Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Fundraising Data- Part 2: The Need for Processing Speed

The Agitator has many helpful posts about how to effectively onboard donors, what to learn from them, how to thank donors, and what that post-acquisition journey should look like. BUT…all this good advice is for naught if you don’t have fast or timely data systems. Effective thank you’s, effective donor journeys, and effective retention all hinge […]

Learn More March 11, 2020

8 Key Steps for Turning Data into Fundraising Information

Editor’s Note: More and more organizations are using a variety of software applications to meet their fundraising and activist needs. Perhaps a CRM for the main database of record, then a digital application for advocacy, another for social media, an additional one for major gifts and yet another for events. All too often this mashup of software […]

Learn More March 9, 2020

Are Bad Designers Killing Your Fundraising?

Most of my 56 years in the fundraising trade have been devoured as a copywriter. Thousands of appeals, millions of words –all aimed at countering right-wing zealots… saving whales, seas, trees and seals… freeing political prisoners, building houses, promoting or opposing politicians… and battling for human dignity. Consequently, as editor of The Agitator I’m fascinated […]

Learn More March 6, 2020

The Bigger World of Behavioral Science

In his Agitator debut our new expert on supporter motivation explains why the time has come for nonprofits to more fully access the psychological insights and tools available to them and maximize their fundraising potential. Traditionally, “motivation” has been seen as an attribute that varied only by amount: folks can be either more or less […]

Learn More March 4, 2020

Does Hand Size Predict Fundraising Success?

A belief, once firmly held, is hard to change, even when the evidence and data overwhelmingly refute that belief. Take male hand size. We all know it correlates with…lower fumble rate among NFL Quarterbacks (why, what were you thinking?) Every year at this time the NFL evaluates college players and their pro worthiness with something […]

Learn More March 2, 2020

Getting More From Digital: Donor Conversion

In an earlier post announcing release of the Blackbaud Institute’s of the 2019 Charitable Giving Report I noted that the growth in online giving was up +6.8% compared to just 1% growth for offline in 2019. Fearing this statistic might spur some readers (or more likely their board members or CEOs) to rush off and […]

Learn More February 28, 2020