Breaking Out of the Status Quo - Agitator

Advocacy Fundraising

Audience Building Outside of Google and Facebook

So far this week we’ve painted a darkening picture on how to build your audience with the Goofle and Facebook behemoths.. How about some good news and some good places to build your audience? A few thoughts: Twitter. Last year, Facebook eliminated a decent amount of third-party data from ad targeting (likely because they had […]

Learn More November 8, 2019

Audience Building and Google

The list and data world are changing fast. What worked for you last year may not work this year. If you relied heavily on Google or Facebook to find new donors you may be in for a shock. The purpose of this week’s posts is to better prepare you for 2020. Here are the main […]

Learn More November 4, 2019

Starbucks-With-A-Clipboard

The line at Starbucks stretched though the store and out onto the sidewalk. Impatient and agitated Customers grumbled loudly. I patiently waited my turn in line, determined to see the cause of this holdup. Finally, I placed my order and handed the cashier my credit card. She shook her head and instead handed me a […]

Learn More November 1, 2019

The Insanity and Stupidity of Ignoring and Offending Women

Women are both a powerful and growing force for growth in giving. So, why in the world do so many organizations stick to “best practices” of 40 years ago when a greater proportion of donors were men? Maybe because too many nonprofits are led by out-of-touch men… maybe because changing old habits and processes takes […]

Learn More October 30, 2019

Gender, Race and Fundraising Myths

Fundraising Land is filled with myths. Like… …” immigrants don’t give” …” race matters when it comes to giving” … and on and on. I’m sure you’ve heard a dozen more. Unfortunately, without data it’s difficult to separate myth from fact. Fortunately, we now have an important study—the first to explore the intersection of race, […]

Learn More October 28, 2019

Here’s To The Crazy Ones

The Asch conformity experiment is famous enough to have its own Wikipedia page. Students were asked which of three lines matched a fourth line in length. Super simple – less than one percent error rate. Until you put the student with a group of fellow students (actually actors) all saying the wrong answer. Then, 75% […]

Learn More October 21, 2019

Head-in-the-Sand Is Not a Donor-Centric Strategy

A year ago I wrote: “ I don’t know exactly when it will happen. In the not-too-distant future your organization will receive a letter from a donor that goes something like this: Dear ABC Organization, I’m growing increasingly concerned over the widespread use and abuse of my private and personal information by organizations like Facebook, Google […]

Learn More October 4, 2019

Agitators Out on Strike

Today we’re shutting down the Agitator Global HQ and heading out to participate in today’s international climate strike. You’ll recall when Greta Thunberg, a Swedish school student, sat in front of the Swedish parliament building with her hand-painted “Skolstrejk för klimatet” sign, she kick-started a worldwide movement. It wasn’t the first time school […]

Learn More September 20, 2019

Are F-2-F Managers Squandering Millions?

I fear the answer is “Yes.” Today there are at least a dozen major US nonprofits that are collectively spending tens of millions on F-2-F campaigns. My fear is that many are wasting their organization’s and their donors’ dollars because the Target Benchmark data on retention for F2F, street acquired sustainers is sobering and suggests […]

Learn More September 18, 2019

Neglected Treasure

Nick’s post on How Asking Affects the Askedemphasized the importance of requesting feedback directly from the donor and explains why that feedback is so important and so valuable. There’s another form of feedback and I’m afraid in our highly automated, often impersonal processes it’s been lost: the comments donors write on their response forms or […]

Learn More September 6, 2019

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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Advocacy Fundraising

Audience Building Outside of Google and Facebook

Audience Building and Google

Starbucks-With-A-Clipboard

The Insanity and Stupidity of Ignoring and Offending Women

Gender, Race and Fundraising Myths

Here’s To The Crazy Ones

Head-in-the-Sand Is Not a Donor-Centric Strategy

Agitators Out on Strike

Are F-2-F Managers Squandering Millions?

Neglected Treasure

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?

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?

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?

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?

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

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