Award Winning Blog - Agitator

The Vanishing Donor

In case you missed it during the Thanksgiving hubbub, Holly Hall had a great piece in the Chronicle of Philanthropy on donor retention, called The Vanishing Donor. The article provides some concrete examples of nonprofits like CARE and the University of Montreal who have improved their retention game, and features advice from fundraising consultant Penelope […]

Learn More December 5, 2006

Podcasts – The Segway Of New Media

Remember the Segway? You know, the self-balancing, self-propelled two-wheeler that was going to revolutionize personal transportation? I used to sit in my office overlooking Connecticut Avenue in Washington and watch this same dude cruise down the avenue at a brisk clip almost every day, dodging potholes, oversized sidewalk cracks, and of course pedestrians. One day […]

Learn More December 4, 2006

Ka-ching, Ka-ching

comScore Networks has just released data on consumer online retail spending on US websites for the holiday season to date. For the month of November (through Monday the 27th), total online retail spending reached $9.48 billion, a 24% increase over the same period last year. Monday the 27th was the single largest retail e-commerce day […]

Learn More December 2, 2006

A Raise from The Agitator for MSF Netherlands

In light of yesterday's post about what consumers look for in “reliability”…and in light of the fact that a week ago, under the title of “Simple But Ignored” we posted a piece on the importance of placing donor testimonials on organizations' websites. And we promised an “Agitator Raise” to anyone doing so. Well, no sooner […]

Learn More December 1, 2006

No Online Endorsement … No Sale

Consider this observation by communications consultant and blogger Dave Evans: Ordinary consumers are continuing to integrate technology into their everyday lives. As they do, a natural reliance on a network of friends and other consumers develops … It's only a matter of time before most purchases with any sort of decision analysis are made largely […]

Learn More November 30, 2006

No Money Please, We’re British

About the only joy of living on airplanes is that I get to Europe frequently and can then tune in to all the channels of the BBC. One of my favorite programs (programmes) on the Beeb as the Brits call it, is Hard Talk. The sometimes puckish, often downright aggressive talking heads, always preppy and […]

Learn More November 29, 2006