Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Board Meeting Emergency Swipe File #2: Investment

On Friday in the post Our Donors Are Dying I mentioned the ‘Agitator Board Meeting Emergency Swipe File’. Handy responses to those eternal and frequent questions about fundraising posed by boards. In response Tom Gaffny requested a copy. So, Tom Belford and I’ve decided to reach into our vault and turn my off-the-cuff (imaginary) label into a reality. Here’s […]

Learn More July 20, 2015

Our Donors Are Dying

It’s mid-year for many organizations and fundraising projections are being adjusted for the second half. For other organizations, it’s the start of a new fiscal year and fundraisers have just finished rationalizing and justifying the numbers in the new budget. Regardless of which stage of the year you’re in, I’m absolutely certain there’s a board […]

Learn More July 17, 2015

Broken! Dangerous Fundraising Machinery

I wonder how many donors give in spite of the fundraising machine, not because of it?! As I read and wrote about the press and public’s outrage over Face-2-Face and telemarketing techniques that’s spilled forth in the UK, I kept asking: “Why or how in the world could a sector this sophisticated have allowed this […]

Learn More July 16, 2015

The High Price Of Failure To Listen

“Roger, please don’t talk to me when I’m not listening.” That was the standard response from a client who expressed surprise each time something blew up and I reminded him that we had discussed the very issue months before. “Don’t talk to me when I’m not listening.” Those words came flooding back as I wrote […]

Learn More July 15, 2015

Why Is Direct Mail Seeing A Resurgence?

Roger and I are direct mail … well, er, sluts. Whenever someone writes anything along the general lines of ‘direct mail punches on’, there we are, drooling and wagging our tails, like dalmatians responding to the fire alarm. Because we write in praise of direct mail so often, I’m always nervous about whether we’re covering […]

Learn More July 14, 2015

Playing The Fundraising Blame Game In The U.K.

A fundraising firing squad is now being formed in the UK. Unfortunately, it seems to be forming in a circle. If ever there were a time for calm, cool, thoughtful and different fact-finding and exploration, it’s now. I’m afraid that in the name of ‘protecting’ the donor, the true reform desperately needed by our sector […]

Learn More July 13, 2015