Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Investing In Fundraising

Awhile back I cited Ken Burnett’s article, 7 Things for Fundraisers to Do Now. Today I want to focus on his recommendation #4: Fundraisers make too many false economies because they have failed to adequately present the commercial case for investment in donor development. A hundred dollars invested wisely makes much more sense to donors […]

Learn More December 6, 2010

Meet Gary

In this white paper, Your Donor in 3D, fundraising agency Good Works introduces Gary … your typical three-dimensional donor. Their point is that fundraisers need to speak to three aspects of the donor’s awareness — rational, emotional and spiritual. The white paper elaborates on these eight ways to conduct the conversation … 1. Tell stories […]

Learn More December 3, 2010

Would Your Nonprofit Have The Guts?

To produce this PSA? A few days ago I asked for advice on how to make a nonprofit sexy (since this is advice experts give us on marketing to Boomers). Maybe this isn’t a bad example from the American Jewish World Service! Tom

Learn More December 2, 2010

Where Do Good Ideas Come From?

The Agitator, of course! Seriously, I heartily recommend a great book I just read over the Thanksgiving holiday … Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation, by Steven Johnson. This is no 10-point checklist for winning the Nobel Prize in fundraising; however, it contains numerous insights into the personal, organizational and societal […]

Learn More December 1, 2010

How Much Fundraising R&D?

Yesterday I summarized Ken Burnett’s recent recommendations regarding “7 things for fundraisers to do now.” Two that I think are especially important relate to fundraising R&D and knowing your data. Regarding R&D, Ken recommends earmarking (‘ring-fencing’ as the Brits say) 10% of your fundraising budget for rigorous testing of new ideas. While of course there’s […]

Learn More November 30, 2010

7 Things For Fundraisers To Do Now

Fundraiser Ken Burnett wrote this great article for Advancing Philanthropy. Pursuing the theme of “turning talk into action,” he recommends Seven different yet practical things you should be doing, now. Here’s an abbreviated list, but it’s always worth reading Ken in his entirety. Master your data. Make it a pleasure to be your donor. Invest […]

Learn More November 29, 2010