Award Winning Blog - Agitator

BEFORE YOU FINISH YOUR 2027 FUNDRAISING PLAN…

It’s that wonderful time of year again. Somewhere, at this very moment, amid the year-end scramble a fundraiser is opening the 2026 fundraising plan, changing the dates to 2027, adding 5% to the revenue goal, 7% to expenses, sprinkling some AI on top, and calling it strategic planning. Don’t. The ground underneath fundraising is moving […]

Learn More October 12, 2026

Did You Choose For the Donor?

When was the last time you felt good about being lightly manipulated or guilted into something? Behavioral economics 101 emphasizes the power of defaults in steering behavior. Just check the box, circle, or highlight the option you want people to choose, and place it in the middle. These defaults are better described as choice robbers. […]

Learn More October 9, 2026

Five Cents for the Name. A Year to Find Out.

The acquisition model you rent names from is good at predicting response and lousy at growth. Co-op models start with recorded giving and rank people for near-term response. That supplies a useful but small and shrinking responder pool. And what about people with mission fit and no giving record? Never seen and therefore, never served […]

Learn More October 7, 2026

The Growth Your Acquisition Model Misses

Consider two pools of people: Group 1: People already visible in your donor-response universe. They give to you or other charities, and their giving history makes them easy for acquisition models to find and rank. Group 2: Additional people whose values and goals fit your mission. They sit outside your usual acquisition audience and may […]

Learn More October 5, 2026

The New Idea Doesn’t Need a Guarantee. The Old One Needs an Audit

Every new, innovative idea that walks into a nonprofit gets frisked at the door. The old ideas, practices, and ‘controls’ stroll right past security. Nobody asks them for ID. Barbara O’Reilly put her finger on the symptom in her latest Gut Check at Windmill Hill Consulting: “Why does everyone want constant innovation, but no one […]

Learn More October 2, 2026

Does Supporting Your Mission Require A Free Jacket?

Walt Kelly’s comic strip character, Pogo, gave us the line, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” In fundraising, the enemy often arrives bearing address labels and a complimentary jacket. In 2023, 60% of acquisition mail used premiums, another 28% used matching gifts or faux supporter cards, and just 12% was mission mail. […]

Learn More September 30, 2026