Award Winning Blog - Agitator

The volume hamster wheel: digital edition

Last week, we talked about three ways to get off the hamster wheel 0f mailing more to get more revenue. Some folks noted that I hadn’t mentioned shifting to digital solicitation as a way of saving those net revenues. This is because email has the same problem of oversolicitation as mail. It pains me to say […]

Learn More April 27, 2017

What Makes A Great Fundraising Event?

Last weekend I visited Savannah, Georgia to celebrate a friend’s birthday and received some insights into event fundraising as a bonus. In a large public square beside my hotel, the Susan B. Komen Foundation was setting up for the local version of their Race for the Cure® — the world’s most successful series of 5K […]

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Volunteers: A Major But Oft-Overlooked Resource

Tom and I began working together 46 years ago at Common Cause, founded by the remarkable, accomplished and extraordinarily prescient John Gardner. Among the values Gardner instilled in both of us was the value of volunteerism and the importance of respect and proper management and accountability for each volunteer who worked at Common Cause. His […]

Learn More April 26, 2017

Are You Exciting?

I was intrigued by a chart Jeff Brooks recently featured in his post, How emotional experiences can drive donor loyalty. The focus of the chart was emotions and their importance in shaping relationships customer have with companies. In this case, the question was the extent to which certain emotions, based upon past experiences with a company, would […]

Learn More April 25, 2017

“Award Winning” Nonprofit Brands

Brands can create significant connections with consumers and donors. Each year the Harris Poll conducts a benchmark study to determine how deep those bonds go. Then, in a variety of 18 categories including airlines, hotels, banks, rental cars — and yes, nonprofits — they honor the highest ranked brands in each award category. The Harris […]

Learn More April 24, 2017

Direct Mail vs Email?

I already know your answer … do both. And of course you’re absolutely correct. The infographic you are about to see cites more evidence. According to this research (on this point, from Royal Mail), customers spend 25% more when businesses use a combination of direct mail and email marketing. The old one-two punch. That said, the […]

Learn More April 21, 2017