Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Is Using the Statistical Average Bad for Nonprofits?

Can a statistic be bad? Maybe “bad” is a bit of an an overstatement but the “Average”, a universally used statistic can sure hide a lot. And without assigning malice or intent to the “hiding”, reliance on the average as an input to decision making can result in lots of bad outcomes. There are countless examples, […]

Learn More December 14, 2020

How to Know If Your TM or F2F Sustainer Acquisition Meets Donor Needs

Over forty years of research and theory show people have three basic, psychological needs. Satisfying these needs makes donors more likely to stick around. The three are: Competence – feelings of effectiveness. For donors, it could mean feeling like they’re making a positive difference. It could also mean learning something new, for example, information about […]

Learn More December 11, 2020

Reverse Engineering Your Way to Donor Centricity

Understanding the why of human behavior is best unearthed with data straight from our donors. We call it zero-party, that which is voluntarily and knowingly given, typically via a survey. Contrary to the opinion of many, surveys are the best way to measure motivation and needs and innate traits that play a large role in […]

Learn More December 9, 2020

Do You Close the Bathroom Door Even When You’re the Only One Home?

That envelope teaser was written nearly 50 years ago by the great copywriter and my friend Bill Jayme for a highly successful Psychology Today acquisition promotion. Bill wrote that long before the internet. Today, the near constant from the digital crowd (and some direct mail folks as well) would be, “People are too busy to read […]

Learn More December 7, 2020

Identifiable Victim: Better Than Stats; Except When It Isn’t…

Universal truths are universally wrong. This is never more true than when talking about ‘nudges’ from the world of behavioral economics. As the only behavioral science agency in fundraising and with an entire team of social scientists, some of whom are behavioral economists, we are huge advocates of the field and discipline. But… behavioral economics […]

Learn More December 4, 2020

Does Your Donor Service Deliver “WOW!”?

Giving Tuesday– in the midst of a pandemic– coupled with notice of the tragic death of Tony Hsieh, founder and former CEO of Zappos, the online shoe seller, reminds me that more than ever it’s again time hammer home the importance of great Donor Service. (Of course, the first step will be to promptly and […]

Learn More December 2, 2020