Claire Axelrad

Why Donors Give: The Deep Human Need to Matter Discover what truly motivates donors. Learn how the human need to matter, belong, & create impact drives giving & builds stronger relationships.

Learn how to help people -- philanthropic donors included -- feel they matter. Here's my take on the Bloomerang blog. bloomerang.com/blog/why-don...

Before You Diminish Yourself: Leadership Conversation Checklist Learn how to communicate with clarity & confidence in leadership conversations. Use this checklist to avoid undermining & instead build trust.

Ever wonder where conversations with staff, volunteers or donors go awry? bloomerang.com/blog/before-...

From Objections to Opportunities: Winning Over Donors - Clairification In Avoid these Key Obstacles to Successful Major Gift Asks I covered how to ask like a pro. Today I want to begin a two-part series on how to deal with donor objections like a pro. Sometimes donors sa...

Just because they might be objecting does not mean they don’t want to make a philanthropic gift -- ever. clairification.com/2026/03/09/f...

From Objections to Opportunities: Winning Over Donors - Clairification In Avoid these Key Obstacles to Successful Major Gift Asks I covered how to ask like a pro. Today I want to begin a two-part series on how to deal with donor objections like a pro. Sometimes donors sa...

As a fundraiser, you’re likely going to be faced with objections. There's no reason to be afraid. You can deal with them -- here's specifically how! clairification.com/2026/03/09/f...

Avoid these Key Obstacles to Successful Major Gift Asks - Clairification In Proven Strategies to Take Charge of Major Donor Asks we ved into the topic of major gift fundraising asks.Specifically, we covered (1) four elements of a successful visit and (2) four elements of a...

2 Vital Things to Keep in Mind Going into Major Gift Asks clairification.com/2026/03/05/a... #fundraising

Proven Strategies to Take Charge of Major Donor Asks - Clairification Before asking, begin by assuring you and your donor are on the same page. The major donor journey is generally a long one. It’s important to craft a blue for the process and take time, along the way, ...

Proven Strategies to Take Charge of Major Donor Asks
clairification.com/2026/03/02/p...

Proven Strategies to Take Charge of Major Donor Asks - Clairification Before asking, begin by assuring you and your donor are on the same page. The major donor journey is generally a long one. It’s important to craft a blue for the process and take time, along the way, ...

As long as you’re providing value to the donor, you’re in a good place. Value can take many forms.
clairification.com/2026/03/02/p...

Marching Forward Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links + Free Resources - Clairification It’s a new day. What will you do with it? Will you march forward, backward or get stuck in place?  Hopefully, whatever you do, you won’t be lulled into complacency. The work ahead is hard, but as Jame...

My NEWest issue of the bimonthly Clairity Click-it Newsletter is out -- filled with free resources for people who work in the social benefit sector. Find something useful!
clairification.com/clickit/clai...

Fresh Nonprofit Marketing Ideas: Be Patient. Be Strategic. Be Funded. - Clairification When it comes to marketing communications, you need a strategic plan that will serve you in the current digitally-revolutionized and highly networked world.  Not what you’ve been doing every year for ...

Look specifically at what you might do next to face your particular development challenges and hone your integrated marketing + fundraising plan. clairification.com/2026/02/25/f...

Fresh Nonprofit Marketing Ideas: Be Patient. Be Strategic. Be Funded. - Clairification When it comes to marketing communications, you need a strategic plan that will serve you in the current digitally-revolutionized and highly networked world.  Not what you’ve been doing every year for ...

Nonprofits don’t need more noise.
They need integrated marketing + fundraising plans built for today’s digital reality. But you do have to move. clairification.com/2026/02/23/f... #nonprofit #fundraising

5 Strategies to Improve Peer-to-Peer Donor Retention - Clairification Think about the last time you contributed to a friend or family member’s peer-to-peer campaign. Maybe you sponsored their walkathon.  Or contributed to their birthday fund. Whatever the purpose, you d...

Peer-to-peer donors may come to you through a friend, but they don’t have to remain one-time supporters.
clairification.com/2026/02/19/5...

Show Me You Know Me* — 5 Strategies To Sustain Donor Relationships - Clairification Let’s pretend you and your donor are not connecting meaningfully right now. You’re not sure why. Could it be they feel financially insecure…  they’re worried for their kids… they’ve been let down by p...

Embrace the true meaning of philanthropy as love of humankind. Here's how to do it. clairification.com/2026/02/16/s...

Show Me You Know Me* — 5 Strategies To Sustain Donor Relationships - Clairification Let’s pretend you and your donor are not connecting meaningfully right now. You’re not sure why. Could it be they feel financially insecure…  they’re worried for their kids… they’ve been let down by p...

Are you being a support for your donor? Are you helping, not selling all the time?
clairification.com/2026/02/16/s...

Love is in the Air Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links + Free Resources - Clairification Good (February holiday) news department, and couldn’t we use some! Valentine’s Day reminds us to come from a place of . The Year of the Fire Horse means rapid, often chaotic change, bold action, and t...

Love is in the Air Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links + Free Resources
clairification.com/clickit/clai...

4-Step Strategy to Address Key Nonprofit Marketing Challenges Head On - Clairification Rather than building this year’s marketing plan off of last year’s template, how about taking a deep breath, sitting back, and planning to devote some dedicated time to thinking things through.  You s...

Rough year for your nonprofit? Take a beat, now, and consider what you may want to do differently. clairification.com/2026/02/09/4...

10 Strategies to Celebrate Nonprofit Donors on Valentine’s Day - Clairification Last year, you posted about sending donors valentines, which I came across a bit too late in the game, so I sent es. But, this year, I kept that idea and planned for it, and sent handmade valentines t...

This year why not dedicate Valentine’s Day to giving, not asking?
clairification.com/2026/02/05/1...

10 Strategies to Celebrate Nonprofit Donors on Valentine’s Day - Clairification Last year, you posted about sending donors valentines, which I came across a bit too late in the game, so I sent es. But, this year, I kept that idea and planned for it, and sent handmade valentines t...

If you don’t do a lot more donor loving, you’re going to do a lot more donor losing.
clairification.com/2026/02/05/1...

Nonprofit Gift Planning: Do You Use the Language of Love? - Clairification What must you keep top of mind to have meaningful conversations with donors who (you hope!) may contemplate a gift to your organization? I’ve given you a hint within my question. One word: meaningful....

To get folks to “YES,” you must learn the language of love and apply it to nonprofit gift planning. clairification.com/2026/02/02/n...

Nonprofit Gift Planning: Do You Use the Language of Love? - Clairification What must you keep top of mind to have meaningful conversations with donors who (you hope!) may contemplate a gift to your organization? I’ve given you a hint within my question. One word: meaningful....

Nonprofit Gift Planning: For a conversation to be meaningful, you have to speak in a language that resonates with the other person. Here are some tips. clairification.com/2026/02/02/n...

Ice Everywhere All at Once Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links + Free Resources - Clairification It’s been chilling, inside and out. I’d like to warm you up with a new poem that spe to me this week. It’s about and giving. Extraordinarily appropriate for the time in which we’re living. And, for ph...

Ice Everywhere All at Once Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links + Free Resources
clairification.com/clickit/clai...

Mary thinks your nonprofit is better than this. I agree! mcahalane.com/can-we-stop-...

What Causes so Many Fundraisers to Leave their Jobs? - Clairification Why do so many fundraisers get no satisfaction? Fundraisers report money is the number one reason they leave their jobs. While I do believe too many fundraisers are underpaid relative to their skill s...

There’s an irrational belief folks have that if they get too close to that evil ‘fundraising,’ they may walk away tainted. Or fleeced. clairification.com/2026/01/26/c...

What Causes so Many Fundraisers to Leave their Jobs? - Clairification Why do so many fundraisers get no satisfaction? Fundraisers report money is the number one reason they leave their jobs. While I do believe too many fundraisers are underpaid relative to their skill s...

Is money the reason fundraisers leave jobs? Or is it something else? Something you can do about? clairification.com/2026/01/26/c...

Money Matters: Why a Good Nonprofit Fundraiser is Hard to Keep - Clairification Money is only part of the story of why fundraisers leave. The real culprit is the underlying culture of scarcity. What’s got to do with it? Show me the money. Some year’s ago the Chronicle of Philanth...

Love or Money? What Makes a Good Nonprofit Fundraiser Hard to Keep? clairification.com/2026/01/22/m...

How Do You Get Board Members to “Fundraise”? Board members won’t fundraise? Learn why the disconnect happens—and how to empower your board to support fundraising with confidence and joy.

bloomerang.com/blog/how-do-...

Beyond Money: Why Belonging Is the Key to Sustainable Philanthropy - Clairification “Philanthropy, at its core, is not a financial system — it’s a behavioral one. Donor trust, like patient trust, is built on consistent signals of safety, empathy, and responsiveness. When those signal...

Sustainable philanthropy is definitively relational. What are you doing to help donors feel they belong? clairification.com/2026/01/19/b...

Brrr... Clairity Click-it: Nonprofit Links + Free Resources - Clairification It’s been pretty cold in my neck of the woods, so let’s warm up with a cup of cocoa, coffee or tea and some good reads. I’ve got a lot of great stuff for you this week, so let’s get right to it! The C...

NEW Clairity Click-it Collection of Nonprofit Links + Free Resources clairification.com/clickit/clai... Find something helpful for your organization!

Boost Your Team's Productivity with These 5 Proven Nonprofit Collaboration Strategies - Clairification How do you get everyone on your team working collaboratively? If you could you stand to improve the way your nonprofit staff work together as a team, I’ve got some terrific strategies for you. I first...

Apply These 5 Steps – S.C.A.R.F. – to Influence Team Members to Work Cooperatively. clairification.com/2026/01/12/5...

How to Make Sure Your Fundraising Is Built to Last Learn how reframing philanthropy around donor values leads to fundraising that builds loyalty, meaning, and long-term impact.

Dear people who work in the social benefit sector: Today is a good day to lift your head, take a deep breath, and look around. Try to see things through a different lens. www.nonprofitpro.com/post/reframi...

Fundraising Do's vs. Don'ts: Year-End Email Appeal Strategy Review - Clairification Here comes my occasional “Do’s vs. Don’ts” feature, where I with you something arriving in my box that seems a good ‘teaching opportunity.’ Today we’re going to review a last-day-of-the-campaign on ap...

Today we’re going to review a last-day-of-the-campaign online appeal strategy. DO? Or DON'T? clairification.com/2026/01/08/f...