Award Winning Blog - Agitator

A Calculus-free Guide to Lifetime Value

Lifetime value. We’ve talked about how to calculate it, how to simplify the calculation, why to focus on it, how to use it in acquisition, and how and why to segment by it. In short: we are fans. As you will see in this post, it’s a simple way of understanding and adjusting your program, […]

Learn More July 17, 2019

Test of the Month Webinars

A quick one for you… The Nonprofit Alliance is now offering a series of “Test of the Month” webinars. On the third Thursday of every month at noon Eastern/9 AM Pacific, we’ll meet for 30 minutes to discuss fundraising experiments from the scientific literature and/or real-life testing. That’s two days from now, hence the odd […]

Learn More July 16, 2019

The Advocacy of Not Advocating

There is a healthy debate over the role of nonprofits in politics. For traditional 501(c)3s in the United States, part of our charter is that our political efforts will be minimal. Minimal, however, isn’t nothing; many nonprofits are very successful in making political change a part of their mission. Others shy away from politics and […]

Learn More July 15, 2019

The Real Limited Resource

The real limited resource isn’t money. Sure, budgets are tight for most. But if you found a magic box where you put one dollar in and got two dollars out immediately, I’ll wager phrases like “hiring freeze,” “unbudgeted expense,” and “budgeting cycle” would be thrown out the window pretty quickly. (Also, you’d have to decide […]

Learn More July 12, 2019

Are Smaller Organizations Missing Out on The Direct Mail Advantage?

I’m getting more curious and more concerned about why so many nonprofits sector so neglect the “basics.” Simple things like updating addresses. Identifying deceased donors. Or promptly sending a prompt and truly heartfelt “thank you”—on paper… in an envelope… with a stamp. “Basics” that are considered mundane but left unattended damage every organization. Many caring […]

Learn More July 10, 2019

The Donor Upgrade Conundrum

Every day on her way to work, a woman walks by the same bagel stand run by a guy who is clearly selling these bagels to survive. So every day, that woman drops a dollar in the mug and leaves without asking for a bagel. One day, she feels a tug on her sleeve as […]

Learn More July 8, 2019