Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Unconscious (Dis)Trust

With his two (so far) in-depth articles on donor acquisition, Roger’s been laying on some heavy stuff to start off the new year. And he’s still ‘just’ talking about how to determine how much to spend (that is, invest) in acquisition and the concepts/metrics involved. See here and here. Yet to come are subjects like […]

Learn More January 21, 2016

Donor Acquisition Series #2 – Lifetime Value: The Key Metric

A drunk loses the keys to his house and is looking for them under a lamppost. A cop comes over and asks what he’s doing. “I’m looking for my keys,” he says. “I lost them over there.” The policeman looks puzzled. “Then why are you looking for them all the way over here?” “Because the […]

Learn More January 20, 2016

Deliverance From Doodles

I have a great suggestion for surviving your next nonprofit meeting. Dump your doodles and download this app: The Harvard Business Review Meeting Cost Calculator I shudder each time I think of the amount of time that’s spent discussing and measuring the inane minutiae that is the stuff of all too many meetings. Eyes glaze […]

Learn More January 19, 2016

Elizabeth Verdow Says ‘Thank You’

Last week, Roger kicked off our acquisition ‘offensive’ for the year by focusing first on bringing the right mindset to the acquisition challenge. And that’s an investment mindset, based on understanding the lifetime value of your typical donor. Of course it’s prudent to base your LTV calculations on the typical donor and set your prospecting […]

Learn More January 18, 2016

Death of a Fundraising Evangelist

Tony Elischer, the international fundraising evangelist known for his oft-flamboyant conference presentations and passion for our profession, is dead. The founder of Think Consulting Solutions died January 12th after a yearlong fight with cancer. A world leader in fundraising, Tony travelled widely and, as Ken Burnett, whose agency Tony joined earlier in his career, noted: […]

Learn More January 15, 2016

Donor Acquisition Series #1 – WANTED: An Investment Mindset

Among the first of the New Year’s resolutions received at Agitator Global HQ was one from Peter Maple and his Association of Grumpy Old Fundraisers who know stuff. Recalling the fundraising meltdown in the UK triggered by the Olive Cooke affair and the flood tide of negative publicity, which was then followed by the ebb […]

Learn More January 14, 2016