Award Winning Blog - Agitator

The Boss Wants To See You!

Just when you were getting ready to really settle into your summer slumber, the call came … “The boss wants to see you … just a quick review of what’s cookin’” Panic! The boss hasn’t asked for you since that tragic meeting last November when you had to admit that your take on Giving Tuesday was less than the […]

Learn More July 19, 2016

Pokémon Go for Fundraisers

OK, Tom, we’re gonna have to give up Candy Crush and jump into Pokémon Go. “What’s that?”, you say. It’s the latest social media frenzy — a free game app that works on smart phones — that’s been downloaded close to 10 million times in the U.S. alone and has folks of all ages out […]

Learn More July 18, 2016

Dancing With Donors

I just read a delightful musing about giving, written on 101 Fundraising by The Whiny Donor. It’s titled How Far Do I want To Go With You? and boy did it strike a chord with me. I urge you to read the whole piece … I’m sure your head will be nodding in agreement. But […]

Learn More July 15, 2016

Starting Over #6: Measuring Donor Experiences

A surprising number of fundraisers fail to understand a basic axiom of a successful organization/donor relationship: It is the actions an organization takes toward its donors (the so-called ‘donor experience’) that determines the attitude — positive or negative — of the donor. In turn, it is the donor’s attitude that determines the donor’s behavior toward the […]

Learn More July 14, 2016

Don’t Count On Unhappiness

According to the political pundits just about everybody in America is unhappy … damn mad, in fact (although to folks here in New Zealand, ‘mad’ has a different connotation in this case). Isn’t that the explanation for the success of Bernie and, even more so, Donald, according to the political analysts? Especially Donald and his angry […]

Learn More July 13, 2016

Beware of Fundraising Foreplay

Too many fundraisers engage in too much foreplay. Just think about the hours and hours spent on preparing spreadsheets, ‘strategic plans’, Power Points and draft budgets interspersed with and followed by meetings, meetings, meetings — all with good intentions but resulting in little of no action and consequently little or no growth. One trait that […]

Learn More July 12, 2016