Award Winning Blog - Agitator

The Dangerous Dictum Of “Mail More, Make More”

I love home remedies and old folk tales. They have their place in the Farmer’s Almanac and on embroidered wall hangings, but they’re grossly over-used and too often accepted as ‘truth’ or ‘best practices’ in fundraising. Perhaps no myth is potentially more dangerous for the long-term health of an organization than the clichéd dictum: “Mail […]

Learn More January 26, 2017

Tips From The E-Commerce World

I was fishing (not phishing) for some e-marketing tips and came across an article titled, Eight Myths E-Commerce Marketers Must Stop Believing In. Overall, the article is more pertinent to commercial marketers, but it did include a couple of points worth passing along. First, it was great to read about the acquisition myth: “Traditionally, most […]

Learn More January 25, 2017

Climate Change And The Small Gift Donor

Ten years ago, in Danger Ahead, Tom and I warned of steady decline in the overall number of smaller gift donors. Although many heard the warning, few apparently did anything about it. Today, a decade later the downward spiral continues. The cumulative effects of this ten year 25% decline are real and frightening. Fundraisers and […]

Learn More January 24, 2017

Snap Out Of It!

In his post Friday — Presidential Inauguration Day in the U.S. — Roger admonished us … “My greatest concern today is for those who have become mired in fear, bogged down in some naïve cynicism, intent on tweeting and texting their shared disappointment and rage in a self-reinforcing loop of misery and despair. Snap out […]

Learn More January 23, 2017

Thoughts On Inauguration Day

This is a day of fear … of anticipation … of celebration … joy and despair. In a divided nation and a divided world these disparate emotions are running wild all over the place. Down the hall in my tiny corner of the globe my neighbors are hanging flags and breaking open champagne to celebrate […]

Learn More January 20, 2017

Do you want likes or loves?

Our friends at the Agitator are having an excellent discussion here about the value of social media to fundraisers. There is, unsurprisingly, a dearth of case studies of significant value from social media driving donations not involving buckets or ice or challenges (or advertising in highly targeted and relevant ads – we’re speaking here of […]

Learn More January 19, 2017