Breaking Out of the Status Quo

Sorry Santa, We’re Closed!

I never fail to marvel at the bizarre behavior of many nonprofits when it comes to year-end giving. Let me explain. For almost every charity the period between Christmas and New Year’s is a heavy period for giving. For some groups as much as 25% of their annual revenue arrives in those final weeks. Many donors—particularly […]

Learn More December 17, 2018

5 Tips to Kill Stupid Ideas and Still Keep Your Job

Among the hackneyed phrases I most detest: “There are no bad ideas.” Sometimes the phrase is offered up at the start of “brainstorming” sessions, to encourage the shy. Sometimes it’s delivered to invisible eye-rolls and silent sighs by the chair of the board or a big donor. Civility and silence at any price. But, the […]

Learn More December 12, 2018

Better to Be At the Table Than On the Menu

The likelihood of increased privacy and data regulation of nonprofits in the U.S. is not a question of “whether”, but “when” and “how onerous.” The gathering storm over real and imagined abuses by Facebook, Google and other big tech platforms will unleash a downpours of concern, finger-pointing and political grandstanding in the new Congress that […]

Learn More December 10, 2018

Give to Get: Case Studies

So we’ve talked a good game about Give-to-Get this week. Monday, Nick noted the trend that asking people who donate to other organizations to care about yours is declining and the opportunity is to ask people who care to donate. Wednesday, Kevin outlined how you can create a content-based reason to join, donate, and retain. […]

Learn More December 7, 2018

Give to Get: Creating Value Exchanges for Your Donor Identities

Avid Agitator readers know that donor identity is the core reason donors give to organizations. There are a thousand ways to save lives and change lives, so donors tend to support charities that mean something to them personally. And they will keep that preference even if the preferred cause is less efficient. But did you […]

Learn More December 5, 2018

Give to Get: The Need for a New Acquisition Model

Mail list rental and exchange is diminishing in effectiveness. How can we tell? There’s the anecdotal: the number of people requesting no rental or exchange in feedback surveys is rising. And many charities are seeing their acquisition results wane. There’s the studied: researchers looked at people who get more charitable mail solicitations in a study […]

Learn More December 3, 2018

“FRANKLY WE DON’T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT YOUR PRIVACY”

I don’t know exactly when it will happen. But, some day 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 November 28, 2018

Distinguish Yourself on #GivingTuesday

If the number of “How To Get Ready for #Giving Tuesday” emails in my inbox is any barometer this year’s #GivingTuesday targets will be buried in a blizzard of breathless matching gift offers, convulsing countdown clocks and sundry demands that only an uncaring human, without soul or pulse, would refuse to hit the ‘donate’ button. […]

Learn More November 19, 2018

Historic Performance of Young Voters

Last week in The Millennial Myth I wondered if younger folks would vote in the U.S. mid-term elections at a greater rate than in the past. The answer is a definite “yes” and was delivered to the Agitator by John Della Volpe, Director of Polling at the Institute of Policcs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. […]

Learn More November 8, 2018

Ask A Behavioral Scientist

Behavioral Science Q & A

Q:We are struggling with acquistion. During our biggest community campaign, a colleague is suggesting that we have a QR code directing donors to a donate page that does not capture donor information – just a donation and an email address. We won’t be able to post any of these new doors our lvoely newsletters, or thank you letters. We’ll likely never hear from them again. What’s the best method to get this team to see the importance about a donor vs a donation?

Thanks so much for raising this. Yes, capturing donor information can be helpful for stewardship like newsletters, thank-you letters, impact updates. But how you ask matters. Forcing full data capture introduces friction that can significantly depress conversion, many donors may simply abandon the process. Beyond the friction itself, required fields also shift the emotional experience […]

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Q: Should we include “Giving Tuesday” in the subject lines for the emails that are going out before Giving Tuesday?

Unlike holidays that everyone already knows, Giving Tuesday is a created event. Many donors recognize the name but not the exact timing, so referencing it becomes a helpful cue. It serves as a reminder and taps into social norm activation (“everyone’s giving today”), which boosts response. However, we still want it paired with the mission, […]

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Q: can we pull the match language into the subject lines? Or this should be an A/B test?

When a subject line leads with the match (“Your gift matched!”), it risks triggering market-norm thinking: the sense that giving is a financial transaction rather than an act rooted in values, identity, and care. This shift reduces intrinsic motivation and, over time, can weaken donor satisfaction and long-term engagement. It also makes the email indistinguishable […]

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Q: Our mid-level donor team removed the QR code from the DM donation form that links to the donation page, but have left the URL for them to type it in manually. Not sure why they are adding a barrier to the donation process for a higher value donor – but I have to ask – is there any proof – either way – if a QR donation code reduces MV online giving, has any effect on their donation amount, has any effect on off line donations? Thank you….

There’s no evidence that QR codes suppress mid-value giving; all available research suggests they either help or have no negative effect. In fact, behavioral and usability research consistently shows the opposite: reducing friction at any point in the donation process increases completion rates and total response. And that has nothing to do with capacity and […]

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Q: How can we effectively use behavioral science to help shift our Board’s mindset. The majority are extremely resistant to asking their networks or sharing their contact lists with us, even after a candid discussion with an external lay leader who has been training boards with her fantastic Fundraising isn’t the F Word! workshop. We have also offered to use our automated email tool to send their appeals from their own email. It is so frustrating. We even have 2 Board members and the chair trying put some accountability on them for our big event but people are not really moving!

What you’re experiencing is very common. Resistance often isn’t about capability, but about motivation quality. If board members feel pushed into fundraising, that triggers controlled motivation (low quality motivation) i.e. obligation, guilt, or fear of judgment, which often results in avoidance. Instead, we need to create conditions for volitional motivation (high quality motivation) by satisfying […]

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Q: Copywriters often argue the ask should appear on the first page, but that usually breaks the story in two. With a one-sided letter the ask is always on page one, but with a two-sided letter it may fall on the second page—do results differ? Has your appeal structure been tested on both one-sided and two-sided letters? I just read the article Your Appeal Outline: Thoughtful Strategy or Random Spasm?

That’s a really thoughtful question, and you’re not the first to raise it. Many of our clients have been cautious about placing the ask at the very end. To address their concern, we’ve tested both approaches, and the results are clear: when the ask comes last, even if that means it appears on the second […]

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