Award Winning Blog - Agitator

How To Talk To Donors About Fundraising Costs And Ethics

I have no idea how much traction the CNN story on the New York Attorney General’s settlement will get. Nor whether it will trigger any, many or no donor inquiries to your organization or your clients. Nonetheless, good Boy Scout that Tom is, I’ve adopted his motto: “Be Prepared.” So, here’s some Agitator advice on […]

Learn More July 3, 2014

$24 Million Fine … Yawn!

Yesterday Roger did a yeoman job of laying out the sordid story of Quadriga and its fellow travelers. From a ‘moving forward’ standpoint, perhaps his three key points, aimed directly at Agitator readers, were these: “…fundraising companies, consultants and their copywriters — this means everyone involved in this sector, no weaseling — has the duty […]

Learn More July 2, 2014

Fundraisers Fined $24 Million

The Attorney General of New York has just announced a $24.6 million settlement with a veterans charity and its fundraisers. This is the largest financial settlement won by fundraising regulators in U.S. history. CNN broke the news last night on Anderson Cooper 360. You’ll recall it was that network’s investigative team who first surfaced the […]

Learn More July 1, 2014

We Promised Him 10 Minutes

The other day I did a post on Selling Your Board On Direct Response. I don’t know if you noticed, but Agitator reader Mike Cowart added a comment that takes the cake. Mike says: “I was invited to do a board presentation by the CDO of a large hospital foundation. The Board Chairman owned several […]

Learn More June 30, 2014

Is Your Fundraising Stuck?

Or is it just you? Yes, your fundraising could be flatlining because the economy is still struggling. Or those dullards over on the program side simply aren’t doing anything exciting enough to energize donors. Or your CEO was just charged with embezzlement. Or some other ‘exogenous’ factor over which you have no control. Or it […]

Learn More June 27, 2014

Groundhog Day In June

Tom’s post, Selling Your Board on Direct Response, served as a painful reminder that many of our Agitator brothers and sisters are right now ending the agony of the ‘budget season’ in those groups where the fiscal year begins in July. This perennial run-up or countdown to the final draft and ultimate adoption of the […]

Learn More June 26, 2014