Award Winning Blog - Agitator

From Burnout to Breakthrough: The Hidden Pattern Behind Extraordinary Fundraising Success

It starts with a failure. A man, good at what he did, walks away. Years ago, veteran fundraiser Alan Clayton watched a fellow fundraiser lose hope. He sat across from him, shoulders slumped over coffee, hearing the words, “How can it be so hard to save a child?” That failure lit the match. What followed […]

Learn More January 31, 2025

Fundraising Renaissance or Reformation?

The last 15-20 years have seen a stunning decline in advertising effectiveness. Less effective ads are becoming more common. Copy-catting is one thing, copy-catting bad ideas is quite another. The traits of good advertising matter in video and static ads but also, copy. Art reflects culture. Renaissance art was very different from Reformation art. The […]

Learn More January 29, 2025

Are You Writing Stories or Book Reports?

Here are two different ways to tell the story of Jack, an 87-year-old Korean War veteran who found himself struggling to make ends meet and ultimately found solace and purpose through a food bank. Version 1: The Immersive, Redemptive Arc Jack’s hands trembled as he opened the box, the familiar scent of peanut butter wafting […]

Learn More January 24, 2025

Strategic Segmentation Starts with Donors, Not Your CRM

For the sake of this post, “segmentation” in air quotes or lowercase ‘s’ isn’t segmentation at all. Most “segmentation” is real Segmentation’s lazy understudy—unprepared and ineffective. Here’s what real Segmentation is not: Mailing the same thing to different audiences Example: Renting humanitarian and social service lists and sending them the same mailing. This isn’t segmentation; […]

Learn More January 22, 2025

The Power of Small Actions in Dark Times

Today marks a stark convergence – the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy and the inauguration of Donald Trump. Some see this as a day of despair. I see it as a powerful reminder of how change actually happens. The fashionable thing, naturally, would be to despair; it seems to be all the rage […]

Learn More January 20, 2025

The Frequency Machine: More Asking, Less Giving?

It took 15 days to break my resolution to not write about frequency anymore… Medium and large charities are few in numbers but have the vast majority of donors and thus, dominate the collective donor experience. And a soiled Commons affects us all. Standard fare for a medium or large charity is sending 10-20 mail […]

Learn More January 17, 2025