Award-Winning Blog


Past Giving Predicts Future Giving—And That’s the Problem

Past giving predicts future giving, and that’s where the circular logic of donor understanding begins. It’s like saying, someone is on time because they tend to be punctual. True, but not useful. Yes, past behavior can improve efficiency. But you can efficient your way out of business. What this sector needs is more effectiveness—not just […]

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Why the Right Identity, Not Just Any Identity, Drives Giving

You’re young or old, wealthy or working-class, conservative or progressive, male or female. These are easy-to-find labels and we all sort into multiple categories and for these reasons, we assume it must be meaningful.  So, we dutifully segment our lists, thinking that targeting “women donors” or “millennials” or “high-net-worth individuals” is the key to unlocking […]

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Kiss Our ASS

I just watched him—a a wannabe grand but disgustingly  gaudy figure on a grand stage—peddling a litany of lies before Congress. It was as if the air itself had turned to a toxic ink, rewriting our collective story with false promises and empty bravado. Trump, with his coterie of clapping and cheering sycophants, stood as […]

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The Necesssary Fundraising Rethink

Fewer donors, falling acquisition, lousy retention. And the industry response seems to be, chase harder.  Fundraising has become a high-volume solicitation machine—and yet, the two most statistically likely outcomes for a new donor are: Never give again Give 1x/yr. The vast majority of your donors fall into the zero or 1 bucket.  Does a strategy […]

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Fundraising on Mount Stupid

Welcome to Mount Stupid—the place where half-baked ideas go to thrive and untested ‘best practices’ become gospel. Fundraising isn’t immune to this phenomenon. In fact, it’s a breeding ground for overconfident tactics that crash and burn when they meet reality. You’ve seen it before. Someone declares, “We must offer premiums!” Or a consultant insists, “Match […]

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When Might a Losing Test Win?

Did These Ads Win? No Peeking. If you had to guess, did either of these test ads beat the control? Neither did. At least, that’s the case if you assume everyone is the same and run a random nth test—which is 99% of all tests. Okay, how about this one? Same question—go ahead and peek […]

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