Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Is the Donor Missing From Your Messaging?

We’ve got a simple recipe or heuristic for messaging. It’s, Four parts donor (unique to the donor) 1 part your brand (unique to you) 1 part Issue X (not unique, lots of competition) While simple to write and deliver, even in the limited “real-estate” of a Facebook ad, the rigor lies in knowing the unique […]

Learn More November 20, 2020

Giving Tuesday and Why We’re Killing It

Editor’s Note: For those Agitator readers preparing for Giving Tuesday, there’s really no new advice necessary. However, there’s plenty of seasoned advice that should be heeded. Thus we repeat this post written three years ago by Nick Ellinger. Giving Tuesday and The “When” vs. “Why” of Giving I like the idea of Giving Tuesday very […]

Learn More November 18, 2020

Does Using Bullsh$% Language Help or Hurt Giving?

I read a lot of academic studies. A lot. Most teeter on the edge of uninteresting, a rare few are truly breakthrough that cause us to re-think our thinking. None however, until now, read like a spoof article from The Onion. The title of that study is, “Bullshit-sensitivity predicts prosocial behavior”. I read the abstract […]

Learn More November 16, 2020

Compassion is Spreading as Fast as The Virus. Or is it?

The winter surge of the coronavirus pandemic and consequent lockdowns are upon us–as is the Fundraising Pandemic Paradox. On the one hand countless boards, CEOs continue to expect nonprofits to do badly and therefore have cut budgets and staff. On the other hand, many organizations are now doing much better than ever giving the lie […]

Learn More November 13, 2020

Dewey Defeats Truman!

Conventional wisdom and a veteran political analyst who had predicted the winner in four of the five prior presidentials leading up to this 1948 election were clear; not only would Dewey win but Republicans would retain control of the House and Senate. Dewey of course lost and the Democrats won control of both chambers. What […]

Learn More November 11, 2020

What’s Coming? A Trump Bump, Slump or Dump?

I’ve been in this trade through every U.S. presidential election since 1964 and the fundraising aftermath has always been predictable. If a conservative candidate triumphed, then boom times followed for liberal causes as in Ronald Reagan’s victory in 1980. Conversely, banner results for conservative causes followed a liberal presidential victory, as acquisition, retention rates and […]

Learn More November 9, 2020