Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Who Cares If They’re Effective?!

Over at Tactical Philanthropy Sean Stannard-Stockton relates a conversation in which a major foundation grantmaker told him it was a primary value of the foundation to not harm grantees. The context was Sean asking whether philanthropists should speak out about nonprofits they considered to be ineffective. What a remarkable position for a grantmaker to take, […]

Learn More February 29, 2008

A Liberal Remembers William F. Buckley, Jr.

William F. Buckley, Jr., the intellectual father of modern American conservatism, died at age 82 at his desk yesterday. His 50 books and seven tons of other writings now residing in the archives at his beloved Yale University don’t even begin to do him justice when it comes to understanding what this polysyllabic, prolific agitator […]

Learn More February 28, 2008

Beware of SOFFI

I have a message for the readers of The Agitator: Don’t waste your time by going to the SOFII Website. Stay away from it. Don’t say any good things about it. And please let me quickly tell you why I’m sharing this negative reaction about SOFII. It’s because, a few days ago, I received a […]

Learn More February 27, 2008

Evaluating Candidates’ Websites … And Your Own

RelevantView, a provider of web-based market research solutions, has conducted an interesting study of visitor reactions to the websites of current presidential candidates. Specifically, they were looking at how well the sites communicated the candidates’ positions on key issues like Iraq, health care, taxes, and immigration. Only respondents self-identified as Republicans or Independents reviewed Republican candidates’ sites; […]

Learn More February 26, 2008

About Water Moccasins and Thinking Ahead

If you follow American politics and the tactics of the presidential campaigns on and off the web, you’re aware of ways they savage each other. But, have you really thought about how these same tactics can be easily and effectively used against your organization? Are you really aware of how much the damaging effects of humor, sarcasm […]

Learn More February 25, 2008

“The Mediocre borrow. Genius steals.”

George Bernard Shaw sure had it right when it comes to our trade. So much great, tried and true creative and campaign stuff out there, but so, so difficult to lay your hands on it. Until now! Enter SOFII, a new and wondrous web-based attic of fundraising creative and ‘how to’ wisdom that bills itself […]

Learn More February 22, 2008