Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Yogi Berra On Fundraising

Frankly, I can’t think of a more appropriate summary of the "fundraising pyramid" debate than this observation by the famed New York Yankees catcher, Yogi Berra: “In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.” Fundraising is a craft unencumbered by much basic “theology”, but one loaded with lots of […]

Learn More February 1, 2010

The Donor Pyramid Lie – V

I promise … after today, we’ll give the donor pyramid a rest. Except that next week Roger will pull together some thoughts on the underlying issues raised this debate of the past few days on The Agitator. For now, Ken Burnett gets the last word on The Pyramid, and discloses the true origins of its […]

Learn More January 29, 2010

The Donor Pyramid Lie – IV

The debate continues. I hope you’re reading the comments on our Agitator posts this week. But whether it’s a donor pyramid, trapezoid, ladder or bucket, no one is going to donate, at any level, whatever tactics fundraisers throw at them, without effective messaging. Now, most intelligent fundraisers (even if fundraiser is just one of your […]

Learn More January 28, 2010

The Donor Pyramid Lie – III

Here’s yet another view on Donor Pyramidgate … the debate over where major donors actually come from … and how to depict their evolutionary path graphically. It appears fundraisers take their geometric preferences quite seriously! As you can see here, Kristin McCurry of MINDset direct prefers a trapezoid. Can we all at least agree on […]

Learn More January 27, 2010

The Donor Pyramid Lie – II

Yesterday’s Agitator post on the donor pyramid (Is it a lie?!) prompted quite a response, so we’ll stick with this debate a bit. Commented John Sauve-Rodd (a Brit): "Personally I find the donor pyramid of no practical use, but as seasoned US and Canadian fundraisers told me in my research, ‘It is useful to explain […]

Learn More January 26, 2010

Dead Wrong, And Dead Right

Mark Rovner at Sea Change Strategies recently wrote that the "fundraising pyramid is a lie." He argues that most major donors are recruited into a nonprofit on a peer-to-peer basis, rather than being cultivated up the donor pyramid from initial small gifts. From my experience, I think Mark is dead wrong on this. Lawrence Hence, […]

Learn More January 25, 2010