Award Winning Blog - Agitator

On #GivingTuesday, Thank, Don’t Ask

Earlier this week I took my traditional pot shot at #GivingTuesday, suggesting one might better focus on real fundraising, like growing a monthly giving program. Somewhat to my surprise, those who commented seemed to share my skepticism. Some favored a ‘#MonthlyGivingMonday’. But I was really taken by a great idea suggested by Claire Axelrad, a jujitsu […]

Learn More September 15, 2016

New free ask string white paper and webinar

Wanted to let you know quickly about two new free resources: We have a new white paper up called The Science of Ask Strings. It walks through donor psychology, how to set your ask string goals, and how to use behavioral science to get the results you want. It’s a free download here. Thanks to […]

Learn More September 14, 2016

Starting Over #11: Knowing WHAT And WITH WHAT To Communicate

A key driver of donor commitment and loyalty is the donor’s perception of just how effective your organization is in achieving its mission. No one buys a Chevy because GM needs the money. By the same token, donors don’t give because your organization has a need to balance its budget or meet your quarterly numbers. Although many […]

Learn More

You Choose

Two emails arrived today in my in-box, competing for attention. The first was the first exhortation I’ve received so far to get ready to participate in this year’s Giving Tuesday. It was from MobileCause (who usually sends cool stuff) inviting me to a webinar titled “Supercharge #Giving Tuesday”. The second was my regular ‘fix’ from […]

Learn More September 13, 2016

Erode Your Way to Better Year-End Giving

Seth Godin, in a post titled Erosion, correctly notes that “While it’s tempting to imagine that the world changes via sudden shocks, that our culture is shifted by dramatic changes in leadership, that grand gestures make all the difference … “It turns out that our daily practice, the piling up of regular actions, the cultural […]

Learn More September 12, 2016

Because Of You

Here’s one of the best email subject lines to hit my in-box in a long time … What can I add, except to say that, once I opened the email, Charity:Water indeed delivered the right message, in this case a ‘thank you’ to its volunteers, as usual with a video. Tom

Learn More September 9, 2016