Donations

     It is easy to think about clans in terms of what they can do for you, but for a moment let's think about what you can do to make your clan better and make your clan think better of you.  There are a few things that basically all clans seem to be looking for when it comes to donations regardless of the size or experience of the clan, and that is what we will discuss here.
   

Good Donation Troops

     No matter what kind of clan you're in, it's safe to say they probably appreciate members that are good donators.  Many clans have a set requirement of troops to be donated in order to earn a promotion to elder.  Once you earn elder, you will be expected to keep up the donations, or continue to improve in order to keep elder or have a chance to earn co-leader.  Many clan even require a certain number of troops to be donated within a certain amount of time just to be allowed to stay in the clan once you join.  The type of troops you donate usually doesn't matter, they usually care more about the number of troops.
     Donating high level and upper tier troops can really help you make a good impression when you are first starting out in a new clan.  When you donate good troops, it helps the clan and it helps you make a good impression, so it's a win-win.  You should definitely do this as often as possible, especially when first starting out; after you have been in a clan for a while, your clan mates will understand if you can't always donate the best troops in the game.
    If a clan mate makes a specific request for certain types of troops, you should do your best to give them what they ask for.  People can get very irritated when they request wizards or dragons and receive barbs and goblins, and sometimes it can result in an automatic kick for a new member, or even an older member that should know better.  This goes double for war donations.  If someone asks for balloons in their CC for a war attack, it probably means they are going for a dragoon or lavaloonion/balloonion attack, so giving them some random ground troops would be completely useless for that attack.  In this way, adhering to clan mates' requests can not only keep you in good standing, but can also help you win wars!
     Another important aspect of donations to keep in mind is that you should try to have some balance between the kinds of troops you request and the kinds of troops you donate.  People will notice if you always request dragons or pekkas, but all you ever donate is archers or barbs or giants. It doesn't make you a bad clan mate and I understand that you can only donate what you have in your army at the time, but if you are always going to ask for high end troops from your clan mates (and really, for farming attacks you shouldn't need high end troops), you should go out of your way to donate similar troops in return.  Another option is if you simply can't afford or don't have time to make high end troops for your clan mates, don't continually request high end troops from them.  I try to keep 20-30 spaces of my army reserved specifically for donation troops that are requested, and I usually fill this space in with a dragon or pekka or other high end troop so I have one on hand should someone request it.  Since you will only be doing this during times you are farming and not during wars, it shouldn't hurt your farming attacks terribly to save a few spaces for helping out your clan mates.
     Donating the worst troops in your current army is a good way to build a bad reputation in your clan.  Don't forget that people can see your base at any time and can also tap your camps and see exactly what troops you have in your army, so they will immediately know if you are just donating trash when you actually have good troops that you could have sent instead.  It will make you look untrustworthy, unhelpful, and show people that you are not much of a team player.  Avoid this one simple way, just don't do it!  Donate the kinds of troops you would like to have donated to you, because that is likely what you will receive.  If you donate good troops, you can expect good troops in return, but if you donate trash troops you can't really complain about it when you receive trash in return!
     One last thing on donations, as this seems to be a problem at some point or another for most players and most clans.  There are many occasions across Clash of Clans where fights break out and people leave clans because of someone donating low level troops.  This can turn into a real problem very quickly, not because of the low lvl troops hurting someone's attack but because they fly off the handle at the person who donated them, and the player then leaves because they have had their feelings severely hurt by the other player's comments (mainly because the intentions were good, simply a newer player eager to help out).
     The solution to this problem comes from both sides of the fence.  I would wager that we have all been scorned at some point for donating troops that were too low level for the player that requested, it can hurt if the requesting player decides to really lay into you over it.  So if you are a newer player and wish to donate your troops to try and pull your weight and show that you are a good clan mate, just ask players before donating your troops if they mind that they are lower level.  This way, you never give troops without consent and the player won't get mad at you over it.
     The other part of the solution is for the higher level players.  Before flying off the handle and belittling your lower level clan mate for sending you low level troops, try to remember when you were a new player joining your first clan and how eager you were to help out.  Maybe by remembering this, you can calm down enough to remember that they were probably just trying to be helpful and either let it go or let them know you want to have higher lvl troops in a way that lets them know you appreciate their help. Maybe say "thanks for trying to help out, but at my level I will need higher level troops to win my raids" or something similar.  You can also just start including a minimum level of troops you want donated when requesting by including it in your request.  This shouldn't hurt anyone's feelings, but will also let them know you require higher level troops than they currently have to give.

     I hope all this donation information helps everyone work together more to ensure that we all succeed together. Maybe it will even help some of us avoid fights between clan mates and arguments, since no one likes clan drama.  Thanks again for reading, Clash on!!