Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Email And Donor Relationships

We all know email as the workhorse of online fundraising. But what about email as a relationship and loyalty building tool? Writing in Email Insider, Loren McDonald at Silverpop, an online marketing agency, offers some interesting examples of commercial email approaches that are not aimed directly at sales, although in some examples that objective clearly […]

Learn More October 8, 2010

Best Fundraising Website – III

So I grumped about readers not offering their comments on my choice for best fundraising website, after I nominated Charity:Water. And readers responded … some seconding Charity:Water, some offering improvements to that site, and some recommending other sites. Terrific! Each of you responders deserves an Agitator raise! Now, I know that you’re not going to […]

Learn More October 7, 2010

Revolution Won’t Be Tweeted

In a New Yorker article titled Small Change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted, the always provocative Malcolm Gladwell (Tipping Point, Blink, etc) takes on social media. In a nutshell, Gladwell argues that social media merely enable a sort of faux activism … not the “real thing” of social transformation, a la the sit-ins […]

Learn More October 6, 2010

Best Fundraising Website – II

Frankly, I’m astonished. On Friday, not the optimal email message day according to all the stats on such matters, The Agitator (or at least Tom) recommended our pick of the best fundraising website out there. Nearly 3,500 individuals have read that email, with almost 1,000 clicking through to check out the recommended site. [And no, […]

Learn More October 5, 2010

Nature Or Nurture?

Kristin McCurry of MINDset Direct is one of our favorite co-conspirators. As today’s Guest Agitator, she poses a question all fundraisers have asked in their darkest moments … Does it really matter what we do as fundraisers?! Or is “good donor behavior” simply built into some individuals who we are lucky enough to initially attract […]

Learn More October 4, 2010

Best Fundraising Website

I was asked the other day which I thought was the most compelling fundraising website. My answer — and I respect we all have our idiosyncrasies — is Charity:Water. Why? 1. Very appealing graphically, clean as a whistle, one of the simplest nonprofit homepages (and design throughout) I’ve ever seen. 2. Very compelling use of […]

Learn More October 1, 2010