Board Meeting Swipe File

DON’T EAT THE SEED CORN: A Checklist for Fundraisers in Tough Times

Let’s not sugarcoat it. Economic turbulence is here—and it’s got teeth. The stock market’s sliding, anxiety’s rising, and if history is any guide, fundraisers are bracing for another punch in the gut. I’ve been working in the fundraising trade for more than 60 years. That means I’ve lived and worked through every recession since 1960—and […]

Learn More April 11, 2025

Robbing the Sick to Pay the Suits. Donors Defect.

While we’ve been mainly focused on the need for citizens and nonprofits to fight back as Trump, Musk, and their lapdogs go hell for leather to destroy the U.S. government while padding their own pockets, we must also cast our gaze downward, to the tawdry spectacle of Congress. There, the Republican majority, a trembling congregation […]

Learn More March 21, 2025

Kiss Our ASS

I just watched him—a a wannabe grand but disgustingly gaudy figure on a grand stage—peddling a litany of lies before Congress. It was as if the air itself had turned to a toxic ink, rewriting our collective story with false promises and empty bravado. Trump, with his coterie of clapping and cheering sycophants, stood as […]

Learn More March 5, 2025

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

Ask A Behavioral Scientist

Behavioral Science Q & A

Q:We are struggling with acquistion. During our biggest community campaign, a colleague is suggesting that we have a QR code directing donors to a donate page that does not capture donor information – just a donation and an email address. We won’t be able to post any of these new doors our lvoely newsletters, or thank you letters. We’ll likely never hear from them again. What’s the best method to get this team to see the importance about a donor vs a donation?

Thanks so much for raising this. Yes, capturing donor information can be helpful for stewardship like newsletters, thank-you letters, impact updates. But how you ask matters. Forcing full data capture introduces friction that can significantly depress conversion, many donors may simply abandon the process. Beyond the friction itself, required fields also shift the emotional experience […]

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Q: Should we include “Giving Tuesday” in the subject lines for the emails that are going out before Giving Tuesday?

Unlike holidays that everyone already knows, Giving Tuesday is a created event. Many donors recognize the name but not the exact timing, so referencing it becomes a helpful cue. It serves as a reminder and taps into social norm activation (“everyone’s giving today”), which boosts response. However, we still want it paired with the mission, […]

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Q: can we pull the match language into the subject lines? Or this should be an A/B test?

When a subject line leads with the match (“Your gift matched!”), it risks triggering market-norm thinking: the sense that giving is a financial transaction rather than an act rooted in values, identity, and care. This shift reduces intrinsic motivation and, over time, can weaken donor satisfaction and long-term engagement. It also makes the email indistinguishable […]

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Q: Our mid-level donor team removed the QR code from the DM donation form that links to the donation page, but have left the URL for them to type it in manually. Not sure why they are adding a barrier to the donation process for a higher value donor – but I have to ask – is there any proof – either way – if a QR donation code reduces MV online giving, has any effect on their donation amount, has any effect on off line donations? Thank you….

There’s no evidence that QR codes suppress mid-value giving; all available research suggests they either help or have no negative effect. In fact, behavioral and usability research consistently shows the opposite: reducing friction at any point in the donation process increases completion rates and total response. And that has nothing to do with capacity and […]

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Q: How can we effectively use behavioral science to help shift our Board’s mindset. The majority are extremely resistant to asking their networks or sharing their contact lists with us, even after a candid discussion with an external lay leader who has been training boards with her fantastic Fundraising isn’t the F Word! workshop. We have also offered to use our automated email tool to send their appeals from their own email. It is so frustrating. We even have 2 Board members and the chair trying put some accountability on them for our big event but people are not really moving!

What you’re experiencing is very common. Resistance often isn’t about capability, but about motivation quality. If board members feel pushed into fundraising, that triggers controlled motivation (low quality motivation) i.e. obligation, guilt, or fear of judgment, which often results in avoidance. Instead, we need to create conditions for volitional motivation (high quality motivation) by satisfying […]

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Q: Copywriters often argue the ask should appear on the first page, but that usually breaks the story in two. With a one-sided letter the ask is always on page one, but with a two-sided letter it may fall on the second page—do results differ? Has your appeal structure been tested on both one-sided and two-sided letters? I just read the article Your Appeal Outline: Thoughtful Strategy or Random Spasm?

That’s a really thoughtful question, and you’re not the first to raise it. Many of our clients have been cautious about placing the ask at the very end. To address their concern, we’ve tested both approaches, and the results are clear: when the ask comes last, even if that means it appears on the second […]

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