Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Too Important For Techies

A recent study by Blackbaud’s Target Marketing on online fundraising (Roger commented here) noted that many donors who make their first gift online wind up making their subsequent gifts, if any, via direct mail. Agitator reader Dave Raley has a theory about this. I reproduce his comment below. My own — perhaps too blunt — […]

Learn More March 24, 2009

Truths & Myths About Online Donors

Last Wednesday the headline in a New York Times story proclaimed “Study Shows First-Time Online Donors Do Not Return.” Sort of a ‘dog bites man” headline since, truth be told, neither do first-time direct mail donors. That aside, Stephanie Strom’s NYT piece is worth a read by all fundraisers. And worth far more than a […]

Learn More March 23, 2009

Donor Involvement Yields Fundraising Dividends

The morning’s mail brought this from a loyal Agitator subscriber: “Team Agitator – I am doing some research for a client about how response rates on acquisition are impacted by packages that ask prospects to take an action in addition to giving a gift. E.g. signing or mailing a postcard to an elected official, making […]

Learn More March 20, 2009

Courting New Lovers

So, you want to grow your organization. Who do you listen to for insight into how to expand your audience — your current best donors, or some new audience that you believe represents your growth opportunity? And how do you listen? Here’s an article, via Social Media Insider, with some important cautions. It’s by Catharine […]

Learn More March 19, 2009

A Direct Mail “First”

For the first time since records began in 1945, spending on commercial direct mail has declined. So says a white paper from the Winterberry Group, a strategic consulting firm to direct marketers, as reported here by the Center for Media Research. The report says spending on direct mail fell 3% in 2008, with a further […]

Learn More March 18, 2009

Donor Loyalty – New Agitator White Paper

The Agitator has released the fifth in its new series of DonorTrends White Papers, based on our proprietary donor survey research. This paper, dealing with donor loyalty, is available only as a benefit for subscribers to The Agitator’s Premium Service. Our first two White Papers deal with generational trends and differences in giving; our second […]

Learn More March 17, 2009