Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Meet Your Email Competition

It’s not bad enough that every nonprofit you compete with for funds is badgering your donors with email appeals. Their appeals are just the tip of the iceberg. This remarkable infographic from ExactTarget shows you just how crowded those in-boxes will get over the balance of the year. According to ExactTarget, the average online retailer […]

Learn More July 30, 2013

We’re Sorry Ben!

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), one of my alma maters, flubbed it last week, sending a message that graded its many online activists. One who contacted The Agitator received a ‘D’ … and wasn’t happy about it. I’m not sure what interpretation of human nature would have led EDF to think that chastising its activists […]

Learn More July 29, 2013

Donor Fatigue … Even Angels Get It

Now I’ve heard everything. Donors on Nantucket Island have given enough. They’re all tapped out. There’s hardly a free evening any more … what with all the celebrity cocktail parties to attend. So reports the Cape Cod Times, as cited by Nonprofit Quarterly. Said one beseeched, but well-heeled resident: ““We’re full of angels, but you […]

Learn More July 26, 2013

I Love You … I Love You Not …

When it comes to the recipe for lasting, committed relationships, there’s no ingredient as important as consistency. Whether it’s your best friend, your spouse, partner, favorite restaurant, toothpaste or razor blade, I’ll bet that consistency is a main thread that runs through all these relationships. Your best friend or partner didn’t get to be ‘best’ […]

Learn More July 25, 2013

How To Talk About Fundraising Costs

Like it or not, far too many folks judge a charity by its cost of fundraising and ‘overhead’. From regulators to the media, from charity watchdogs to far too many nonprofit boards — and even some fundraisers themselves — the false metric of ‘cost of fundraising’ has created a big mess of misunderstanding. Fortunately, the […]

Learn More July 24, 2013

The First Gift Was An Accident

How many lists have you seen giving rules you should follow to retain a donor? I hope you collect them all, because retaining a donor is the most important task in fundraising. Even more important than acquiring the donor in the first place (I hope a few readers go head-to-head with me on that proposition). […]

Learn More July 23, 2013