Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Doggy Personality

I’m a dog person. I have two dogs and my children and wife only semi-kiddingly suggest the dogs are my top priority. They always agree with me and never complain, what’s not to like? Turns out my dog choice is a reflection of my personality. Neurotic people have neurotic dogs (plot on left) and extraverted […]

Learn More September 16, 2022

Homogenizing the Crap Out of a Heterogeneous World

Two hundred years ago, black/white/gray products were about 15% of the total. Today? Closer to 60%. 7 out of 10 cars are black, white or gray. Gray is the most popular interior carpet color. The most popular paints? Fog, Mist and Linen, which as you might guess, ain’t exactly colorful. What’s causing this? Big data. […]

Learn More September 14, 2022

Does Biden/Trump Winning 2024 Lower Charitable Giving?

The answer is an emphatic yes and no. The classic case of crowding out is government spending on social ills that lowers the need for individuals to give. Empirical evidence for this effect has been mixed. But, what if the effect is more complicated than that and what if it has nothing to do with […]

Learn More September 12, 2022

Trust in the Eye of the Beholder?

We do a lot of surveys. Heck, I’ve got an advanced degree in Survey Methodology, whatever the hell that means. Surveys are ubiquitous it seems, especially in politics and public policy. Your organization might do a survey for constituent understanding or for public release to advocate for this or that cause. What makes surveys trustworthy […]

Learn More September 9, 2022

Effort is a Fundraising Killer

Effort, be it physical or mental is often avoided. People will even endure physical pain to avoid mental effort in lab settings. If there are two equally rewarding outcomes we humans tend to follow the law of least work, the path of least resistance. Think about giving to charity. You do or you don’t. If […]

Learn More September 7, 2022

The Quiet Frenzy of Union Organizing In Nonprofits

As we celebrate Labor Day here in the U.S. it’s appropriate to note the quiet frenzy of labor union organizing that has gripped parts of the nonprofit world. Recent moves by workers—particularly younger workers—to organize unions in some of the nation’s best-known companies –Starbucks, Trader Joe’s, Apple, Amazon, Chipotle—have pretty much put the lie to […]

Learn More September 5, 2022