Award Winning Blog - Agitator

When Watchdogs Bark, Is Anybody Listening?

Do donors actually use watchdog groups like the BBB Wise Giving Alliance and Charity Navigator to decide which nonprofits to support? The answer may surprise you. It’s an important question, because as the debate over questionable or downright corrupt practices heats up, the roles and importance of regulators, the trade associations and the charity watchdogs […]

Learn More July 16, 2013

New Fundraising Accountability Code Proffered

Finally, another voice stepping up to the plate regarding regaining some public trust in fundraising. The Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation (DMANF) has just issued its new Principles and Best Practices for Accountability in Fundraising. Hats off to DMANF. In the media release, DMANF General Counsel Senny Boone comments: “Donors expect nonprofits to be accountable […]

Learn More July 15, 2013

Focus On Fundraising Metrics That Really Matter

Yesterday I explored ‘vanity metrics’ and briefly explained why they’re not very helpful for serious decision-making. Or how, in the case of Benchmarking, they’re often ignored or mis-applied. Today, we’ll move to metrics that truly matter. By my definition an important metric – a metric that matters – is one that triggers the “What-should-I-do-differently-to-improve?” question. […]

Learn More July 12, 2013

Stop trying to beat the control. Just build a better one to start with.

Snickers. Tide Detergent. Cheerios. What images do these branded products conjure up? A candy bar, sure. How about the color of the packaging? Brown for Snickers, red for Tide, yellow for Cheerios. You may not even be a candy bar consumer and yet it’s likely you have a reasonably good recall of what the Snickers […]

Learn More July 11, 2013

Fundraisers … Beware Of Vanity Metrics

If you truly believe that fundraising is mostly art’, not ‘science’, then stop reading. Chances are you’re going to neither understand nor care which metrics matter in fundraising. It’s fashionable these days for many nonprofit fundraisers and their consultants to claim they’re ‘data-driven. Problem is, most focus on the ‘data’ part of the slogan, but […]

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Giving For Now … Or For The Future?

I’m heartened to see the Chronicle of Philanthropy giving ample column inches to the issue of fundraising integrity, with these excellent opinion pieces by Jeff Schreifels and Mark Rosenman. Jeff’s piece, About High Fundraising Costs: It’s Complicated, makes this argument: “It’s time to make sure everyone understands that direct marketing is about the long run, […]

Learn More July 10, 2013