Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Emotion Is A Spice Rack, Not Salt

The word “emotion” in fundraising is often treated like a monolithic blob. “Make it emotional!” they say. But Emotion isn’t salt, something you sprinkle on everything and call it a day. It’s more like a spice rack: different emotions have unique flavors and purposes. Use the wrong one, and your recipe (or fundraising appeal) falls […]

Learn More January 10, 2025

Are You Playing the Dystopian Fundraising Slot Machine?

Too many nonprofits, consultants and vendors treat donor lists like handfuls of slot machine tokens. They trade them, rent them, share them. Too often, they exploit them. And now, this bad behavior it’s catching up and harming us all. Among the worst in the rogues gallery staining both the charitable and political sectors are the […]

Learn More January 8, 2025

Do Your Donors Want To or Have To?

How many New Year’s resolutions start with, “This year, I’m going to exercise more regularly”? And of those, how many play out like this: Day one: You’re a fitness god. The gym is your temple. You practically high-five strangers on the treadmill. Day two: Reality hits. Muscles you didn’t know existed are staging a rebellion. […]

Learn More January 6, 2025

Holiday Hiatus: Even Agitators Need a Nap

Friends, readers, and fellow troublemakers, As the holidays descend like a herd of caffeinated reindeer, we at The Agitator are pausing our relentless drumbeat of wit and wisdom. Yes, even agitators need a little time to recharge and reflect. So, from now until… let’s say “a week-ish” (because precision is for grant proposals, not holiday […]

Learn More December 20, 2024

“Nonprofitness” Is a Verb—And You’re Not the Only One Doing It

Ask any donor: What makes a nonprofit, well, nonprofit? Is it the tax status? The actors involved? The actions they take? Or is it the lofty goals they pursue? Spoiler alert: It’s not the tax code, the org chart, or your stellar board of directors. It’s something far more elemental and far less tied to […]

Learn More December 18, 2024

Giving by Algorithm: When Metrics Miss the Mark

There’s a scene I can’t shake. A small-town food pantry, shelves half-empty, volunteers stretching every last dollar to feed neighbors they’ve known their whole lives. The kind of place where a $100 gift isn’t a drop in the ocean—it’s the ocean. The scene came roaring back when I […]

Learn More December 16, 2024