Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Challenging A Sacred Cow

Our recent post Stop it. Fix It on barriers to growth was triggered by Jay Love’s prediction that when Giving USA 2015 was released it would show that once again charitable giving in the U.S. would not exceed 2% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Sure enough, two weeks later on June 15th Giving USA 2015 was […]

Learn More June 24, 2015

Only 161 Days To Go

Mark you planning calendar. Or not. December 1st 2015 marks the fourth annual #GivingTuesday. #GivingTuesday is that artificially inseminated day of philanthropy aimed at capturing some of the torrent of consumer spending that marks the holiday shopping season in the days following American Thanksgiving. Here at The Agitator the event seems to stir up Tom’s […]

Learn More June 23, 2015

Are You Flirting With A Corporate Partner?

Partnering with companies and corporations is another arrow in the well-armed fundraising quiver … be it a local business in your home town or a global corporate behemoth. Of course it’s a two-way street … even the most benevolent of businesses is looking for a tangible return on its ‘investment’. That’s why businesses refer to […]

Learn More June 22, 2015

Every Marketing Challenge Involves These Questions

Personally, I think Seth Godin is at his marketing guru best when he’s at his briefest. Here’s a recent post of his that’s impossible to condense or abridge, so forgive me for simply re-publishing it in its entirety. On the other hand, the editorial comments attempting to apply his thoughts to fundraising, are mine, and […]

Learn More June 19, 2015

Try Bending The World To The Shape You Want

It’s graduation season and each year at this time The New York Times runs excerpts from some of the choice commencement speakers. Here’s some fine advice for all of us, not just the Class of 2015. Author Salman Rushdie: “Sink or swim. Well, if possible, don’t sink.” And … “don’t make jackasses of yourselves.” Apple […]

Learn More June 18, 2015

Put Your Donor In The Chair

Many Agitator readers deal regularly with the crafting of direct mail appeals — either writing themselves or commissioning and approving the copywriting work of others. And there’s plenty of advice out there on what makes for effective fundraising letters … length, formatting, structure, signers, etc. But let me suggest that at the core is the voice […]

Learn More June 17, 2015