Award Winning Blog - Agitator

For Fundraisers, Is Love In The Air?

According to this report in the NY Times, advertisers are turning up the dial on emotion in their appeals. Perhaps nonprofit fundraisers should do likewise. Says one ad exec: “There are left-brain and right-brain approaches to advertising,” said Linda Kaplan Thaler, chief executive of the Kaplan Thaler Group, part of the Publicis Groupe. “For a […]

Learn More January 5, 2010

2000s Were A Bummer!

Sorry to start the new year (and decade) with a downer of a headline, but there’s a silver lining here … it can only get better! Pew Research recently asked Americans for their "overall impression" of the last five decades. Here are full results. As you see, the 2000s were a real bummer — 50% […]

Learn More January 4, 2010

The Age of Donor Conservation

Back at the beginning of November, Roger published a post urging fundraisers to progress to The Age of Donor Conservation. In the relative quiet of the holidays, I urge you to reflect on his message. Observing that "donors are precious, not limitless," Roger argues: "Successful strategies in The Age of Donor Conservation focus on life-time […]

Learn More December 30, 2009

Pondering Direct Mail

Here’s a thoughtful essay from fundraiser Ken Burnett on the "death" of direct mail. Actually, Ken emphasizes (and The Agitator agrees) that what really matters is the message and how well it’s crafted … whatever the medium used to deliver it. Here’s an excerpt: "At its heart direct mail fundraising is not about direct mail. […]

Learn More December 28, 2009

A Special Christmas Song

The Agitator has few traditions at this point. But here is one of them. For our third Christmas, we urge you to get into a mirthful holiday mood by listening to this unforgettable rendition of O Holy Night. The Agitator Guarantee: This performance will leave you smiling well into the New Year, or we’ll refund […]

Learn More December 23, 2009

Online Giving Peaks Next Week

I hope you’re not giving your online fundraising team time off next week.* As Stephanie Strom reported recently in the NYT, citing data from Convio, a phenomenal spike in online giving occurs at year-end … literally December 31st. Here’s what she says … "New data from Convio, a software company, shows that charitable donors that […]

Learn More December 22, 2009