Winter Wonderland Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links, Free Resources
What will you do to spring forth and meet the moment? I’m counting on you – each of you — to use some of the insights you glean in this week’s issue of the Clairity Click-it to be better, do better, and help others do the same. I hope, as you dig through this hand-curated content from across the web, it will make your job easier, and more fulfilling.
I pick every resource thoughtfully (no AI used here) specifically to bring you the big ideas and useful tools you need to make our world a better place. It is my sincere pleasure and honor to help you find the ideas, strategies, templates and tools you need to succeed.
As always, a big thank you to my sponsor, Bloomerang, for making it possible for me to spend the hours of time hunting, gathering and choosing the eclectic resources I believe will best meet the needs of the diverse range of folks who comprise the critically important social benefit sector.
You’ve got this!
Thank you for doing your vital work, with gratitude,
Claire
P.S. Please scroll down to see all my Clairification School sponsors who enable me to offer enrollment in ‘Clairification School at an affordable price [If the enrollment fee is a hardship, please email me and we’ll work it out.]
Clairity Click-it, Your Nonprofit Ticket to…
SPECIAL FEATURE: What Nonprofits Need to Know and Do Now
With hostilities, political upheaval, climate change, pandemics and even a meteor bulleting toward the earth, the regular shaking of the world can make us feel numbed and powerless. But positive change is possible. It begins with the realization the world can be changed, one act at a time. What better place to start than with the social benefit sector? If you’re looking to make an impact, here are some ideas to get you started.
ARTICLES
Click-it: Crisis Fundraising: A Simple Ask That Works! If your nonprofit is in crisis mode, this strategy from Gail Perry can help you. It includes a 3-step crisis fundraising ask.
Click-it: Nonprofit Crisis Response Tip-a-Day-DO-Dah! Here’s my own take on things you can do now (or during any period of crisis).
Click-it: Resource for nonprofits: federal funding changes. Bonterra has put together a series of resources to help you in these trying times.
Click-it: Building Friendly Relationships with Government Officials: A Smart Strategy for Nonprofits. In this time of drastic governmental funding cuts, many nonprofit leaders are wondering whether and how to be in touch with their elected officials. Should you reach out now? Who should you reach out to? What approach should you take? Gail Perry answers these questions and more. Lots of tips!
Click-it: Navigating Funding Uncertainty: What Nonprofits Can Do Right Now. Kierstin Hill of Firespring suggests key considerations for nonprofits grappling with funding uncertainty, and also offers best practices for maintaining stability.
AUDIO/VISUAL
Click-it: Opening up The Credit Markets to Nonprofits – How Your Organization Can Secure Loans and Lines of Credit to Fund Your Mission [Register for free webinar 3-25-2025]. This informative CharityHowTo session, hosted by nonprofit lending marketplace B Generous, will guide you through the process of securing loans and lines of credit to strengthen your financial standing. Whether you’re looking to scale your operations, fund critical initiatives, or simply build financial resilience, this webinar is designed to help you open up new pathways to success.
ARTICLES
Annual (Year-Round) Fundraising
Click-it: The Necessary Fundraising Rethink. Here’s a spot-on, provocative piece from Kevin Shulman, the Agitator-DonorVoice. He speaks of two core truths: (1) people don’t give because you ask, and (2) people are different. So, why do they give? And how might you alter your messaging to invest in brand creation (becoming something people want to say yes to) before making an ask?
Click-it:. How Nonprofits Can Engage the Crypto Community to Drive Crypto Donations. Whether you find crypto exciting or dismaying, it exists. And some folks may want to donate to you this way. Are you ready? This article from the Giving Block explains what you need to know. Note: More folks affiliated with you may own crypto than you imagine, and many are somewhat new to philanthropy. There’s a real opportunity here.
Events
Click-it: Successfully Promoting Your Event with Email. The event experts at Auctria recommend email marketing as one of the most powerful ways to engage potential attendees and keep them coming back for more information. In this guest post from Vanessa Lochshin on their blog, you’ll be able to grab a strategic timeline, learn how to build urgency and get tips for list segmentation.
Click-it: How To Price Tickets for an Event. Use this nifty calculator from Eventgroove to figure exactly how much to charge to maximize the return on your event investment.
Major and Legacy Gifts
Click-it: How AI Is Influencing Major Gifts Fundraising. AI continues to evolve, and there are new tools to help you identify and qualify donors, better personalize outreach and build stronger donor relationships. Most important, these tools can help you offload administrative tasks so you have more time to meet with donors. Jeff Schreifels of the Veritus Group discusses the new landscape.
Click-it: How Nonprofit Fundraisers Can Craft Effective AI Prompts. I love this article from Momentum so much, I’m sharing it again in case you missed it in my last issue. If you’ve used ChatGPT and found it less than helpful, it’s likely because you’ve not yet mastered the art of the prompt. Here’s a mini-Master Class, with concrete examples. Bookmark this article, or print it out and pin it close to your desk. Let me know if you try out some of these strategies. I’d love to know how they work for you. EXTRA BONUS: Grab this free Major Gifts GPT to help you brainstorm the best ways to engage with your major donors.
NOTE: Want to become a master of major gift fundraising – a highly valued skill? This might be a great time to consider exploring certification. I highly recommend this fully revamped Veritus Group course: Certification Course for Major Gift Fundraisers. If you’re the executive or manager, there’s a companion course for you! The next cohort begins June 9th, and you’ll save $200 if you register before May 9th. After completion you’ll become a member of the prestigious Veritus Scholars. If you have any questions, just reply to this email and I’ll be happy to discuss whether this course may be right for you. I promise to be honest.
Online, Digital Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: How to boost your digital fundraising through gamification. To make your campaigns more memorable and engaging for donors, Storyraise suggests you gamify them with challenges and rewards, a tactic that makes giving more exciting, rewarding and even a little competitive. Read on to discover five ways to gamify your digital fundraising.
Click-it: How defaulting to recurring gift on a premium offer donation page impacts donor conversion. I just love sharing A/B experiment results from NextAfter. I always learn so much, and it gets my creative juices flowing. I hope it works that way for you too. This one resulted in a significant increase in recurring gifts (good, because monthly donors renew at 80-90% vs. 20 – 43% for one-time gifts). There are plenty more tests on their website to explore!
Strategy, Management and Leadership
Click-it: How to Win Hearts and Minds. Scott Monty at Timeless & Timely writes about three aspects to business leaders can influence: people, processes, and technology. If you want to have willing followers, the place to focus is on people. You’ll find examples here of both good and bad practices.
Other Learning Opportunities
ONLINE CONFERENCE, WEBINAR SERIES OR COURSE
Click-it: Workplace Fundraising + Volunteering Summit [Register for free 2-day series, 4-2 to 3, 2025]. Double the Donation has organized two days filled with presentations and panels to discuss corporate giving, employer matching gifts, payroll giving, volunteer grants, paid volunteer time off (VTO), and corporate grants.
WEBINARS, PODCASTS, & ON-DEMAND AUDIO RESOURCES
If you can’t attend live, or are interested in sessions happening at overlapping times, note many are available via recording – but ONLY if you REGISTER!
Events
Click-it: The State of Fundraising Events in 2025 [Listen to on-demand podcast]. Join Samantha Swain on Julia Campbell’s Nonprofit Nation podcast to explore the latest trends shaping nonprofit events this year. Wondering whether it’s time to go back to in-person, stay virtual or do hybrid? Might there be ways to increase your ROI? What’s the role of social media? Get answers to all this and more.
Online, Digital Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: How Nonprofits Can Raise More with Email [Register for free webinar, 3-27-2025]. Unlock your email’s full potential with Katelyn Baughan, nonprofit email marketing powerhouse, who’ll join We Are For Good to help you take your email fundraising to the next level. Learn how to harness data to personalize and supercharge your outreach; get writing tips that inspire action, grab tools to automate and nurture donor relationships and much more.
Click-it: Learning From 3 Billion Text Messages: How nonprofits are using text programs for fundraising impact [Register for free webinar, 3-27-2025]. Join Care2 and Message Digital to learn best practices for strategically building your text messaging list; how to activate supporters when it most matters, and how to drive long-term donor engagement.
Strategy, Management and Leadership
Click-it: Impact Measurement from a Global Perspective [Register for free webinar, 3-26-2025]. Join Stanford Social Innovation review for a wide-ranging discussion with experts from Asia, Europe, and North America on the challenges and promises of impact measurement. How can funders ensure that they are investing their money effectively without placing undue burdens on implementers? Which measures should organizations track to ensure deep, sustained, and meaningful uptake? What lessons have evaluators acquired from creating and implementing measurement programs?
Click-it: Ensuring Data Privacy in the Age of AI: What Nonprofits Need to Know [Register for free session 4-1-2025]. Artificial intelligence tools rely on vast amounts of data to deliver information and ideas at lightning speed. However, users must take care to understand the privacy policies of the tools they use, and nonprofits must be vigilant about protecting the personal information of their clients and donors. This session, sponsored by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, will identify what nonprofits need to know and do to ensure that A.I. tools do not compromise the privacy of key constituents.
YOU
Click-it: Digital Advocacy for Career Progression in Nonprofits [Register for free webinar, 3-27-2025]. Gain actionable insights into creating a professional digital presence that aligns with the needs and values of the nonprofit sector. This Charity Village session will help you master strategies to engage with online communities, build credibility, and connect with mentors and like-minded professionals. Develop a step-by-step plan to showcase your achievements, advocate for career goals, and expand your opportunities in meaningful and authentic ways.
DOWNLOADABLE GUIDES, PAPERS, TEMPLATES & OTHER RESOURCES
Annual (Year-Round) Fundraising
Click-it: The Donor Journey [Download free guide]. DonorPerfect and Cherian Koshy put together this roadmap to acquisition, retention and reactivation. Learn how to visualize and optimize the path your supporters take from first contact to long-term engagement.
Click-it: Jess Campbell, from Out in the Boons, has gathered 40 digital freebies just for you. A range of experts are offering things like: A Canva template to track and improve your email marketing; a toolkit to help you set boundaries, delegate, and protect your energy, and a guide on how to write direct mail appeals that donors actually open, read, and respond to.
Online, Digital Fundraising and Marketing
Click-it: Pulse of the Donor: Insights into Online Giving [Download free guide]. This FundraiseUp report provides an unparalleled look into donor behavior and fundraising trends, empowering organizations to uncover what truly drives donor engagement and giving. There are a lot of insights you can use to improve your own results.
Strategy and Management
Click-it: Nonprofit Strategic Planning Template [Download free guide]. Want to lead your own strategic planning session. The Ross Collective created this easy-to-follow template. It walks you through the planning process in 7 steps and includes group activities and space to notate as you work together.
Trends
Click-it: Generational Giving Report, Volume 2 [Download free report]. Bloomerang and Qgiv surveyed 1,000 donors to help you tailor approaches to align with generational preferences. Why? To optimize the giving experience, build stronger relationships with supporters, and maximize donor loyalty. There are all sorts of take-aways here – too many to call out. You’ll want to download this and think carefully about what these findings portend for you and your constituents.
Did You Miss My Newest Articles?
Here are links to the most recent articles on the Clairification blog. Remember, your goal is not simply to squeeze money out of people. It’s to give donors a squeeze and a hug for being caring and generous. This will make them feel good, which will move them to continue sticking with you.
Dramatic Shared Cure-Alls: Philanthropy and Placebo Effects
AI as an Equalizer: Giving Small Nonprofits a Competitive Edge
Who Makes A Good Nonprofit Legacy Donor Prospect?
Coping in Trying Times: Empathy + Innovation are Essential Nonprofit Philanthropic Strategies
Nonprofit Crisis Response Tip-a-Day-DO-Dah!
Nonprofit Fundraising: We Have a Semantics Problem
Finally… if you have a question, any question…
Check out my free fundraising advice column on the Bloomerang blog! Ask your question here. And bookmark the Ask an Expert page for any time you have a question! Here’s one: What Role Does Direct Mail Play In Fundraising In A Digital World?
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. MARCH and APRIL TIPS are live. Your support is much appreciated, and helps me to support you. Thank you!
And now, let’s take a look at some trees and flowers springing forth in my neck of the woods!
“Where flowers bloom, so does hope.” – Lady Bird Johnson
Please support my extraordinary sponsors (see below). The Clairity Click-it content is free, and Clairification School is affordable, because of their generosity.
