Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Are You A Short Order Cook/Fundraiser?

Very often, marketing guru Seth Godin’s briefest posts are his most penetrating. His recent Short order cooks rarely make change happen is a good example. His point is captured in two questions: “How far in the future does your agenda extend? One way to tell: of the things you worked on last week, how many […]

Learn More March 29, 2016

Radar for Attrition

The loss of donors — especially newly acquired donors — is silent and deadly. There’s no screaming or shouting. No door slamming. Seldom any advance notice. One day they’re just gone. This is why it’s so important to discover, before the donor quits, which of the experiences you’re providing are seen as positive or negative. […]

Learn More March 28, 2016

Does The Agitator Have A Split Personality?

Or more properly, does The Agitator suffer from dissociative identity disorder? Yesterday, in Yawning All The Way To The Bank, Roger wrote persuasively on the importance of fundraisers NOT chasing the latest ‘shiny new thing’. Indeed, he made the case for being boring, particularly with respect to consistency of message. Communications whiz Tom Ahern picked up […]

Learn More March 25, 2016

Yawning All The Way To The Bank

In his post Why Boring Fundraising Is So Exciting, our pal Jeff Brooks riffs off a Nick Ellinger piece in NonProfitPRO warning that although donors’ use of media is changing, this trend DOES NOT signal that direct mail is dead. While it’s fine, in fact wise, to be alert to new channels, the successful fundraiser won’t abandon […]

Learn More March 24, 2016

Donor Age … Does It Matter?

I mean, beyond ‘ripeness’ for soliciting bequests (and even here, one could argue it’s never too early to plant and nurture the seed). I mean in your day-to-day communications to and stewardship of your active donors. My question is triggered by two Abila reports — one released, one teased at the current AFP conference and […]

Learn More March 23, 2016

How To Reduce F2F Attrition In The First 90 Days

Make no mistake. The current F2F model is greatly flawed — and in some places horribly broken. Where once the approach of street fundraisers was eagerly received by the public, today’s solicitors are often tagged ‘chuggers’ and public acceptance is on par with that generally accorded muggers. It doesn’t have to be that way. It’s […]

Learn More March 22, 2016