Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
Okay, we’re here. Mid-pandemic.
It’s not new. The adrenaline that kicked-in and prompted you to fight, not flee, has kicked out. You may be tired of telling your coronavirus story. You may assume your constituents are tired of hearing it. So maybe you’ve slacked off on your marketing and fundraising messages.
While the giving bump may be flattening, I encourage you not to accept this as an inevitable outcome. You’re still in control of your own destiny. And since most nonprofits count quite a bit on year-end giving — it can mean 30 – 50% of all annual revenue – you must consider the things you can do, not those you can’t do.
What can you do to prevent a slump, just when revenue to assure your mission thrives is most essential? I’m struck by a recent post by the inimitable Seth Godin.
No one ever bought anything on an elevator. The elevator pitch isn’t about selling your idea, because a metaphorical elevator is a lousy place to make a pitch.
When you feel like you’re being judged and only have a minute to make a first impression, it’s tempting to try to explain the truth and nuance of who you are, what you’ve done and what you’re going to do in the time it takes to travel a few floors.
That rarely works.
The alternative is the elevator question, not the elevator pitch. To begin a conversation–not about you, but about the person you’re hoping to connect with. If you know who they are and what they want, it’s a lot more likely you can figure out if they’re a good fit for who you are and what you want. And you can take the opportunity to help them find what they need, especially if it’s not from you.
Too often, we feel rejected when in fact, all that’s happened is a mismatch of needs, narratives and what’s on offer.
Instead of looking at everyone as someone who could fund you or buy from you or hire you, it might help to imagine that almost no one can do those things, but there are plenty of people you might be able to help in some other way, even if it’s only to respect them enough to not make a pitch.
No one wants to be hustled.
Of course, I’ve bold-faced the language I find most relevant for nonprofits. Ask your constituents how you can be of service. You to them, not them to you. They’re part of your mission too. After all, philanthropy means ‘love of humanity.’ Donors are human, just like clients. And what goes around comes around.
Listen. Offer them gifts of content that meet their needs in one or more ways. I offered a webinar today, and asked the participants what folks need most right now. Answers? Connection. Stability. Hope. Joy. Encouragement. Compassion. These are not tangible things. They happen to be things nonprofits are uniquely suited to offer.
When you give people opportunities to help others, and come from a place of love, humanity, gratitude and empathy in so doing, your supporters won’t feel hustled. They’ll feel empowered to be heroes.
I’ve never heard so many people say “I need to DO something, I just don’t know what to do.”
Help your donors. ‘Hero’ them.
Here are resources I’ve collected for you to help you and your constituents along the path to passionate philanthropy. I want to thank my sponsor Bloomerang for making it possible for me to spend the time to do this for you on a biweekly basis. It is a labor of love for both of us.
With gratitude,
Claire
Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…
SPECIAL CATEGORY: Tips for Not-So-Normal Times
ARTICLES
Annual Fundraising
Click-it: Are You Leaving Contributions on the Table because it’s a Pandemic? Get inside your donor’s head and connect what you’re asking for to how they’re feeling, why they might want to make a philanthropic gift right now, and where they’re wanting to help. Learn what other fundraisers are doing right now, and get some tips to assure you connect in the most meaningful way possible. See my article on the Bloomerang blog.
Click-it: What NEVER to Cut from the Fundraising Budget — and What’s Okay to Cut. In tough times it’s natural to want to cut expenses. Jeff Brooks suggests what you should not cut, and what might be a better option, on the Moceanic blog.
Click-it: Can the USPS Be Trusted for Year-End Fundraising Mail? The mail this year in the United States will likely be delayed. There’s an election, a pandemic, and a change in leadership at the USPS. I’ll suggest how to hedge your bets and maximize your chances for success in this article for the Bloomerang “Ask an Expert” column.
Online Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: Keeping Nonprofit Messaging Relevant with Dynamic Creative Optimization and Personalized Video. To succeed in these difficult times, nonprofits must adopt new strategies and tools to ensure each engagement with each individual constituent is hyper-relevant to that constituent’s needs. Two tools offer the opportunity to define the right message for each individual and quickly understand what’s working/what’s not. An expert at Merkle explains.
Strategy and Management
Click-it: It’s time to expand our perspectives and conversations in fundraising. I found this article by Vu Le, Nonprofit AF, extremely thought-provoking. I am sure you will too. It’s a lot to take in, but commit to finding just one thing you might do differently to be more thoughtful, inclusive and understanding towards current and prospective stakeholders.
YOU in this moment
Click-it: Lots of nonprofits right now are helping to assure a fair U.S. election. Get to the Polls allows you to customize and embed an interactive tool on you own site. This tool helps voters find everything they need to get ready for their upcoming elections—where to vote, what will be on their ballot, and contact info for local election officials. Protect the Results is seeking coalition partners to safeguard the vote and results. Represent Us offers six steps to save the election. They’re working on activating folks to push for all votes to be counted through three parallel campaigns: https://represent.us/6-steps-to-save-the-vote/; https://counteveryhero.org/, and https://votesafe.us/. Here’s a petition asking corporations to pay workers to become trained poll workers. Here’s a Hold the Line Guide to assure a successful election and protect democracy. And Activist for Life has a lot of resources, including a petition to sign and a Count All Ballots Direct Action Campaign Guide.
In 1965 James Baldwin wrote: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
WEBINARS & PODCASTS
If you can’t attend live, note that many are available via recording – but only if you register!
Online Social Marketing
Click-it: How to Update Your Social Media Marketing Strategy for 2021 [Register for free webinar, 10-15-2020]. Network for Good hosts Julia C. Campbell to review important shifts in the social media landscape nonprofits need to understand; discuss ways to stay relevant on social media in times of uncertainty; and provide a framework for your 2021 social media marketing strategy.
Strategy and Management
Click-it: The Future of Fundraising: The Immediate, the Foreseeable and the Ultimate Destination [Register for free webinar]. Part of the Donor Search ‘MasterMind’ series, this session anticipates the environment for fundraising in the next several months and moving towards a post-pandemic world. It’s a transitional period in an unprecedented time. What might the philanthropic landscape look like?
DOWNLOADABLE GUIDES
Click-it: Covid-19 Fundraising Guide – Tips for Your Nonprofit to Weather Times of Crisis [Download free Guide]. Windmill Hill Consulting prepared this comprehensive resource to help you recalibrate your fundraising during uncertain and stressful times. We’re not through this yet. If you blew it last spring, you can still do the right thing. If you handled things beautifully then, it’s time to reach out again.
Other Articles: The Beat Goes On
Annual Fundraising
Click-it: Planning Your Year-End Fundraising: It’s That Time Again! What are you doing to prepare for end-of-year giving season? The folks at Flipcause offer six steps to help you maximize results. You’ll raise more money if you assiduously follow each one; I like #2.
Click-it: Raising money when you don’t have any. I kind of love this, because it takes you back to the basics of fundraising, showing you how to raise your first $1,000. Honestly, it can be this simple. Of course, it’s still work. But eminently doable work. From Noah Maier of Noah’s Fundraising Rants.
Click-it: Strategies to Leverage Donor Advised Fund Philanthropy FAQs. The use of Donor Advised Funds as a means for individuals to make philanthropic gifts continues to rise and grants from DAFs are becoming a growing source of contribution income for charities of all sizes and shapes. An ever-broader group of Americans are embracing them to approach philanthropy in the thoughtful, strategic way once reserved only for mega-donors who could afford to set up private foundations. On the Bloomerang blog I offer answers to frequently asked questions about donor advised funds and should help you understand (1) how they work, and (2)how they may be of benefit to your charity.
Boards
Click-it: 10 Truths Every Board Member Should Know. This is a super useful article from board expert Joan Garry. Read it!
Culture of Philanthropy
Click-it: What is a philanthropic culture – and does it matter if you have one? Adrian Sargeant reports on the 101 Fundraising blog that it does, indeed, matter. Describing the core indicators used by the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy to identify philanthropic culture, he points us to the latest research report ‘Development Plans and Fundraising Performance.’ There’s a lot to unpack in this report, including how planning and culture impacts confidence on reaching targets pre and post Covid-19.
Major and Legacy Gifts
Click-it: How to Select the Right Audience for Your Planned Giving Marketing. Audience selection for your messaging can often go overlooked, yet it may be even more important than your message. A Stelter planned giving expert helps you with why, where and how to find the right audience.
Online Fundraising
Click-it: Raising More When it Matters Most. Here are six critical actions you can take to maximize year-end fundraising results. Good basic reminders from Douglas Shaw and Associates.
Click-it: How to build an effective donation page. Just in time for year-end fundraising comes this checklist from 4aGoodCause. If you don’t make giving from your website easy, all the rest of your good work is for naught. Please… don’t overlook this important step!
Online Social Marketing
Click-it: How Much Time Does Social Media Marketing Really Take? If ‘social media’ is tacked onto your development person’s job description, Julia C. Campbell says you’re not alone and… it’s not necessarily a good idea. In Marketing for the Modern Nonprofit she lays out 12 steps to be effective and successful – and they take more than five minutes. Read; plan realistically.
Psychology of Giving
Click-it: How to Listen. Noah Maier, Noah’s Fundraising Rants, gets to the heart of effective listening and shows you how to learn what your donor needs. It’s a quick, and excellent, read.
Other Learning Opportunities
WEBINARS & ON-DEMAND AUDIO RESOURCES
If you can’t attend live, note that many are available via recording – but only if you register!
Donor Retention
Click-it: Segmentation Secrets for Today’s Nonprofit Leader [Register for free webinar 10-15-2020]. Harmonie Farrow, Director of Annual Giving at Children’s Medical Center Foundation in Dallas, will pair up with Pursuant, to talk through how they are adopting a new approach to donor segmentation and stewardship. They’ll cover how to identify donors who may be ready for a greater relationship with you and ways to strengthen bonds by moving beyond one-size-fits-all messaging.
Grants
Click-it: The QUICK-START GUIDE to the One Page Grant Proposal [Download free 90-minute video series]. Never written a grant proposal before? This will get you started with templates and worksheets that you step by step through the process. From the folks at Grants Magic.
Online Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: Fundraising Lab: How to Use Social Media & Digital Strategies to Build Community and Drive Donations [Register for free session, 10-13-2020]. Industry thought leaders Julia Campbell, Marketing for the Modern Nonprofit, Josh Hirsch, Susan G. Komen and Abby Jarvis, Qgiv, will teach you how to use social media to drive engagement and donations, how to optimize online donation forms, and offer actionable tips on hosting a virtual event. Plus you’ll receive 2.5 CFRE credits!
Strategy and Management
Click-it: The 3 Biggest Challenges Development Directors Face and How to Overcome Them [Register for free webinar, 10-13-2020]. Feel like you’re working hard, but not getting where you need to go? Join Firespring to learn to move from reactive to proactive fundraising – with the support you need from board and executive management.
Click-it: More than Parties and Grants: 10 Revenue Sources for Nonprofits [Watch free on-demand 22 minute video]. A good review on the re: charity blog of the varieties of ways you can bring money into your organization.
Click-it: The Key to Fundraising Success is Not Just Having a Plan — But it’s a Start [Register for free webinar, 10-13-2020]. A new Institute of Sustainable Philanthropy study sponsored by DonorSearch, Windmill Hill Consulting, and Bloomerang finds a clear link between fundraising success and the adoption of a philanthropic culture–when a nonprofit’s board values and respects the work of their fundraising teams with thoughtful, data-driven planning, they’re rewarded with better performance. Learn key Report insights and steps forward in this interactive discussion.
DOWNLOADABLE GUIDES
Strategy and Management
Click-it: Grab This Fundraising Plan Template for New Nonprofits. There are two downloadable templates at the end of this excellent article by Sandy Rees, Get Fully Funded. Great if you’re starting a new nonprofit; excellent review if you’re not.
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!
- Bottom Line: Philanthropy Culture Improves Fundraising
- You Deserve to Rock Nonprofit Email Subject Lines!
- Before Sending a Fundraising Appeal Do This, Not That
- Survival of the Most Loving – and Loved (aka, Why do so many charities have ♥♥♥ in their logos?)
- When Great Trees Fall
- How Humanity and Trust Supercharge Nonprofit Fundraising
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