Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Embarrassed by Death. Educated by Hot Pants

“More than $1.4 billion in stimulus checks went to dead people, the Government Accountability Office said.” When I saw that headline in yesterday’s New York Times it was instantly clear to me that clearly the Trump administration is not using The Agitator Toolbox.. Let me explain. Seems like in the rush to inject money into […]

Learn More June 26, 2020

Whack-A-Mole Pandemic Effects and Results

In a seemingly breathless but not surprising headline — “Giving Plunges 6% in First Quarter, Signaling $25 Billion in Lost Revenue for Nonprofits“– the Chronicle of Philanthropy announced the release of the 2020 1st Quarter Fundraising Effectiveness Report (FEP) noting a decline in individual giving in March. Not a pretty picture. But, optimism continued to rule […]

Learn More June 24, 2020

The Theory of Giving : A Fundraiser’s North Star

Since last Wednesday’s post announcing the 2020 Pilot Study to determine how drivers of giving – Identity, Personality, Quality of Motivation, Commitment and Satisfaction –impact giving and how you put this information to practical use Agitator readers have expressed significant interest and participation. To briefly recap, you’ll recall that this DonorVoice research project—global in scope—aims […]

Learn More June 22, 2020

Celebrating Juneteenth

Today, June 19th, is Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. It’s an official holiday in 47 states and should be a national holiday all across America. African-Americans have celebrated it since June 19th, 1865, when more than 250,000 enslaved people in Texas learned from a Union army general that […]

Learn More June 19, 2020

Pandemic Accelerant

The most frequent topic at Agitator editorial meetings in recent weeks has centered on the question “What does this pandemic mean for the future of fundraising?” More specifically, what should we be doing to help organizations prepare for what all of us here believe will be a long, slow, multi-year recovery that could have us […]

Learn More June 17, 2020

The Richest Americans’ Poor Response to Covid-19

Sooner or later every fundraiser has heard—and many have put to use—the story of the “Widow’s mite” in terms of illustrating and suggesting a level of sacrificial and cheerful giving. Mark 12:42-44 and Luke 21:2-4 tell the story of the widow who gave all she had, two “mites”—the tiny copper coins circulated in Judaea during the time […]

Learn More June 15, 2020