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Breaking Out of the Status Quo

The Fastest Way to Perfect Supporter Satisfaction

Q: What’s the fastest way to get perfect supporter satisfaction ratings?  A:  Have all your dissatisfied supporters leave and never come back. If that isn’t your preferred option, you might be interested in another.  If so, mark your calendar: 4th November, 10am EST, Webinar on Donor Satisfaction. Kevin and I will share a new and […]

Learn More October 27, 2021

Quantifying the Donor Experience At Scale

What gets measured gets managed.  How many brands out there are regularly measuring donor experience?   How many people read that last sentence and aren’t even sure what it means? You’d be excused, hell you’d be applauded,  since donor experience is thrown around ad nauseam with little or no practical definition, much less linkage to fundraising […]

Learn More October 13, 2021

The Charity Sector Data Fishing Plague

Slice your data enough ways and you’ll find differences. I was reminded of this sitting through a conference session that shall remain nameless to protect the guilty.  But they’ve got lots of company. How many times have you seen a Powerpoint deck from one of the 3rd party data providers summarizing how your donors are […]

Learn More September 1, 2021

Humility in Numeracy

Numeracy, defined as a basic understanding and ability to work with numbers,  matters. The less numerate earn less and have less wealth.  They’re also more likely to have chronic disease, take more prescription drugs and be less able to follow the (partly numerated) instructions, thus adding more health risk.  Some of this is conflated with […]

Learn More June 14, 2021

Seize This Moment

The M+R 2021 Benchmark Study is now out.  And it’s a winner.  In fact, it carries news of lots of winners in the pandemic year of 2020. I hope you’ll read the entire report packed with charts and editorial insightful commentary covering digital advertising , email messaging, text messaging and peer to peer, email metrics, […]

Learn More May 19, 2021

Beware of Junk Science

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is the most popular personality test in the world.  Fortune 100 love it.  Government agencies love it.  More than 1.5 million people take it every year. Our only issue with it as social scientists is this:  It’s absolute garbage.  Otherwise, we too love it. It fails on two fundamental requirements. Not […]

Learn More March 17, 2021

Heeding The Patient Prediction of Steve MacLaughlin

For years Steve MacLaughlin, VP of Product  Management at Blackbaud and author of Data Driven Nonprofits has patiently predicted that online giving would  grow beyond 10% of total giving. 2020 was the year it finally happened. The detail of this online breakthrough –along with a treasure trove of other giving data – is reflected in […]

Learn More February 19, 2021

Locally or Globally?

Part of me would prefer this post be about “all politics are local”,  or “to think globally, act locally”,  or some other bumper sticker phraseology.  Alas, it’s about a theoretical and practical problem that won’t neatly fit on your bumper. What if your best practice, or your best statistical model,  or your best appeal,  or […]

Learn More February 3, 2021

Facts and Myths of Donor Surveys

[ Editor’s Note:  During what is a holiday recess for many we’ll re-run some of the most popular posts from 2020.  Leading off this parade is the first of Kevin’s 3-Part series on Donor Surveys.  You can find Part 2 here and Part 3 here. We’ll resume posting new content on Monday, January 11.  Roger] […]

Learn More December 30, 2020

Holiday Treats: More PPP. Latest FEP.

A couple of quick but quite important items.  Consider these your Agitator stocking stuffers. Key Benefits in Just-Passed Covid Relief Bill The 5600 page, $900 billion stimulus bill passed by Congress on Monday and likely ( or maybe not ) pto be signed by the President contains these key benefits for nonprofits. Another round of […]

Learn More December 23, 2020

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Ask A Behavioral Scientist

    Behavioral Science Q & A

    Q: As a designer who works with non-profits on fundraising strategy, I see the language like the following: “Our supporters help empower every girl, ensuring she has the resources she needs.” I do not think the word “help” is useful–I think “Our supporters empower every girl, ensuring she has the resources she needs. ” is much more engaging. Thoughts?

    Whether “help” is more engaging or not really depends on the framing and context. The word help can sometimes weaken the perceived agency of the supporter, making their role feel secondary rather than central (your point). On the other hand, help can also signal collaboration rather than implying full ownership of the outcome, which might […]

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    Q: We started offering a donor cover option last april 1. The data to date suggests this may be dampening giving.eg. those who say yes to donor cover have a lower average gift (based on analysis of 6000+ gifts). I’m wondering if those who give lower gifts feel more guilt and therefore say yes to donor cover or if the presence of donor cover is making people adjust (lower) their gift size to accommodate the extra 3%. Would love any insights you have.

    Great question! Here’s how behavioral science can help unpack what might be happening: Pain of Paying: Even a small extra charge can make giving feel more transactional than emotional, potentially reducing generosity. Fairness Concerns: Some donors might perceive donor cover as a surcharge rather than a contribution to the cause. If they feel the charity […]

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    Q: When writing an appeal, I waffle back and forth between writing “Your gift CAN…” or “Your gift WILL…” Any studies of which of these two words is best for an appeal?

    The choice between “Your gift CAN…” and “Your gift WILL…” taps into the psychological framing of certainty vs. possibility. Currently, there is no academic research directly comparing these two framings in charitable appeals. However, I suspect no framing is universally better—the outcome likely depends on your target audience and the campaign’s goal. Here are some thoughts: Certainty Framing – […]

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    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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