Award Winning Blog - Agitator

At Last! Global Fundraising Supersized

Three weeks ago, we reported that Bernard Ross and his UK Management Centre were launching the Big Mac™ Philanthropy Index. The purpose of this new Index? To offer, once and for all, some basic comparative fundraising stats and to settle, hopefully, frequently asked questions like: “What country is the most generous?” … ”Who is the […]

Learn More April 8, 2013

How Well Do They Know You?

Just how good, how accurate, how positive (or not) is the perception your donors have of your organization? There are numerous ways nonprofit marketers can gather this intelligence — surveys, focus groups, analysis of donor-initiated contacts and comments (e.g., call-ins, emails, letters, content entered on social media sites, testimonials), and, of course, the acid test […]

Learn More April 5, 2013

10 Dumbest Words Used By Fundraising Consultants

Each week a river of press releases, proposals and other propaganda flows past our desks, and frankly it’s time to blow the whistle on the puffed up propagators of prolix. Specifically, I’m singling out those fundraising, branding and communications consultants whose misuse of words and aversion to simplicity and clarity only serve to muddy the […]

Learn More April 4, 2013

Fundraising Efficiency vs Productivity

Which should be more important to your fundraising … efficiency or productivity? If you said productivity … gold star! If you said efficiency (sometimes expressed as ROI) … go to the back of the class! Or, more productively, read this piece by Tom Hurley at DMW Direct. As Tom sees it, the holy grail of […]

Learn More April 3, 2013

10 Dumbest Words Used by (Fundraising) Consultants

Integrate – unless something is being physically combined, steer clear. Buzzword bingo aficionado’s can rest assured this word will show up in your next meeting. Illuminate – this word is used to ironically suggest the consultant will provide what he is incapable of – clarity. Solution – because “product” seems so simple or trite. Leverage – perhaps the most […]

Learn More April 2, 2013

Danger Ahead?

Forbes recently ran this article — Gen X and Gen Y Wealth Stagnates. The article is based on a study by the Urban Institute which compares the wealth of various age cohorts as it stood in 1983 versus 2010. Forbes reports as follows: “While the net worth of those 47 and older is roughly double […]

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