Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Being donor-centric is not function of volume (even though volume biz model horribly broken)

Let’s be provocative from the start; donor-centricity used to be an empty, vacuous, platitude. This, in and of itself, is not a big deal and in fact preferable to the definitions that seem to be filling the empty, vacuous void. First and foremost, volume (i.e. cadence) seems to have quickly stepped in to become “a”, […]

Learn More May 16, 2016

Fighting the Fundraising Excuse Machine. Seeking Ultimate Answers

Tom and I had a productive last week with our series of posts on ‘what’ or ‘who’ is at fault when it comes to the issue of holding on to and enhancing — or destroying — the value of donors. Tom tossed the first piece of tinder on the fire with his post Who’s Fibbing […]

Learn More

WARNING: You’re Prohibited From Contacting Donors After 1/1/17

“We regret to inform you that as of January 1, 2017 nonprofits will not be permitted to contact their donors without the express written consent of each donor.” Once you’ve picked yourself off the floor with the fear you can’t meet next year’s goal, exactly what action steps will you take to prepare for what […]

Learn More May 13, 2016

Doing The Same. Hoping For A Different Result.

Tom’s pieces on Who’s Fibbing? and Are We Getting Roasted? have triggered a lively dialogue for which both Tom and I are grateful. Vigorous discussion at the Agitator’s family table is always welcome. So let’s keep it going with this video introduction: Clearly, many folks know what they should do, but don’t. So like the golfing buddies […]

Learn More May 12, 2016

Are We Getting Roasted?

Yesterday, in my post Who’s Fibbing?, after suggesting that somebody is not ‘getting it right’ — consultants or nonprofits — if retention rates keep declining, I gingerly posed the possibility … is it the donors’ fault? I thought I might be throwing red meat to the sharks, but only one commenter took on that possibility […]

Learn More May 11, 2016

Who’s Fibbing?

We’ve had quite a robust discussion via The Agitator the past few days over who’s at ‘fault’ for our sector’s present losing approach to donor retention. In fact, that original focus on retention morphed into a broader argument about who’s ‘getting it right’ (or not) more generally when it comes to successful fundraising — consultants […]

Learn More May 10, 2016