Search Results for: deceased

Today we’re adding TrueDeceased  to The Agitator Toolbox. This easy-to-use tool enables you to go online and quickly—and without charge – get an overview of who on your database is deceased. When The Agitator first announced our Data Liberation Crusade and asked what low-cost data services were needed, reader Ann Kensek told us, “My Data Dream would include a database […]

Knowing if and when a donor, or a member of the donor’s household, has passed away is critical to managing your organization’s relationships. Even for the most sophisticated and well-resourced shops, keeping up with obituaries and other sources of the deceased is a time-consuming challenge. Often, this important information slips through the cracks. When this […]

When was the last time you felt good about being lightly manipulated or guilted into something? Probably never. Behavioral economics 101 emphasizes the power of defaults in steering behavior. Just check the box, circle, or highlight the option you want people to choose, and place it in the middle. These defaults are better described as […]

Last Friday was drizzly, the kind where the rain isn’t sure of itself. I went for my pickup truck’s annual inspection.  In the corner of that musty garage, mechanics’ hands as greasy as the floor, there was the usual bulletin board; an artifact with layers of oil change reminders and lost dog flyers. Among this […]

They’re disappearing. The ones who came before us, born before the TVs were in every home and before man walked on the moon. The Traditionalists, the Silent Generation, and right behind them, the Baby Boomers. We’ve depended on them. They’ve been there for us. But now, with the Silent Generation projected to decline by over […]

In the Muzak -misted modern marketplaces, amidst the rhythmic beep of machines, lies a revolution so profound yet so quietly integrated into the fabric of our daily lives that it scarcely draws attention. This revolution, now marking its 50th anniversary, is none other than the barcode—that modest stripe of black and white that’s silently reshaped […]

For whatever unfathomable reason my brain somehow connected coverage of Donald Trump’s bizarre eulogy at a supporter’s funeral  with some of the lousy behavior exhibited by some nonprofits in dealing with their donors. Let me explain. At a memorial service for  Rochelle “Silk” Richardson, half of the rabidly vocal  pro-Trump  commentary duo of Diamond & […]

Why do people give?   I’ve seen academic research showing a big driver of giving is asking. That’s like saying you can’t win the lottery if you don’t play.  True enough but it doesn’t make the opposite true; you will also lose if you play.  The expected return is always negative. People don’t give because we […]

From monthly Apples and Pears to Zoo gift memberships my postal and digital mailboxes are filled with last minute tips for holiday gift giving. All of which got me thinking about gifts every fundraiser should be giving their donors.  I’m not talking about calendars or stuffed animals or tote bags.  Rather consider these essential gifts […]

Headline: Breakthrough study finds subjects do more tasks if they enjoy it and the quality of the work product differs greatly across subjects.  And in other news, water is in fact, wet. The details of the study are a bit more interesting, if still obvious. The scientists discovered major individual differences in preferences – reflecting […]