Award Winning Blog - Agitator

Revenge Giving

Among the many unconventional topics we’ve posted on– rage giving, the Trump bump ( here, here and here among many), and have even dick pics and mince pie— today’s entry takes the prize. When Tommy Marcus, a 25-year-old University of Michigan graduate, learned that Rush Limbaugh had died, he recalled Limbaugh saying, “You know how […]

Learn More February 22, 2021

Heeding The Patient Prediction of Steve MacLaughlin

For years Steve MacLaughlin, VP of Product Management at Blackbaud and author of Data Driven Nonprofits has patiently predicted that online giving would grow beyond 10% of total giving. 2020 was the year it finally happened. The detail of this online breakthrough –along with a treasure trove of other giving data – is reflected in […]

Learn More February 19, 2021

Cat People and Dog People

Are you a cat person or a dog person? The answer to that might impact your choice of a (potential) mate. A recent study explored this and the findings dance between “water is wet”to the “trivial” but with just enough “novel” to warrant mention. Let’s get trivial and water is wet out of the way. […]

Learn More February 17, 2021

Milking Le Après Trump Déluge

Of one thing I was certain while I sat glued—shocked, angered, and saddened– to the televised Impeachment trial: Despite the proceedings’ gravity in the real world, over in the world of political fundraising it would be business-as-usual. Solemnity, good taste and dignity wouldn’t stand a chance. And as sure as an 82-slide presentation at a […]

Learn More February 15, 2021

Giving Donors a Sense of Choice and Volition

We know many donors would give more if they could direct where their gift went (see, for example, here and here). Yet restricted giving is a giant pain for most fundraisers. What if you could get most of the advantages of restricted giving without the disadvantages? Directing a gift fosters a sense of autonomy and […]

Learn More February 12, 2021

TESTING: Best Practices-Part 2

It may well be time for you to break the “test only one thing at a time” rule. This is especially true if you’re trying to move from local improvement to a globally significant breakthrough as covered in Kevin’s earlier post (Locally or Globally?) Perhaps you’ll want to do some message testing on donor Identity…or […]

Learn More February 10, 2021