their way to rarely.
You can live on old habits for a while, but the future depends on investing in finding and building some new ones with (and for) your customers. Or your family. Or yourself.
The most powerful insight is that you can do it with intent. You can decide that you want some new habits, and then go get them.
Your CONTINUING EDUCATION (General)
Click-it: Reading at work. Again, it’s from Seth Godin. What can I say? He’s thought provoking.
Most organizations think nothing of having twenty valuable employees spend an hour in a meeting that’s only tangentially related to their productive output.
But if you’re sitting at your desk reading a book that changes your perspective, your productivity or your contribution, it somehow feels like slacking off…
What would happen if the next all hands meeting got cancelled and instead the organization had an all hands-on read instead?
Of course, I’m biased. I think if you read Your Turn or The Dip, your work would change for the better. But I’m fine if you read any of 100 or 1,000 other books about work, the market, contributions, marketing or anything else that will help you leap.
Here are more than twenty books you might want to read at work today. You and ten co-workers reading together… it might change everything:
Software Project Survival Guide
Creating Customer Evangelists I haven’t read this, but one of the best ways to acquire new donors is through your current donors. If you haven’t yet engaged in peer-to-peer fundraising, this may be the year to start.
To Sell is Human Of all of these, I confess this is the only one I’ve read. And I LOVE it! The entire time I was reading it I kept substituting the word “fundraise” for “sell.” It works! I can see I’ve got my work cut out for me with all the rest of the no-doubt terrific reads on this list. Please share your own recommendations.
Do the Work This title reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Peter Drucker: The best plan is only good intentions unless it degenerates into work.
Start with Why I even love the title of this one! Why do you do what you do? Why do your donors give to you? Why do not enough people know about you? Great questions to ask yourself before you embark on this year’s strategies.
Resonate Again, I don’t know what the book is about but… I love the word! This year, make sure everything you send to your constituents resonates with them. To do this, you’ve got to learn more about them. Figure out a number of ways to make this happen.
FREE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Your commitment to continuing education is a growth opportunity!
Even though I’m suggesting a break for some personal soul searching this month, I don’t want you to miss out on these upcoming learning opportunities. The more you learn, the more you grow.
As always, if you find webinars you’d like to attend that overlap, make sure to register for those where they’ll send you a copy of the recording if you’re unable to join live – as long as you register!
Donor Retention
Click-it: The state of donor retention and what you can do about it [Register for free webinar, 1-12-18]. You want to keep all those donors who gave to you at year-end, right? Big Duck hosts Steven Shattuck of Bloomerang to explore root causes of poor donor retention rates, as well as the reasons why donors stay loyal. You’ll come away with several ideas for improvement based on leading research in the field.
Click-it: Donor Retention Series: 5 Tips to Building Stronger Donor Engagement and Raising More Money {Register for free Master Class webinar, 1-17-18]]. Network for Good hosts Barbara O’Reilly, CFRE, who will discuss how to leverage both online and offline fundraising tactics to attract more donors, build longer lasting donor relationships, and increase your revenue.
Major Gifts
Click-it: Engagement Fundraising: The Most Effective Approach to Secure Major & Planned Gifts [Register for free webinar, 1-10-18]. I’ve invited Zach Shefska of Market Smart and The Fundraising Report Card to join us. Why? Because he has a novel approach to raising major and legacy gifts! This will help you use your time effectively, and cut to the chase when the time is right. You won’t want to miss this one!
Click-it: How to Build and Sustain Your Major Gift Pipeline [Register for free webinar, 1-11-18]. I’ll be offering this one in partnership with the great folks at Bloomerang. Why? Did I mention I truly want you to get serious about major gift fundraising this year? This webinar will review where to begin, which prospects to prioritize, how to develop and manage a major donor pipeline and cultivation plan, and how to get and stay organized so you reach your goals. Get the confidence you need to reach your goals — and take advantage of this New Year’s gift.
New Beginnings
Click-it: What Tools and Tactics Are You Letting Go? Listen in to this reflective podcast from Driving Participation sharing insights from all sorts of folks working in the nonprofit sector. There’s some great food for thought here. You can’t just keep heaping new stuff onto your plate without taking some old stuff off. Get some good ideas here (including one from me).
FREE DOWNLOADABLE RESOURCES
This is an opportune time to once again thank Bloomerang (THANK YOU!) for joining me as the 2018 sponsor of the ‘Clairity Click-it.’ While I’m on the subject of gratitude, allow me to introduce you to the many free resources they offer. I’ve selected a few for you here — to help you plan your best fundraising year ever!
Click-it: The Art and Science of Retaining Digital Donors [Download free e-Guide]. You want to keep all those folks who gave to you at the end of the calendar year, right? This is a nice, comprehensive guide that will help you do so. There’s a particularly good section with 21 ideas for creating a killer confirmation/donor thank you page. And another great section on crafting a great confirmation email. Really good stuff!
Click-it: How to Build a Donor-Centered Gift Acknowledgement Program [Download free e-Guide]. I can personally recommend this one, because… I wrote it! This how-to guide will help you stand out from the crowd by building a strong gift acknowledgement program that’s centered around your donors. Use it as both your planning and follow-through guide
Click-it: 3 Examples of Winning Nonprofit Donor Surveys. The best way to retain donors is to get to know them better. Why re-invent the wheel when there are great examples from which to borrow? These won “Bloomies” awards and are a great place to start to craft your own survey this year.
Click-it: Fundraising Audit Checklist [Download one-page template]. The results of an audit will give an overall picture of your organizational health and the environment in which you operate. Use this checklist – based on the research of renowned fundraising expert and Bloomerang Chief Scientist Dr. Adrian Sargeant – to guide you through the audit process!
Click-it: A Buyer’s Guide to Fundraising Software [Download free e-Guide]. A robust donor database is essential for managing and improving your fundraising strategies. Without one, you’re pretty much flying blind. This guide lays out the various decision points for you. If you’re not happy with your current solution (especially if it’s just an Excel spreadsheet), you owe it to yourself to consider doing something to (1) make your life easier, and (2) improve the likelihood you’ll keep your donors, and upgrade their giving, over the long term. If you want to watch a short video demo of Bloomerang, simply click here (I promise they won’t be creepy sales people – they’ll be nice, and super helpful! If they’re not, just tell me.)
Did You Miss My 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 get six free articles; then you’ll want to enroll.
- Nonprofit Major Donor Fundraising A B C’s
- How to Inspire Philanthropists to Help Your Nonprofit Cause
- Are the Rich Motivated to Give Differently?
- 3 Nonprofit Secrets to Rock Major Gift Fundraising
- Are You Reading Your Major Donors Correctly?
Hope to see you in Clairification School!
Remember, my motto is: “If I know it, I want you to know it!”
Finally… just a reminder that today is the LAST DAY to grab the ‘Early Bird’ discount for my upcoming 8-week online course: Winning Major Gift Fundraising Strategies. I promise it’s a commitment that will be worth your time and effort. And if you’re not happy after the first two modules, just let me know and I’ll issue a full refund.
