Award Winning Blog - Agitator

The 3,001st Post — Giving Thanks for Tom

Today’s post is The Agitator’s 3,001st. And my first without Tom beside me in this foxhole. After 10 years of conspiring on The Agitator it’s of course more than a bit sad and strange to be breaking the habit of checking each other’s work each day. Or bantering back and forth; sometimes seriously, sometimes irreverently, […]

Learn More December 1, 2017

I have bad news and, well…

I’m generally an optimist. Not a Panglossian “we live in the best of all possible worlds” optimist, but I think we can get to that world in the long term. But I’ll be darned if many of the fundraising trends seem to be pointed in the wrong direction. Here’s what I’ve been seeing; please leave […]

Learn More November 30, 2017

Defend YOUR Internet Freedom. Act Today!

We have very little time to stop Donald Trump and the Republicans in their attempt to restrict American freedom and destroy the Internet as we know it. At stake is nothing less than control of a crucial public resource – the Internet. The administration’s goal is to hand over control to corporations that will then be able […]

Learn More November 28, 2017

Time To Go To Jail?

It’s been years since I was tear-gassed, arrested and tossed in jail for something worth fighting for. And the same holds for the leaders of most causes I support. Is that a sign that most nonprofits have become too much a part of the establishment, too much a part of the problem? In short, is it […]

Learn More November 27, 2017

The taxman cometh

“[A tax loophole is] something that benefits the other guy. It if benefits you, it is tax reform.” – Sen. Russell Long (warning: this begins with a discussion of the current tax bill and its implications for charitable giving. If that sounds boring, or you know it already, you can skip down to what nonprofits […]

Learn More November 21, 2017

Saving your donor file with science-based design

Earlier this month, Cancer Research UK (CRUK) reported on its efforts to convert to an opt-in only organization: 80% have not actively opted in to receiving mail 55% have not actively opted in to receiving email At least 91% have not actively opted in to receiving a phone call. Wow. We knew retention is low, […]

Learn More November 16, 2017