Board Meeting Swipe File

Iron Law of Megaprojects

Your mega-project will fail. This reality and Iron Law comes from a Dane, Bent Flyvbjerg, who has spent a lifetime studying mega-projects. In our world this megaproject might be he new website, the CRM conversion, a new “product” with heavy investment. His research shows these projects are over-budget, late and under-deliver, almost always. 48% are […]

Learn More March 17, 2023

Keeping the Soul of Fundraising Alive

Few people pay attention to publishers in the fundraising field. Probably because it’s human nature to take for granted that which deserves our genuine gratitude because we assume it will always be there. You know, things like water (until wells and rivers run dry) or food (until war, drought, floods, and poverty starve or kill […]

Learn More February 27, 2023

How Much Has Donor Trust in Charities Changed in the Past 5 Years?

In this age of “fake news”, “alternative facts” “hyper partisanship” and what seems to be a general erosion of trust why should we even care? And if we care what can we fundraisers do about it? Of course, every fundraiser should care because trust is the lynchpin of a solid and sustainable relationship with a […]

Learn More January 18, 2023

Does Your Job Security Match that of a Roman Emperor?

Being a Roman Emperor came with certain upside – power, money, luxury, debauchery (if into that sort of thing)… With that upside is a high likelihood of suffering a violent death. Fundraising chieftains or those brought in to deliver a new world order won’t be publicly executed but their survival rate likely mirrors that of […]

Learn More January 13, 2023

Do The Opposite?

Some might say I’m contrarian. Some might be right. In keeping with what some people think, try this on… Charities need, More debt Less revenue diversification Less leanness (i.e., they need bigger reserves) Higher overhead This isn’t contrarian for the sake of it. Consider that the opposite of what I’m prescribing is (more or less) […]

Learn More May 20, 2022

Time for a Money Revolution in the Board Room

Conventional wisdom in nonprofit board rooms, as best as I can tell, is that “in the midst of these uncertain political and economic times we should pull back”…”husband our resources”…”not be aggressive at a time like this”….and a thousand other cautionary excuses. Frankly, whether in good times or bad that’s usually the case because the […]

Learn More May 18, 2022

Fundraising in Inflation and Under Threat of Nuclear War. 7 Survival Tips for 2022

Here we go again. The phone’s ringing, the email inbox dinging as colleagues attempt to figure out what to do in a world that more than ever seems to be falling apart. Over Agitator’s 15 years our readers have witnessed a litany of financial meltdowns (2008), pandemic disasters (2020) and now in 2022 inflation coupled […]

Learn More March 14, 2022

2021 Shows Largest Increase in Giving Since 2012

Although we focus mainly on forward-looking developments in fundraising it’s also advisable to occasionally check the rear-view mirror to see what may be gaining on us or what we may have missed as we passed by on our way to the future. Benchmarks and macro-giving reports serve that function. Unfortunately, sometimes the smug and self-content […]

Learn More February 18, 2022

“You Can’t Fix Stupid”

“You can’t fix stupid.” Ahhh, the sound of the exasperated fundraisers and consultants who’ve thrown up their hands after trying for the 5oth time to explain to a Board, a CEO, or a Client why that “brilliant insight” just won’t work. Sure, you can be a seasoned, proven and highly respected pro, but somehow you […]

Learn More February 9, 2022

“Only You Can Control Your Future.” [Navigation Chart for Fundraisers Enclosed]

The headline quotation is from the renowned fundraiser, Dr. Seuss. Well, even if he wasn’t a fundraiser Dr. Seuss’ advice is sound. He’s not alone in warning about grabbing hold of and steering your organization’s destiny , as literally hundreds of Agitator posts on the subject can attest. Enter the fascinating –and most helpful — […]

Learn More November 3, 2021

Ask A Behavioral Scientist

Behavioral Science Q & A

Q: Do you have any insight on whether integrating an individual giving appeal with other comms from the charity in both appearance and messaging can uplift results? Or does the actual appeal become ‘lost’ for lack of stand-out?

Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]

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Q: Is there any research on response rate impact in direct mail when referring to a sustainer gift as ongoing or recurring (catching all frequencies) v. monthly or annual?

I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]

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Q: A major conservation nonprofit sends me lots of mail, many of which have on the envelope “time to renew” or “2nd notice.” I find this practice deceptive, especially as I haven’t given to said organization since 1997. It must be effective or they wouldn’t do it. But is it ethical?

Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]

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Q: I find it irritating when some nonprofits accept my “gift” and then ask me to cover their credit card fees separately. It feels like a practice that does nothing to help win donors and runs the risk of turning others off. Is there any data on this either way?

Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]

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Q: What are the three most important things to consider when designing a brilliant supporter journey?

There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]

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Q: Is there any evidence that changes to the tax laws in the USA changed end of year giving behaviors? Previously, ~30% of US taxpayers filed itemized tax returns allowing them to receive a deduction for charitable giving. Tax law changed in 2017 so that now only ~10% itemize. This should mean tax year-end giving should not matter to millions of people for whom it used to matter. Is there any data evidence to support this?

I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]

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