Award Winning Blog - Agitator

When Best Practice Becomes a Bad Habit

“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” I always attributed that line to Mark Twain. The internet is less sure, which is fitting since I would have bet the house on Twain in the Jeopardy category of “Quotes Everyone Misattributes With […]

Learn More June 29, 2026

AI Won’t Fix the Mess You Feed It

Somewhere in America right now, a self-proclaimed AI expert is taking the stage at a nonprofit conference. He has a logo. He has slides. He has the phrase “AI-powered fundraising transformation” in his bio. He’ll spend 45 minutes explaining what artificial intelligence means for your organization without once mentioning your data, your retention rate, or […]

Learn More June 26, 2026

Know or Listen to Those Who Know

Frank O’Brien has spent four decades helping some of the sector’s most consequential organizations—Doctors Without Borders, the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Oxfam—find the words that move people. I’ve known, competed with, and admired Frank’s commitment, dedication and skill ever since he arrived in Washington, D.C. 40+ years ago. Not only does he know what works, he […]

Learn More June 24, 2026

When “Help Them” Needs a Little “This Matters to You”

Most fundraising assumes the donor opens the appeal as a fully assembled human being – alert, reflective, morally cued up and sitting in a sunlit breakfast nook, perhaps with herbal tea, considering the human condition. The more likely scenario is skimming your email between a Slack message, a pharmacy refill reminder and a child asking […]

Learn More June 22, 2026

Are You Acquiring Donors or Training Tippers?

Premiums work and that is the worst thing about them. Anyone who has spent time around direct mail knows the evidence. Labels lift response. Calendars lift response. Stickers, socks, tote bags, seed packets, greeting cards, nickels glued to paper like tiny bribes. They can all lift response. So the anti-premium argument can’t, “these things never […]

Learn More June 19, 2026

The Failed Ask That Raised Money

The “R” word is put in strategy decks, conference sessions, CRM fields, and donor journey maps with arrows pointing toward enlightenment. Then we measure the Relationship like a vending machine. Did the donor say yes today? If yes, success. If no, failure. That’s awfully binary and myopic. Case in point, giving rose by almost 7% in […]

Learn More June 17, 2026