Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Killing the One-Size-Fits-All Onboard

Consider these donors to a disease organization: She’s a researcher working on your disease. You featured some of her research in your newsletter and she was reminded to give you a donation. She was diagnosed with the disease you are working to eradicate. She found tips on management and coping on your web site and […]

Learn More December 14, 2017

What to Listen for in Donor Onboarding

“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” ― Stephen R. Covey In the previous on boarding post I emphasized the imperative to listen as soon as possible. But that brings up the question: listen for what? There are several variables that, when learned from donors during the […]

Learn More December 13, 2017

Onboarding: The Fierce Urgency of Listening

The unofficial motto of Seinfeld, according to Larry David, was “No hugging, no learning.” In short, there would be no growth in relationships and characters. (For the young’un’s, Seinfeld was a 90s observational comedy show from that guy who talks to comedians in cars while drinking coffee, the titular Veep, and some other people.) Because we […]

Learn More December 12, 2017

The Most Important Step in Donor Acquisition

#Giving Tuesday 2017 is now in the rearview mirror. So, we’ll be using this week to explore the proper onboarding of new donors from that event and the overall importance of proper onboarding generally. First, a brief reprise of #GivingTuesday that you might want to bookmark in thinking about that event next year. In Thank […]

Learn More December 11, 2017

Getting a Fresh Start for Your Organization

At the beginning of the week, Roger talked about behavioral science cues and how they can help you boost year-end giving. Today, I’m going to cheat just a bit and move the conversation a few days forward: what do you do at the beginning of the year? After the hangover wears off for those who […]

Learn More December 8, 2017

Repetition: a fundraiser’s friend, or a supporter’s menace?

I’m sure you have a friend, or relative, who constantly repeats things. Well, I do too. And it’s true; repetition enhances memory. I remember perfectly what my friend’s latest issue was. So what? Was my advice different after the 8th repetition than it was after the first? More importantly, did my willingness to give advice […]

Learn More December 7, 2017