Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Don’t Think, Give

Thanks to the Boston Globe for this excellent overview article examining the research behind giving … Why we give to charity. The bottomline won’t come as a surprise to experienced fundraisers. As the article summarizes: “… giving is driven by emotional motives, rooted in deep impulses, cognitive biases, and even our own selfish needs. (Charity […]

Learn More December 7, 2011

Does Consumer Confidence Matter?

Both the Conference Board, a major US business research outfit, and the University of Michigan for decades have produced indices measuring the ‘confidence’ of US consumers. It’s been claimed that these have some predictive capability vis-a-vis the outcomes of national elections in the US. I’m wondering if anyone has ever tracked charitable giving against either […]

Learn More December 6, 2011

How to Brand a NonProfit – Focus on the 6P’s

The 4Ps from classic marketing textbooks include; Product, Placement, Promotion and Price. We prefer adding two additional “Ps” for People and Processes. Contrast this with the two big dimensions often cited for branding – differentiation and relevance. The problem with these two dimensions is not their original intent (which was as part of larger, more […]

Learn More December 5, 2011

Flat Earth Fundraising: Ice Cream Murder And Donor Loyalty

Looking for a shorthand way to understand how you can improve donor lifetime value by 130%? Then take a look at the infographic below – The Anatomy of a Committed Donor – prepared by our colleague Kevin Schulman over at DonorVoice. Kevin’s infographic (click image to enlarge) distills the essence of the landmark National Donor […]

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Salvation Army Troops On

Maybe it’s an age bias, but in terms of personal fit, I tend to think of the Salvation Army as pre-dating even my generation (which in terms of sheer history — founded in 1865 — of course they do … although I’m not so sure about Roger). But they consistently stand out for modernizing with […]

Learn More December 2, 2011

Are Online Fundraisers Stealing Credit?

Am I seriously behind the curve? Or asleep at the wheel? Or is old age just chipping away at my memory? Whatever. I don’t think I’ve ever seen numbers like these … Way back in September 2010 a donor survey was conducted by Campbell Rinker for Dunham + Company, a US fundraising consulting firm. The […]

Learn More December 1, 2011