Award Winning Blog - Agitator

2021 Shows Largest Increase in Giving Since 2012

Although we focus mainly on forward-looking developments in fundraising it’s also advisable to occasionally check the rear-view mirror to see what may be gaining on us or what we may have missed as we passed by on our way to the future. Benchmarks and macro-giving reports serve that function. Unfortunately, sometimes the smug and self-content […]

Learn More February 18, 2022

Facebook Cancels Jesus, Judaism, Tucker Carlson, Rachael Maddow and God

To paraphrase Winston Churchill, “Facebook is the worst social media platform for marketing and fundraising except for all the others.” Make no mistake. Facebook is the world’s biggest fishing pond for fundraisers and marketers. Ignore it at your peril. Use it at your peril. Anyone reading this who has ever done any fundraising or marketing […]

Learn More February 16, 2022

The “Give” Decision is Different Than The “How Much” One

We are nothing if not laser focused on the “why” of giving. So much so that we know there are really two giving decisions, not one. No donor would ever report this in a focus group or a survey. These separate mental decisions are occuring subconsciously. Testing allows us to prove what’s going on and […]

Learn More February 14, 2022

The Importance of Building Trust in a Cynical World

Can declining trust in institutions be partially at fault for the overall decline in personal giving? That’s a critical question international fundraiser Richard Pordes posed in commenting on our post reprinting Tom Ahern’s Is Mass Fundraising Extinct? In Richard’s words: “But aren’t there larger societal trends that have caused the decline in numbers of households […]

Learn More February 11, 2022

“You Can’t Fix Stupid”

“You can’t fix stupid.” Ahhh, the sound of the exasperated fundraisers and consultants who’ve thrown up their hands after trying for the 5oth time to explain to a Board, a CEO, or a Client why that “brilliant insight” just won’t work. Sure, you can be a seasoned, proven and highly respected pro, but somehow you […]

Learn More February 9, 2022

Is Mass Fundraising Extinct?

For the past 10 years The Agitator has sought to put meat on the jargon-ridden bones of the Donor-Centric skeleton. That’s why we dwell so much on essential vertebrae of donor-centricity such as Donor Identity, Donor Psychology and Personality to name a few. Although this detail is essential in becoming truly donor-centric, it’s important to […]

Learn More February 7, 2022