Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Putting the Donor in Control of Fundraising

Much of what we fundraisers practice and preach will eventually be shown to be wrong or out of date. Sometimes, if we’re lucky, disturbing trends and startling events arise to speed up the re-evaluation and change process. Events like the imposition of new regulatory rules in the U.K. requiring charities to get donors’ permission to […]

Learn More October 26, 2015

6 Giants

Copywriting and direct marketing guru Denny Hatch, himself ranking as a legend in the field, recently listed his ‘6 Giants of the Last 100 Years’, with a brief selection of quotes from each. Amongst this group are the creators of the Book-of-the-Month Club (which my father subscribed to and I credit with inspiring my youthful interest […]

Learn More October 23, 2015

Stop Driving Women Out of Fundraising

There are some questions that simply can’t be answered with words. Action is the only answer On so many levels a key — perhaps the key — question is how do we slow or stop the hemorrhaging of talented fundraisers — particularly women — at a time of desperate and growing need. Make no mistake. […]

Learn More October 22, 2015

Secret Shopper Strikes Again!

Here is some wonderful insight into the state of online donor management, courtesy of Nonprofit Tech for Good (NTech). It’s all based on an old-fashioned ‘secret shopper’ approach, brought to the digital space. The folks at NTech contributed $25 to each of 32 nonprofits — some very large, like CARE and the Sierra Club; some […]

Learn More October 21, 2015

Unsung Fundraising Heroes

I’m looking forward to speaking next week at the annual meeting of the Association of Advancement Services Professionals because I want to personally thank these unsung heroes. These are the pros who gather, organize, manage and disseminate the information that is the backbone of solid and effective fundraising. Key activities too often ignored or paid short […]

Learn More October 20, 2015

Shut Up And Listen

As reported in this NonProfit Times article, consultant Richard Brown offered this simple advice at a recent fundraising conference, in the context of major gift fundraising: “Just keep your mouth shut and your ears open.” He was cautioning about the tendency of fundraisers always to be in sales mode, with predictable talking points: You’ll be making […]

Learn More October 19, 2015