Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Let’s Get Small With Impact

We have big missions. End hunger. Create a just society. Save the whales. But those aren’t the calls to action that make people give. First, we need a call to action that is about a unit – person, animal, or story. Our behavioral science unit talks about the identifiable victim effect as one of a few […]

Learn More December 19, 2018

Sorry Santa, We’re Closed!

I never fail to marvel at the bizarre behavior of many nonprofits when it comes to year-end giving. Let me explain. For almost every charity the period between Christmas and New Year’s is a heavy period for giving. For some groups as much as 25% of their annual revenue arrives in those final weeks. Many donors—particularly […]

Learn More December 17, 2018

First, Do No Harm

A warning to those who have had a stillborn child – you may want to skip down to the bolded line below. Gillian Brockell had a tweet on Tuesday about grief and algorithms worth a read: An open letter to @Facebook, @Twitter, @Instagram and @Experian regarding algorithms and my son’s birth: pic.twitter.com/o8SuLMuLNv — Gillian Brockell […]

Learn More December 14, 2018

5 Tips to Kill Stupid Ideas and Still Keep Your Job

Among the hackneyed phrases I most detest: “There are no bad ideas.” Sometimes the phrase is offered up at the start of “brainstorming” sessions, to encourage the shy. Sometimes it’s delivered to invisible eye-rolls and silent sighs by the chair of the board or a big donor. Civility and silence at any price. But, the […]

Learn More December 12, 2018

Better to Be At the Table Than On the Menu

The likelihood of increased privacy and data regulation of nonprofits in the U.S. is not a question of “whether”, but “when” and “how onerous.” The gathering storm over real and imagined abuses by Facebook, Google and other big tech platforms will unleash a downpours of concern, finger-pointing and political grandstanding in the new Congress that […]

Learn More December 10, 2018

Give to Get: Case Studies

So we’ve talked a good game about Give-to-Get this week. Monday, Nick noted the trend that asking people who donate to other organizations to care about yours is declining and the opportunity is to ask people who care to donate. Wednesday, Kevin outlined how you can create a content-based reason to join, donate, and retain. […]

Learn More December 7, 2018