Award Winning Blog - Agitator

More Similar Than Different?

Willingness to play the long game, risk taking, and pro-social attitudes determine, respectively, how much people are willing to save for the future instead of spending now, if they’re ready to take risks for potential gains, and how they act with others. These Big Three preferences have a big influence on how markets and institutions […]

Learn More November 17, 2023

No Ragrets?

There’s a funny scene in “We’re the Millers” where Scottie P., a skate rat and carnival worker, arrives to pick up Casey, one of the main characters. Scottie P. is carefree and mostly oblivious, highlighted by his “No Ragrets” tattoo. Jason Sudeikis, playing Casey’s father, asks about it, “What’s this one?” pointing to the chest […]

Learn More November 15, 2023

Giving Tuesday 2023 Tips: What to Do About Monthly Donors?

Continuing our Giving Tuesday tips and hacks (some earlier posts here on Subject Lines, here on Matching Gifts, and here on Donor Advised Funds) we thought it more than appropriate to deal with the question of what to do with Sustainers or Monthly Donors before, during and […]

Learn More November 13, 2023

Make Em’ Feel Sad or Hopeful?

There is a lot of misinformation out there about the role of emotion in fundraising. The misinformation ain’t at presidential politics level but still, off the mark. There is research and lots of test results in a vacuum that’ll show negative emotions “work”. The social science explanation is that a negative emotion like sadness invokes […]

Learn More November 10, 2023

Your Awareness Problem and What to Do About It

All but the largest charity brands are mostly unknown by most people. We all fish in the same pond for the same donors over and over. And most fundraising professionals believe a dollar not spent on conversion is a dollar wasted. But how to break out of the doom loop of rising costs, lower performance […]

Learn More November 8, 2023

Do You Have a GoodHart?

Columbia University recently skyrocketed from #18 to #2 on the US News college rankings. They spent lots of time and energy understanding the ranking metrics and methodology and then, they, well…lied. One of its own math professors confirmed as much. Columbia claimed 96.5% full time faculty, real number more like 74%. A 6:1 student to […]

Learn More November 6, 2023