Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Speed Dating Or Donor Commitment?

It seems to me that two conflicting streams of thought regarding donor relationships are percolating in fundraising circles these days, particularly amongst those focused on direct response fundraising. [I’ll posit for purposes of this post that no one engaged in major gift and foundation fundraising would quarrel with the notion that the deeper the relationship cultivated, […]

Learn More May 11, 2015

The Keys To Successful Fundraising

In the first decade of my career, before discovering the wonders of direct mail, I did honest labor managing capital campaigns and major gift efforts. In those early years I was blessed with a remarkable mentor named G. Richard Kuch. He was an old school fundraiser and campaigner. Meaning, he believed strongly that none of […]

Learn More May 8, 2015

What Your Donor Can Do For You

In this era of donor-centrism, we’re all (rightfully) focused on our donors, the experience we give them, the stories we tell them, the transparency we promise them, and our commitment to listen to them and respect their preferences. All good. But is it exclusively about delivering for them? Is it inappropriate to expect anything from a donor […]

Learn More May 7, 2015

Direct Mail Quick Quiz … And Longer-Term Puzzle

Question: What percentage of nonprofit solicitation mail is tossed without reading? [] 5.6% [] 13.4% [] 31.2 % The answer in a moment. Here at global headquarters, our hunt for the eclectic range of esoteric-to-practical content for voracious Agitator readers never ends. Consequently, this weekend I found myself reading Modes of Delivery and Customer Engagement […]

Learn More May 6, 2015

Are Donors And Nonprofits ‘Misaligned’?

In his four-part series — Raise More, Ask Less — Roger made a plea: listen to your donors and honor their preferences. Even if this suggests hitting them with fewer fundraising appeals. Indeed, Roger offered ‘contrarian’ evidence that asking less can actually yield more money. You can review Roger’s case here — Part 1, Part 2, […]

Learn More May 5, 2015

Big, Hairy Barrier Threatens Fundraising Mega-Opportunities

Ken Burnett has now published Part 3 and Part 4 of his thought-provoking five part series on the Future of Fundraising. Our summary of Parts 1 and 2 found here, asking whether Agitator readers thought the future was ‘bright’ or ‘bleak’, generated lots of great comments. By and large, I’d say reader consensus came down […]

Learn More May 4, 2015