Fundraising analytics / data - Agitator

Breaking Out of the Status Quo

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

Identity vs. Persona

In talking about donor identities, people will often say they’ve tried personas and they haven’t worked like they thought they would. Therefore, they aren’t going to invest more in seeking donor identities. HOWEVER…just as with donor commitment and engagement that I covered yesterday, donor identities and personas are fundamentally different. Personas are usually created […]

Learn More August 8, 2018

How Donor Opinion Can Steer You Right

Yesterday’s post ccataloged a multitude of reasons surveys and donor listening could steer you wrong. That said, there are many things we must ask donors that are both easy to answer accurately and vital for us to know: How easy was the online donation process? How committed are you to the organization? Are you a […]

Learn More July 20, 2018

Finding the Pony in the Charity Commission Report

Didja hear the one about the two kids: one an extreme pessimist, the other an extreme optimist? The parents took the pessimist to a room full of brand-new toys, and the optimist out to a manure pile. When they checked in on the pessimist, he was crying. He wouldn’t play with any of the […]

Learn More July 17, 2018

Why I Hate the Donor Pyramid

All pyramids are lies: They have a dishonest scheme named after them. They will not keep your razor blades sharp or apples fresh. They messed up the four food groups. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs isn’t really true (there are fundamental needs, but there isn’t a hierarchy and people pursue different “level” needs simultaneously). Even the […]

Learn More June 27, 2018

Pairing metrics for fun and (non)profit

On Tuesday, I talked about how Simpson’s paradox means you shouldn’t use just overall retention as a metric. Rather, you want to pair it with subgroup metrics so someone doesn’t achieve their retention goals by cutting off acquisition. I’ll generalize from that. As Newton would have said if he were a direct marketer, each metric […]

Learn More June 22, 2018

What About People Who Don’t Answer Donor Surveys?

When you are in the business of asking donors about themselves and customizing their donor journeys based on that, you almost always get the question: “But what about those folks who don’t answer the survey?” There are couple of answers to this. The first is: keep asking. If there’s a datum that you need to […]

Learn More June 21, 2018

The Tragedy of the Donor Commons

“Picture a pasture open to all. It is to be expected that each herdsman will try to keep as many cattle as possible on the commons. … the rational herdsman concludes that the only sensible course for him to pursue is to add another animal to his herd. And another; and another… But this is […]

Learn More June 5, 2018

Are You Missing the Golden Middle?

In 1987 I launched a series of highly successful mid-level giving programs and for years wondered why others weren’t doing the same. So, when Tom and I started The Agitator we began ranting on the subject, urging folks to get on board. For example, hereand here. And so did others like Mark Phillips of BlueFrog with […]

Learn More June 4, 2018

Agitator Cliff Notes: “The Why Axis”

Next up is The Why Axis, by Uri Gneezy and John List, two of the community of economists who work on charitable giving. Roger had already covered one item I had noted back in 2013: that 1:1 matches work just as well as 2:1 or 3:1 matches. And I talked about how people give more […]

Learn More May 23, 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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Breaking Out of the Status Quo

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

Identity vs. Persona

How Donor Opinion Can Steer You Right

Finding the Pony in the Charity Commission Report

Why I Hate the Donor Pyramid

Pairing metrics for fun and (non)profit

What About People Who Don’t Answer Donor Surveys?

The Tragedy of the Donor Commons

Are You Missing the Golden Middle?

Agitator Cliff Notes: “The Why Axis”

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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