Communications - Agitator

Advocacy Fundraising

Let Freedom Ring

The splendid and vile sides of America’s polarized politics were both on full display yesterday. As moving tributes to U.S. Representative John R. Lewis, the civil rights icon most closely associated with voting rights, were delivered at his funeral in Atlanta, Donald Trump issued a contemptible and foreboding Tweet suggesting the U.S. “Delay the Election […]

Learn More July 31, 2020

What Impact Messaging Works Best? The Goldilocks Finding

One of humanity’s basic psychological needs is a sense of competence or efficacy. Putting time in on something, feeling like you suck at it and are getting no better, and then receiving no feedback or negative feedback undermines your motivation to keep doing it. This includes charitable giving. The donor’s sense of competence and efficacy […]

Learn More July 27, 2020

To Nudge or Nudge?

Every single test should have both theory and evidence as its basis. You could test a brown kraft envelope vs the plain white control, and then find some theory of human behavior that justifies this test. But, if you start with the theory, you may discover a better test idea. Why do people give? Social […]

Learn More July 10, 2020

Constantly Mailing Your ‘Best’ Donors Can Make Them Your ‘Worst’

It is inarguable that increasing the number of mailings increases current demand/responses. Send out more mail, get more demand/responses. But, this decision making behind “mail more, make more” lives in the short-term. We estimate the probability (usually crudely with RFM business rules) that a donor will give and then include them or not. Because the selection […]

Learn More June 8, 2020

Christmas In Your Mailbox

These days my digital inbox is overpowered with vapid and annoying messages fired three times an hour mostly by various candidates and committees affiliated with the Democratic Party. (If this is the way they treat us donors I wonder about their skill set when it comes to beating Trump?) Between the spurts of political drivel […]

Learn More May 22, 2020

Crowdfunding: A Lesson from World War II

As a kid growing up in rural Pennsylvania I got my news via the BBC on a short wave radio tucked under my bed. Gettysburg’s local radio station, WGET, was heavy on corn and hog prices, light on national and world news. To this day I listen to the BBC with their news and […]

Learn More May 18, 2020

Thank View Very Much

I’m certain all Agitator readers have been devoting their locked-down hours concentrating on donor experience and retention, while far too many of those non-Agitator folks have been frittering away time perfecting their Netflix schedule. Consequently, as a reward for your diligence I want to introduce you to a powerful, easy-to-use tool that’s about as wonderful as […]

Learn More May 15, 2020

Are They Coming for Your Organization?

Just as I was calming down from my rant on tv’s coronavirus carnival barkers I opened a note from Nick Ellinger, who’s now over at Moore seeking asylum after fleeing the commotion here at The Agitator. When Nick writes, I read. Accompanying his note was a piece titled Anti-overhead is anti-charity. It’s a disturbing reminder […]

Learn More May 13, 2020

What Makes for Good Fundraising Copy?

At its core, it’s words. Google thinks an email is ‘good’ – meaning they don’t bury it in a spam or promotion or social folder – if it reads like something you’d get from a friend, something that sounds personal and involving based (in part) on the words used. And what about those “personal” and […]

Learn More April 22, 2020

Donor Preservation in the Pandemic

Each morning I start my coronavirus stay-at-home routine by making a list of the 10 things I’m grateful for that day. One of the items on today’s list: I’m grateful that I’m on the back nine holes of life. Although older age has its downsides when it comes to combatting Covid-19, it sure has benefits […]

Learn More April 20, 2020

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

Let Freedom Ring

What Impact Messaging Works Best? The Goldilocks Finding

To Nudge or Nudge?

Constantly Mailing Your ‘Best’ Donors Can Make Them Your ‘Worst’

Christmas In Your Mailbox

Crowdfunding: A Lesson from World War II

Thank View Very Much

Are They Coming for Your Organization?

What Makes for Good Fundraising Copy?

Donor Preservation in the Pandemic

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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