Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Three off-ramps from the volume hamster wheel

You get it. You’ve read all the think pieces, including ours and our other one, that show that many, if not most, mature organizations overcommunicate with (and especially overmail) their donors. You know it’s the top complaint you get: “you mail too much” and “take me off your list” fight for your #1 and #2 comment […]

Learn More April 20, 2017

You Probably Need A “Schultz Hour”

New York Times opinion writer David Leonhardt, in a terrific column, has great advice for all of us. Get yourself a “Schultz Hour”. Huh? According to Leonhardt, “When George Schultz was secretary of state in the 1980’s, he liked to carve out one hour each week for quiet reflection. He sat down in his office […]

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Behavioral Science & Fundraising: The Desire for Completion

From trading baseball cards, to filling a stamp album, to locating that final object for some set of collectibles, whether we realize it or not every one of us is driven by what behavioral scientists call the desire for ‘set completion’ or ‘task completion’. Ever since age 14, when I added the 5th — and final […]

Learn More April 19, 2017

Who Loves You The Most?

I mean, apart from me and Roger? Seriously, looking at your nonprofit’s donor base, from highest gifts at the top to ‘average’ donors at the base of the pyramid, which donors have shown you the most love. And to be clear, I’m suggesting here the best measure of ‘donor love’ is donor continuity … retention. […]

Learn More April 18, 2017

Simple Isn’t Easy

In my post on the United Airlines customer care fiasco I promised a follow-up piece on just the opposite. A great example and resulting rules on building loyalty, retention and commitment. On the very day United was dragging Dr. Dao down the aisle, Rachel Hunnybunn, Director of Client Relationships for our sister company DonorVoice in the […]

Learn More April 17, 2017

Is Your Organization Behaving Like United Airlines?

United Airlines found itself at the center of a social media cyclone, media revolt and falling stock price this week, after a horrifying video that went viral. The scene: a doctor being forcibly removed from a coach class seat on one of its planes. According to published reports, the passenger was randomly selected to be bumped because […]

Learn More April 14, 2017