Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Online Ghost Haunts All Fundraisers

Target Analytics released its 2011 Benchmark Study of Internet and Multi-Channel Giving yesterday. I suspect their findings will be like playing Mozart to a cow … expecting appreciation and receiving only blank stares. But, more on that in a minute. In a nutshell, here’s what Target Analytics found in their benchmarking of the online/offline — […]

Learn More June 1, 2011

Disaster Fatigue?

Is there such a thing as disaster fatigue? According to this report in the Washington Post, in the US an unprecedented series of natural disasters — floods, tornadoes, wildfores — threatens to overwhelm the resources of non-government relief charities and agencies like the Red Cross, Catholic Charities, and Salvation Army. Officials at these groups say […]

Learn More May 31, 2011

Using Video To Support Your Cause

Here’s a short piece — with great examples — from the Chronicle of Philanthropy on using online video to engage your donors and generate new support. The recommended uses … 1. Put a face on your cause … people embrace people. 2. Tear down walls … bring supporters inside your organization and its projects. 3. […]

Learn More May 27, 2011

The $1 Fundraising Model

Does one dollar count as a real contribution? An Agitator reader pointed us to this approach from PayPal and Philanthroper … a “Groupon fpr Good”. As reported on Mashable: “Every day, the site showcases a worthy cause and asks users to donate just $1. Users cannot give any less or any more than $1. While […]

Learn More May 26, 2011

This Headline Terrified Me

Charity Wins Donors With Promise Never to Ask For Another Gift When I saw this headline on Holly Hall’s Chronicle of Philanthropy article on Monday I groaned out loud, and added an expletive. What a recipe for fundraising disaster, I thought. No way direct response fundraising works without repeat gifts (i.e., repeat solicitations). Then I […]

Learn More May 25, 2011

‘Cause Fatigue’ On Social Media?

Interesting new research on causes and social media from Georgetown University’s Center for Social Impact Communication, reported in Philanthropy Today. While four in ten Americans get involved with groups working on social and political causes, 17% of women and 12% of men do so through social media sites, by joining a cause group, posting a […]

Learn More May 24, 2011