Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Thanks In Advance

Believe it or not, those three words — Thanks in advance — have magical properties. Which this post is actually testing … I’ll come back to that in a moment. Every fundraiser knows the importance of timely donor thank you’s. But when it comes to online fundraising, turns out that it might be very helpful […]

Learn More March 6, 2017

Is PayPal Really Your Pal?

Earlier this week The New York Times reported a federal class action lawsuit accusing the PayPal Giving Fund of collecting contributions for groups that may never receive the funds. According to the Times, “ The philanthropic website by PayPal, the digital payment company, has become a major player in online fund-raising for charitable organizations worldwide, processing […]

Learn More March 2, 2017

The donorcentricity debate

There was a vigorous debate over at our friends at The Agitator about the nature of being focused on the donor, with topics like whether a “you” focus is sufficient to be donorcentric. Virtual blows were thrown, clarifications made, blood pressures checked. At the same time, I had the opportunity to be with several nonprofit […]

Learn More

Fundraising And ‘Connected Spenders’

Do you need to know the latest consumer spending behavior in Indonesia, Pakistan and Nigeria? Probably not a lot of those addresses on your donor list … nor on any mailing list! But as it happens, by 2025 these three countries will be among the top ten countries on the planet that are home to […]

Learn More

Your Ultimate Final, Penultimate Final, Last Final Renewal Notice. Absolutely. We’re Serious.

In Are You Beggar or a Fundraiser, Tom featured an email appeal from the Democratic Congressional Campaign (DCCC) that exuded the distinct odor of desperation. ‘Desperate’-sounding because the copy — screaming ‘FINAL NOTICE’ in stark black and red type — reminded the donor that “you have 8 missed messages to renew your Democratic membership.” Well, Tom, […]

Learn More March 1, 2017

2016 Giving Trends: The Warning Signs

The Blackbaud Insitute for Philanthropic Impact has released its Fifth Annual Charitable Giving Report that you can download here. It’s an attractive, interesting read and a chance to do some benchmarking comparison with your own results. It also contains the evidence that should cause us all to continue our professional soul searching and quest to do […]

Learn More February 28, 2017