Direct mail - Agitator

Board Meeting Swipe File

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

“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

The Curious Case of Kimberly Ellinger

We have a phantom member of our family. When we moved into our first house, one of the people who sold us the house was Kimberly something-or-other. We immediately started getting mail for Kimberly Ellinger – her first name, our last. Our best guess is that a mailer assumed she got either married or divorced, […]

Learn More September 17, 2018

Fundraisers I Fear: Part 2– Insufficient Knowledge of Basic Information

In Part 1 I urged all of us to become “expert novices” –fundraisers who have knowledge and confidence but are capable of maintaining a seed of doubt that they may be wrong. Of course, the building blocks of knowledge, skepticism and curiosity must be stacked on top of the rock-solid granite foundation of fundamental fact. You […]

Learn More September 14, 2018

Year End: Ideal Asking Amounts

Do you really know the best “ask amount” for each donor? Many fundraisers really don’t know. They guess, or resort to traditional, tribal wisdom ask strings like 1X Highest Previous Gift (HPC), 1.5 X HPC, 2 X HPC and Other $_______ The result? They’re often leaving massive amounts of money on the table. The ask […]

Learn More August 30, 2018

YEAR END: War on Christmas: Donor Preference Edition

I’ll get my personal politics out of the way first: I’m a firm believer in stating the reason for the season. I hate, because of stupid political correctness, to not be able to say things like “Merry Saturnalia,” hold my feast of Natalis Invicti and my Zarahosht No-Diso festival, or publicly display my Festivus pole. […]

Learn More August 28, 2018

TEST RESULTS: Donors Don’t Care How You Spend Your Money. They Care How You Spend Theirs.

It sounds like a semantic difference – after all, if donors are donors, then their money becomes your money. But it makes all the difference in the world. We know that (unfortunately) donors have an aversion to overhead. Take a study from Gneezy et al. They allowed participants to give $100 to either charity: water […]

Learn More August 21, 2018

TEST RESULTS: Donors Care About Their Impact, Not Your Overhead

A significant factor in the donor’s decision to give rests in how s/he answers the question, “how am I going to feel if I make this gift?” So, the job of the fundraiser is to determine how those factors under an organization’s control can be most effectively presented. One major set of issues involve those […]

Learn More August 20, 2018

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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Board Meeting Swipe File

5 Tips to Kill Stupid Ideas and Still Keep Your Job

Better to Be At the Table Than On the Menu

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

Distinguish Yourself on #GivingTuesday

The Curious Case of Kimberly Ellinger

Fundraisers I Fear: Part 2– Insufficient Knowledge of Basic Information

Year End: Ideal Asking Amounts

YEAR END: War on Christmas: Donor Preference Edition

TEST RESULTS: Donors Don’t Care How You Spend Your Money. They Care How You Spend Theirs.

TEST RESULTS: Donors Care About Their Impact, Not Your Overhead

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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