Award Winning Blog - Agitator

A Low Risk, High Reward Approach to Fundraising

In recent years we’ve tried to show how breakthroughs in research, particularly in behavioral science enable knowledgeable fundraisers to reap some mighty impressive rewards that come from a more in-depth understanding of “why” a particular donor gives (identity), why different messages are required for different donors (personality/psychological profiles) and how these elements are used in […]

Learn More January 10, 2022

What Works Best: The Spoken or Written Word?

We know that all fundraising writing or speaking should be conversational and personal. It should avoid long words, nouns, prepositions and adjectives that all make the copy feel dense. But which approach works best? We’ve scored lots of copy and transcribed phone conversations that follow written scripts. Neither has an inherent legup on being conversational […]

Learn More January 7, 2022

Corporate Political Giving: A Threat to Democracy or Just a Study in Hypocrisy

A year ago, following the January 6th mob attack on the Capitol we noted in Funding the Insurrection, “Money in politics is a very powerful force. So is withholding it.” Back then we wondered how corporate donors and their political action committees (PACs) would react to those 147 Republicans who voted to overturn the election. […]

Learn More January 5, 2022

Getting the Damn Envelope Open: Part 2

Way back in 2020, which is at least 12 years ago in Covid time we wrote about the role of emotion to increase intention to open the envelope. Intention is a necessary mental way-station to actual opening, it matters. The more intent, the less likely there’s a gap between intention and doing. A few key […]

Learn More January 3, 2022

Words from Desmond Tutu to Guide Us in 2022

“I wish I could shut up, but I can’t, and I won’t.” “Don’t raise your voice. Improve your argument.” “We need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.” “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite […]

Learn More December 31, 2021

Spoiler Alert: People Are Different

So why do so many fundraisers ignore this reality and treat donors and prospects with the same one-size-fits-all approach? One reason is that far too many fundraisers know very little about their donors and refuse to invest the time and money in finding out more. Consequently, stuck in the belief that determining who the […]

Learn More December 29, 2021