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Not about You Clairity Click-it: Useful Nonprofit Links + 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.

The cold open

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

claire@clairification.com

Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…

Be and Be Better Clairity Click-it: Useful Nonprofit Links + Resources

Last week I published Maya Angelou’s poem, When Great Trees Fall. I’ve taken a line from that poem as inspiration for the title of this week’s Clairity Click-it. Here’s another excerpt I love:

Our senses, restored, never
to be the same, whisper to us.
They existed. They existed.
We can be. Be and be
better. For they existed.

The resources I share in this newsletter come from “great trees” far and wide. They whisper to us. They show us the way forward. Our minds, and fundraising practice, are “formed and informed by their
radiance.”

Now, more than ever, is a time to look for radiance wherever it is to be found. By finding the light, we’ll find our way out of the darkness.

It’s not easy. I’m reminded of a post by the inimitable Seth Godin.

A situation vs a slog

“Wake me when it’s over,” is a natural instinct during a short-term interruption in our usual pattern. A crisis is there to be managed or waited out. The goal of each day is to simply get through it. Until things are back to normal.

But sometimes we’re dealing with a slog. Where the number of days is not small enough to simply throw them away. In a slog, the pattern of only getting by undervalues our days and diminishes our ability to contribute.

During a slog, we have a chance to accept a new normal, even if it’s temporary, and to figure out how to make something of it. You don’t have to wish for it, but it’s here. There’s very little value in spending our time nostalgic for normal.

When we get to the other side of the slog and look back, what will we have contributed, learned and created?

We’re in the slog now. But it’s an opportunity too. A time for creativity, innovation and learning. What will you learn this week? What will you create next week? What will you look back upon as your unique contribution once we emerge from this marathon?

I hope you’ll find something in the 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

claire@clairification.com

Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…

New Dawn Clairity Click-it: Useful Nonprofit Links + Resources

If your team is up by thirty points at halftime, it’s not optimistic to expect that you’re going to win–it’s a realistic assessment.

Optimism is an attitude and a choice. It involves context and focus. We’re not deluding ourselves with the reassurance that everything is going to be okay (because that’s not productive). Instead, we’re committed to finding things we can contribute to, work on and improve. We’re devoted to seeking out useful lessons and to discovering where the benefit of the doubt might be helpful.

Positive thinking doesn’t solve every problem. But it’s a much better tool than negative thinking.

— Seth Godin, Optimism as a choice

I love these words. Choosing optimism means being positive within the context of planning for future actions that will prove our positive thinking to have been wise and fruitful. Beyond giving a ‘thumbs up’ and reassuring ourselves and others “everything will be all right,” what about taking some proactive steps to assure the dawn of something better?

You can’t control everything, but there’s no reason not to find something you can control, then control the heck out of it!

For those of you who will celebrate the high holiday of Rosh Hashonah beginning next Friday evening, you know this is traditionally a time of hope, optimism and renewal. While much seems up in the air right now, it’s a time to question what really matters – especially what means most to your constituents. It’s a new year, fraught with possibility.

You’re a philanthropy facilitator. Today, you operate in an environment where people are desperate for human connection, community, and a sense of meaning and purpose. You have a positive role in facilitating that which people most want.

I hope you’ll find something in the resources I’ve collected for you to help your constituents fulfill their most cherished values. 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.

From Psalm 30: “One may lie down weeping at nightfall, but at dawn there are shouts of joy.” Thank you for bringing new dawns to so many, making our world a better place.

With gratitude,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. I’m participating in Top Nonprofits’ Virtual Summit for Nonprofit Change Makers September 15 and 17. Two full days online with 25 presenters – and you get 18.75 CFRE credits. Since I’m presenting, I get to offer you a 20% discount! This is just a few dollars per presenter — pennies compared with what it would cost you to attend such an event in person. There’s no way you’ll walk away without at minimum a few real gems of advice you can act on. Jump on it here, and your discount will be automatically applied!

Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…

Reverence for Breath Clairity Click-it: Useful Nonprofit Links + Resources

We each have, I believe, a responsibility to “write home” when life gives us some heightened experience – perhaps an experience of illness, or loss, or transition, or awakening. We report back to the collective, and fill in one more shape on the mosaic of human experience. We add detail about the topography to one more spot on that map. We do it because any place that one of us is taken offers lessons for all of us.

— Tara Mohr, From Smoke

You’re a philanthropy facilitator. You ‘write home’ all the time to shine a light on heightened experiences. Whether it be smoke from fires… labored breathing from a terrible pandemic or other illness… choking smog in cities enveloped in pollution… people suffocating from crimes against humanity… the gasps of those saying “I can’t breathe.” Whatever affront to the human experience your organization confronts, you help your supporters translate the love in their hearts into actionable work. You help your constituents fulfill their most cherished values and find meaning and purpose.

You do this to the best of your ability, with full attention and commitment. Even when it’s not easy.

Tara Mohr also asks us to ask ourselves: “How will I fight – in my work, in my thoughts, in my community – for the collective breath of life?”

How, indeed. One of this pandemic’s silver linings is the plethora of free stuff you can find online to help you do your important work. To lift your spirits, commune with your peers, develop new skills and strengthen old ones. That’s where the Clairity Click-it comes in.  Simply click on a link and let it transport you to an article, webinar, podcast, e-guide or some other resource that piques your interest.

It is my pleasure to collect and curate these resources for you, and 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.

Thank you for all you do to take people on the path towards passionate philanthropy, in service of making our world a place where all people can breathe free.

With gratitude,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Many thanks to Bloomerang for sponsoring the Clairity Click-it. And please also take advantage of all my original articles on this blog by enrolling in Clairification School!

Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…

Good Trouble Clairity Click-it: Useful Nonprofit Links + Resources

From whence do you derive your meaning?

From whence do your donors derive their meaning?

There are so many ways to treasure it… so many ways to deliver it… and, alas, so many ways to fail to treasure or transport either ourselves or our supporters to that singular important place of significance.

It is not only through our actions that we can give life meaning — insofar as we can answer life’s specific questions responsibly — we can fulfill the demands of existence not only as active agents but also as loving human beings: in our loving dedication to the beautiful, the great, the good…

… How human beings deal with the limitation of their possibilities regarding how it affects their actions and their ability to love, how they behave under these restrictions — the way in which they accept their suffering under such restrictions — in all of this they still remain capable of fulfilling human values. 

—Victor Frankel

What are you doing, in the midst of this pandemic, this economic depression, this time of great inequity, uncertainty and upheaval… what are you doing to actively give life meaning? How are you dedicating yourself to the beautiful, the great, the good?

How are you helping your constituents fulfill their most cherished values and act in such a manner it gives life meaning?

This, my friends, is the job of the philanthropy facilitator.

So do not be despondent, dismayed or distracted by the difficulties we face.

Apply reason to difficulties; harsh circumstances can be softened, narrow limits can be widened, and burdensome things can be made to press less severely on those who bear them cleverly.

— Seneca

I’ve gathered some resources to soften the blow and widen the parameters within which you may be stuck operating. It’s a time for innovation and empathy. I hope you find some of these articles, webinars, guides, white papers and more helpful.

Thank you for all you do to make our world a better place.

With gratitude,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Many thanks to Bloomerang for sponsoring the Clairity Click-it. And please also take advantage of all my original articles on this blog by enrolling in Clairification School!

Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…

Got You Covered Clairity Click-it: Useful Nonprofit Links + Resources

Please wear a mask.

I know each of you has your nonprofit’s needs to deal with, but before that can happen you need to stay healthy. You need to assure your family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, supporters and, yes, even strangers stay healthy.

This is the biggest crisis our world has faced in 100 years. There’s no ignoring it. In the last Clairity Click-it I encouraged you to take a good hard look at what you can do proactively to make the best of the cards we’ve all been dealt.  Today I echo that plea, yet begin with that one simple step.

Cover your face.

Thank you for helping to make our world a better place.

I hope you find some of these resources I’ve collected for you helpful.

With gratitude for all you do,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Many thanks to Bloomerang for sponsoring the Clairity Click-it. And please also take advantage of all my original articles on this blog by enrolling in Clairification School!

Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…

Lands of the Free Clairity Click-it: Useful Nonprofit Links + Resources

May you live in interesting times.

Blessing or curse? Probably both. Regardless, we’re living in these times and we can either bury our heads in the sand until it’s over, or open our eyes wide and take a good hard look at what we can do proactively to make the best of the cards we’ve been dealt.

Since little is ever really over – everything leaves its mark – the best way forward is one intentional foot at a time. One teeny human foot. One small step. And then the next. And the next. Until we’re joined by other feet. And we walk together to reach our desired destination.

Recently I came upon this C.S. Lewis quote:

“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.”

We are here. Here does not feel so terrific right now. And as much as you don’t want to feel where we are… as tempting as it is right now for some to want to freeze time… let’s agree to resist this temptation. If you have board, staff or donors saying “Let’s hold tight until we can get back to normal,” please gently let them know this isn’t likely to lead to a happy ending. ‘Normal’ is an illusion, and recently we’ve all been learning how much the status quo hasn’t always been a good thing.

Consider instead the passions on which your organization was founded. What can you do to keep these passions vibrant, today and tomorrow?

Remember the movie Dead Poet’s Society? Robin William’s character quotes Walt Whitman’s ‘O Me! O Life!: “We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. That you are here—that life exists, and identity, that the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.”

That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?

Now is your interesting time.

For what you do with it to make our world a better place, I hope you find some of these resources I’ve collected for you helpful.

Yours with gratitude for all you do,

Claire

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Many thanks to Bloomerang for sponsoring the Clairity Click-it. And please also take advantage of all my original articles on this blog by enrolling in Clairification School!

Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…

Actions Matter Clairity Click-it: Useful Nonprofit Links, Free Resources

It will take all of us together to keep all of us safe.

Intolerance is a tough nut to crack.

It turns out tolerance is too.

Tolerance is not enough.

Tolerance just looks at what’s broken and steps around it.

Nothing gets fixed.

Tolerating evil beliefs allows evil beliefs to spread.

Sitting back is akin to stepping away. Without thought.

Thought matters.

Beliefs matter.

Give people something to think about and consider.

Action matters.

Inaction matters.

Galvanizing moments create leaders. And followers.

If you sit by passively, don’t think about it, and do nothing, who are you?

Hillel wrote: If I am not for myself, who will be for me. And if I am only for myself, who am I? And if not now, when?

Indeed.

James Baldwin wrote: Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

Indeed.

We struggle every day to do the hard work. Perhaps today seems a little harder than yesterday. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

It’s difficult to find the right words. And easy to find the wrong ones.

We have a lot to learn. And a lot of work to do.

I hope you find some of these resources I’ve collected for you will be helpful.

Thank you for making the world a better, more caring, more just, more hopeful, more inspiring place.

Yours with gratitude,

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Many thanks to Bloomerang for sponsoring the Clairity Click-it. Please remember to bookmark the Ask an Expert page — my fundraising advice column on their website! Ask your question here!

Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…

Black Lives Matter Clairity Click-it: Useful Nonprofit Links, Free Resources

Life. Liberty. Pursuit of happiness.

We hold these truths to be ‘self-evident.’

If you’re human, they should be.

But there’s too much inhumanity going around.

We’ve been presented with other times to wake up to this.

We’ve failed.

What about this time?

All of us in the philanthropic – ‘love of humanity’ is in our definition – sector must take heed.

It’s our job to bring these truths to light.

To right abuses of power. To address grievances. To turn wrongs to rights. To restore balance to imbalance. To bring healing to hurt. To stand up for those cannot stand up for themselves. To look racism and all forms of bigotry in the face and say NO.

Last week I quoted Oprah Winfrey, speaking to the Class of 2020, who told them they were “the chosen class for such a time as this.”  She was referring to the Covid-19 pandemic then. This additionally applies to the pandemic of systematic racism now.

You, as a nonprofit leader, are also chosen for this role.  You are a philanthropy facilitator, whose job is to create a bridge between people who want to help and vital work that needs to be done.

I hope some of these resources I’ve collected for you will help you.

You are making the world a better, more caring, more just, more hopeful, more inspiring place.

Yours with gratitude,

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Many thanks to Bloomerang for sponsoring the Clairity Click-it. Please remember to bookmark the Ask an Expert page — my fundraising advice column on their website! Ask your question here and see the recent “How to Measure Donor Acquisition Costs.”

Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…

Graduation Clairity Click-it: Useful Nonprofit Links, Free Resources

Oprah Winfrey, speaking to the Class of 2020, told them they were “the chosen class for such a time as this… the pandemic class, that has the entire world striving to graduate with you.”

Indeed, we’re all graduating. We’re striving to move forward and become who we need to be in this time period.

You, as a nonprofit leader, are also chosen for this role.  You are a philanthropy facilitator, whose job is to create a bridge between people who want to help and vital work that needs to be done.

Perhaps you need to ramp up services. Perhaps you must find a way to pivot to sustain your relevance. Perhaps your path involves collaboration or consolidation. Oprah spoke to the Class of 2020, saying “never has a graduating class been called to step into the future with more purpose, vision, passion, and energy and hope.”  She could just as easily have substituted the words ‘a graduating class’ for ‘the nonprofit sector.’

“I wish I could tell you I know the path forward, I don’t. There is so much uncertainty. In truth, there always has been. What I do know is that the same guts and imagination that got you to this moment, all those things are the very things that are going to sustain you through whatever is coming. It’s vital that you learn, and we all learn, to be at peace with the discomfort of stepping into the unknown.”

— Oprah Winfrey, Address to Class of 2020

Some of these awesome resources I’ve collected for you will help with your learning. There’s plenty more on my Clairification School blog, and we’ve also been holding periodic live Q&A sessions. So if you’re not yet enrolled as a Clairification School student, now’s a great time to join in and connect with your peers.

You are making the world a better, more caring, more just, more hopeful, more inspiring place. You are on the front lines of enacting values other people care about. Keep faith in your vision that got you to this moment.

Yours very sincerely,

claire@clairification.com

P.S. Many thanks to Bloomerang for sponsoring the Clairity Click-it. Please remember to bookmark the Ask an Expert page — my fundraising advice column on their website! Ask your question here and see this month’s “What to do with a controlling board president?”

Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…