Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Who do you want on your file?

Everyone who wants to be there. There! That was simple! Join us next week when we explain why water feels wet. (It’s a liquid). Yes, it sounds simplistic. But we violate this simple premise by not asking supporters how they would like to get communications from us. This step has a few key benefits: It […]

Learn More August 30, 2018

Year End: Ideal Asking Amounts

Do you really know the best “ask amount” for each donor? Many fundraisers really don’t know. They guess, or resort to traditional, tribal wisdom ask strings like 1X Highest Previous Gift (HPC), 1.5 X HPC, 2 X HPC and Other $_______ The result? They’re often leaving massive amounts of money on the table. The ask […]

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Year End: Optimizing Monthly Giving

It’s not too late to take make adjustments to your monthly giving progress that will boost recurring giving returns in this year-end quarter. Even if you’re overwhelmed and can’t take these key steps right now, there is a wealth of evidence you need to absorb and act on as soon as humanly possible. In a […]

Learn More August 29, 2018

YEAR END: War on Christmas: Donor Preference Edition

I’ll get my personal politics out of the way first: I’m a firm believer in stating the reason for the season. I hate, because of stupid political correctness, to not be able to say things like “Merry Saturnalia,” hold my feast of Natalis Invicti and my Zarahosht No-Diso festival, or publicly display my Festivus pole. […]

Learn More August 28, 2018

Year End: Preparation Potpourri

This week’s series aims at tying content from previous Agitator posts and current research into your preparations for the year-end fundraising season. Our selection is a bit eclectic. At our weekly editorial huddle, we decided to forego the usual year-end checklists available elsewhere. Rather we decided to cover areas that are too often overlooked. For […]

Learn More August 27, 2018

TEST RESULTS: Strengths and Weaknesses of the Identifiable Victim

Stalin said “If only one man dies of hunger, that is a tragedy. If millions die, that’s only statistics.” Mother Theresa said “If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at the one, I will.” Both were talking about the idea of scope insensitivity (yes, one to save lives, one […]

Learn More August 24, 2018