Communications

Innovation Series #2: What Causes Innovation

In this 2nd of our series on “Innovation” drawing from the Agitator vault here’s a post How Does Innovation Occur we wrote eight years ago. Still seems current and if you didn’t read the interview the first time around here’s your second chance. The Editors Tom and Roger | July 2, 2007 Here’s an […]

Learn More August 4, 2015

It’s Not Your Grandma’s Homepage

The newspaper industry is struggling for its life. Of course, that’s not news, but what they’re doing by way searching for life rafts is indeed important and worthy of attention. Not only is their financial survival important, but also a significant part of our civil society fabric is at stake in their future. If they […]

Learn More July 31, 2015

The Single Most Important “Fix” for Fundraising

Back in May Ken Burnett served up a thought-provoking finale to his 5-part Future of Fundraising series: Fundraising and the rule of law. For those who missed this series we especially want to repeat and focus on a key reform we all need to work on –fixing the donor’s experience. You’ll find Ken’s recommendations set forth […]

Learn More July 30, 2015

Fundraising Hypocrisy

If you’re one of our 872 UK Agitator readers this is for you. And also for the other 7,247 Agitators around the globe. Most likely the shoe also fits. Here’s the deal. Over the last few months the UK tabloids busted the fundraising British sector for its overly aggressive tactics in telemarketing and Face –To-Face techniques. […]

Learn More July 28, 2015

Worry-Free Weekend for Fundraisers

Some things simply beg to be stolen. And so it was with yesterday’s post by Jeff Brooks over at Future Fundraising Now Here’s to Agitator readers ending a week of agonizing meetings packed with inane or insane suggestions from the CEO, board or colleagues. Put all that aside and ease into your weekend with these […]

Learn More July 24, 2015

The Donor Is Not The Enemy

Of course we all know the donor is not the enemy. Don’t we? Maybe not. Given the language so much of the sector uses, I wonder. If we’re truly about the business of building committed and lasting relationships, why do we use language that is better suited for an Army field manual? As in, ‘target’ […]

Learn More July 8, 2015

Agitator Now ‘Mobile Responsive’

Some Sundays we sit around our iPads at The Agitator’s Global HQ playing Candy Crush, working the New York Times crossword and, occasionally, arguing over topics for the week ahead. For the last couple of weekends we put away the toys and devoted our spare time to ending The Agitator’s technological hypocrisy. We write a […]

Learn More June 26, 2015

The Profit In Listening To Donors

Yesterday Roger offered the example, from the Swedish blood donation service, of a brilliant approach to thanking donors (donating blood, donating money … is there a difference?!). Today we have another modest case study … this one on the value of listening to donors. In this case, the charity, National Parkinson Foundation (NPF) was concerned that its […]

Learn More June 16, 2015

Routine vs. WOW!

Unless you’re Caitlyn Jenner or Barack Obama, is this the way your day full of experiences generally goes? Routine, routine, routine, routine, routine, routine, routine, routine, routine, WOW! Routine, routine, routine, routine, routine, routine, routine, routine, routine, routine, WOW! Routine, routine, routine, routine, routine, routine, routine, routine, WOW! Routine, routine, routine, routine, routine, routine, routine, routine … Good night! Three WOW’s and 35 routine’s. I’m not saying you lead a boring life. I’m just saying that each day you probably endure heaps of ‘average’ experiences. Average products, […]

Learn More June 3, 2015

They’re Looking At Us!

Most of the time, when I write about our commercial marketing brethren, I’m talking about stuff they’re doing that we in the nonprofit sector might learn from. Today, the tables are turned. I’ve noticed two articles lately from commercial guys praising nonprofit marketing efforts. Here’s what they like. The first article, by direct marketer Bob […]

Learn More May 27, 2015

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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Communications

Innovation Series #2: What Causes Innovation

It’s Not Your Grandma’s Homepage

The Single Most Important “Fix” for Fundraising

Fundraising Hypocrisy

Worry-Free Weekend for Fundraisers

The Donor Is Not The Enemy

Agitator Now ‘Mobile Responsive’

The Profit In Listening To Donors

Routine vs. WOW!

They’re Looking At Us!

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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