Award Winning Blog - Agitator

You Don’t Get Extra Credit for Saying Trust or Relevance

The nonprofit sector has a habit of replacing hard questions with soft nouns. Trust. Relevance. Engagement. Participation. These words get thrown around as if they’re self-explanatory and strategically useful. We need more trust and relevance or maybe trust is fine and relevance is the problem. I hear “participation” talked about as a solution rather than […]

Learn More April 8, 2026

The Case for More Overhead, Reserves, and Yes, Debt

Some might say I’m contrarian. Some might be right. In keeping with what some people think, try this on: Charities need more debt. Less revenue diversification. Less leanness, meaning bigger reserves. Higher overhead. That runs directly against what the rating agencies (e.g. Charity Navigator) reward, their implicit model is clean balance sheets, diversified revenue, low […]

Learn More April 6, 2026

Does Your A/B Test Have a People Problem?

“If only we could get more people to give…” “If only we could get more people to give and do so more regularly.” “Let’s devise a test.” The HiPPO doesn’t hesitate. “More people will give if we change the landing page. Less text. Or more text. Fewer fields. We should test that.” “Great,” says someone […]

Learn More April 3, 2026

Is Your AI Strategy Your Spreadsheet Strategy With Better Hair?

Gurus and detailed lore plus an unshakable conviction that the way the world works can now be understood, and reshaped, by those who’ve mastered the new tool. You’ve seen the discourse. You know the feeling: real excitement, and a nagging suspicion that more than a few people are performing understanding rather than demonstrating it. AI? […]

Learn More April 1, 2026

A 37-Item Packing List, Ten-Toed Socks, and One Very Good Reason to Give

Ken Burnett — for those who’ve somehow missed the last 40 years of fundraising civilization — is walking 500 miles across Spain. Again. He did this five years ago for SOFII, the Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration. He raised £21,000. He is now, by his own admission, “five years older and more than a […]

Learn More March 27, 2026

Zelensky Has Better Donor Data Than You Do

There’s a stack of direct mail somewhere in America right now — a #10 envelope with carrier teaser, a 4-page letter, a reply device, a return envelope — traveling toward a donor who gave $25 last August. The organization spent more producing it than they will ever see back. Nobody decided this. It just keeps […]

Learn More March 25, 2026