Blog Post

What Makes Good Donors – Nature vs. Nuture?

Does anyone believe good donors are born versus created? That some are inherently and fatalistically destined for philanthropic greatness while others are naturally predisposed against it? Before you dismiss out of hand, there is some evidence that there is distribution for empathy and most folks have an “average” amount while other, smaller groups are at […]

Learn More December 13, 2011

Top 5 Reasons Non-Profits Should Avoid Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Before launching into the Top 5 allow us a brief trip down memory lane. Remember the good old days when intent or willingness to do something like recommend a product, brand or service was a simple question including in many customer satisfaction surveys? If the willingness to recommend question has parents (weird thought, we know) […]

Learn More December 8, 2011

How to Brand a NonProfit – Focus on the 6P’s

The 4Ps from classic marketing textbooks include; Product, Placement, Promotion and Price. We prefer adding two additional “Ps” for People and Processes. Contrast this with the two big dimensions often cited for branding – differentiation and relevance. The problem with these two dimensions is not their original intent (which was as part of larger, more […]

Learn More December 5, 2011

Anatomy of a Committed Donor Infographic

We recently conducted some additional analyzes using our National sample of 1200 recent, frequent cause donors. Here are some interesting nuggets to help build out a profile and understanding of the “generic”, Committed Donor. One other factoid, not referenced in the infographic is the relationship between race/ethnicity and Commitment – the answer; there isn’t a […]

Learn More November 30, 2011

Will anything get nonprofits more focused on retention? Doesn’t look like it…

Many have already blogged on a recent report from Adrian Sargeant (produced as part of a recent Blackbaud Summit). The report, a series of recommendations based on input from a wide variety of sources, is worthy of repeated reference. At DonorVoice, there is one recommendation worthy of reprinting in full along with some color commentary. […]

Learn More November 21, 2011

Why a Satisfied Donor is Not a Retained Donor

Satisfaction – as a concept or framework for loyalty has been around a long time. It is, like most good ideas in the social sciences, based on a theory; exchange theory to be exact. In a nutshell this theory suggests people make decisions in a rationale manner, weighing (subconsciously in many cases) the benefit and […]

Learn More November 15, 2011

Get the Report Ken Burnett Called Breakthrough and start increasing retention.

The DonorVoice point of view is quite simple; until non-profits focus as much on donor attitudes as they do behaviors, they will never fix the retention problem. And until retention is addressed, non-profits will forever be dealing with a leakier bucket, one that cannot be re-filled fast enough. Why attitudes? Donor attitudes dictate why donors […]

Learn More November 11, 2011

Non-Profits Need A Cholesterol Test KPI

Consider the term, Key Performance Indicator. The first two words are great – “key” connotes importance and an answer at the same time and it modifies a word that is very positive. The “indicator” word is the real weak link. We should not tolerate an indicator that merely points to a problem and yet offers […]

Learn More November 10, 2011

Best Ask Amount? Consumer Pyschology Has Lot Answers.

Theories exist for a reason – to be tested and validated or discarded. Those theories that are borne out can provide strategic road-maps for how to engage and drive optimum behaviors since they provide a point of view on how the world works. With a point of view, one can establish measurement and with measurement, […]

Learn More November 3, 2011

Breaking News – Make Your Donors Move to Get More $ (or not)…

Donor behavior matters, a lot. And since donor attitudes CAUSE donor behavior, we’d argue they matter, a lot. Consider this our bastardized version of the transitive property… The two are however, very complementary with behavior providing the “who” (i.e. targeting & selection) and attitudes providing the “why” (i.e. communications and marketing to educate, persuade and […]

Learn More November 1, 2011

Ask A Behavioral Scientist

Behavioral Science Q & A

Q: Do you have any insight on whether integrating an individual giving appeal with other comms from the charity in both appearance and messaging can uplift results? Or does the actual appeal become ‘lost’ for lack of stand-out?

Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]

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Q: Is there any research on response rate impact in direct mail when referring to a sustainer gift as ongoing or recurring (catching all frequencies) v. monthly or annual?

I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]

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Q: A major conservation nonprofit sends me lots of mail, many of which have on the envelope “time to renew” or “2nd notice.” I find this practice deceptive, especially as I haven’t given to said organization since 1997. It must be effective or they wouldn’t do it. But is it ethical?

Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]

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Q: I find it irritating when some nonprofits accept my “gift” and then ask me to cover their credit card fees separately. It feels like a practice that does nothing to help win donors and runs the risk of turning others off. Is there any data on this either way?

Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]

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Q: What are the three most important things to consider when designing a brilliant supporter journey?

There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]

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Q: Is there any evidence that changes to the tax laws in the USA changed end of year giving behaviors? Previously, ~30% of US taxpayers filed itemized tax returns allowing them to receive a deduction for charitable giving. Tax law changed in 2017 so that now only ~10% itemize. This should mean tax year-end giving should not matter to millions of people for whom it used to matter. Is there any data evidence to support this?

I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]

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The Agitator Tool Box

Ideas, applications, tools, processes, and case studies of break-through solutions in fundraising, including: