Fundraising philosophy/profession

Hal Malchow’s Last Campaign

No wonder my phone exploded yesterday. This headline explains why: “Hal Malchow Is Going to Die on Thursday. He has One Last Message for Democrats.” The subhead continued, “The pioneering Democratic consultant has been planning his death for decades.” In his inimitable style of facts salted with grace, compassion and deep knowledge of the American […]

Learn More March 18, 2024

From Ship Building to Ship Wrecking

Let’s face it, most fundraisers and the nonprofits they serve—along with virtually every other profession– are governed by motives beyond just the noble ones they claim. Nonprofits need to raise money to survive. Journalism is a business that needs to make money to survive. Political candidates need to raise money to campaign and win. Increasingly there […]

Learn More March 1, 2024

Final Giving Tuesday’23 Tip: Answer the Damn Phone

For our final Giving Tuesday tip of 2023 the headline above says it all. Answer the damn phone. In this giving season when many nonprofits receive as much as 1/3 of their total annual revenue, it’s particularly important to […]

Learn More November 20, 2023

Beware the Danger of Status Quo Fundraising

Direct response fundraisers face an uncertain future (declining number of donors, declining retention rates, increased costs, increased shortage of experienced staff are just a few of the troubling indicators). So, in figuring out how to navigate choppy waters it’s helpful to understand that the default position for most of our sector is to resist […]

Learn More October 16, 2023

Fundraisers Who Know vs. Fundraisers Who Care

The Agitator spreads most of its digital ink covering the strategies, tactics, and trends in fundraising. Among all these trees of technique it’s easy to lose sight of the forest called mission. If you’re not motivated, captured, and deeply committed to the mission of your cause or movement it’s likely you’re […]

Learn More October 9, 2023

Where Has All the Money Gone?

Recently The New York Times’ Michelle Goldberg, in her column questioned Where Has All The Left-wing Money Gone? Citing “endless appeals, sometimes in bold all caps” of the seemingly endless the-sky-is-falling, guilt-tripping and flood of fundraising emails is a reason folks aren’t donating as much as they used to. She […]

Learn More October 2, 2023

Rx for Fundraisers

If ever most of us could use some uplifting tonic following the Mug Shot Weekend, it’s now. In fact, I’d argue we really need a double dose. Thus, today’s help-us-heal and lift up our sight’s elixir. It’s been 15 years ago this month since the indomitable Harvey McKinnon and his co-author Azim Jamal released their […]

Learn More August 28, 2023

Jerry Huntsinger is Dead

Jerry Huntsinger, 90, died peacefully early Sunday morning in Williamsburg, Virginia. Along with scores of Agitator readers, hundreds of fans, and devotees we’ve lost a dear and precious friend. We marked his 90th Birthday just two weeks ago with the tribute Celebrating the Wonder and Wisdom of Jerry Huntsinger . Lots of readers weighed in […]

Learn More August 7, 2023

Celebrating the Wonder and Wisdom of Jerry Huntsinger

“It happened September 21, 1962. My first day on the new job. At last! I was a writer! Hired to create publicity releases, news stories, feature articles. Or so I thought. “Instead, at 9:00 a.m., the Executive Director of the charity comes into to my office and says: “Write the quarterly appeal.” “ ‘Excuse me?’ […]

Learn More July 24, 2023

Have You Been Selected?

Sometime last weekend, I think it was about 7:35 pm Saturday evening, as I worked my way through the week’s river of despairing news and its ever-flowing tributary of emails telling me why my immediate help –even $3 –would make the difference, my spirits suddenly lifted. Right there on that forlorn evening appeared an email […]

Learn More April 19, 2023

Ask A Behavioral Scientist

Behavioral Science Q & A

Q:We are struggling with acquistion. During our biggest community campaign, a colleague is suggesting that we have a QR code directing donors to a donate page that does not capture donor information – just a donation and an email address. We won’t be able to post any of these new doors our lvoely newsletters, or thank you letters. We’ll likely never hear from them again. What’s the best method to get this team to see the importance about a donor vs a donation?

Thanks so much for raising this. Yes, capturing donor information can be helpful for stewardship like newsletters, thank-you letters, impact updates. But how you ask matters. Forcing full data capture introduces friction that can significantly depress conversion, many donors may simply abandon the process. Beyond the friction itself, required fields also shift the emotional experience […]

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Q: Should we include “Giving Tuesday” in the subject lines for the emails that are going out before Giving Tuesday?

Unlike holidays that everyone already knows, Giving Tuesday is a created event. Many donors recognize the name but not the exact timing, so referencing it becomes a helpful cue. It serves as a reminder and taps into social norm activation (“everyone’s giving today”), which boosts response. However, we still want it paired with the mission, […]

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Q: can we pull the match language into the subject lines? Or this should be an A/B test?

When a subject line leads with the match (“Your gift matched!”), it risks triggering market-norm thinking: the sense that giving is a financial transaction rather than an act rooted in values, identity, and care. This shift reduces intrinsic motivation and, over time, can weaken donor satisfaction and long-term engagement. It also makes the email indistinguishable […]

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Q: Our mid-level donor team removed the QR code from the DM donation form that links to the donation page, but have left the URL for them to type it in manually. Not sure why they are adding a barrier to the donation process for a higher value donor – but I have to ask – is there any proof – either way – if a QR donation code reduces MV online giving, has any effect on their donation amount, has any effect on off line donations? Thank you….

There’s no evidence that QR codes suppress mid-value giving; all available research suggests they either help or have no negative effect. In fact, behavioral and usability research consistently shows the opposite: reducing friction at any point in the donation process increases completion rates and total response. And that has nothing to do with capacity and […]

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Q: How can we effectively use behavioral science to help shift our Board’s mindset. The majority are extremely resistant to asking their networks or sharing their contact lists with us, even after a candid discussion with an external lay leader who has been training boards with her fantastic Fundraising isn’t the F Word! workshop. We have also offered to use our automated email tool to send their appeals from their own email. It is so frustrating. We even have 2 Board members and the chair trying put some accountability on them for our big event but people are not really moving!

What you’re experiencing is very common. Resistance often isn’t about capability, but about motivation quality. If board members feel pushed into fundraising, that triggers controlled motivation (low quality motivation) i.e. obligation, guilt, or fear of judgment, which often results in avoidance. Instead, we need to create conditions for volitional motivation (high quality motivation) by satisfying […]

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Q: Copywriters often argue the ask should appear on the first page, but that usually breaks the story in two. With a one-sided letter the ask is always on page one, but with a two-sided letter it may fall on the second page—do results differ? Has your appeal structure been tested on both one-sided and two-sided letters? I just read the article Your Appeal Outline: Thoughtful Strategy or Random Spasm?

That’s a really thoughtful question, and you’re not the first to raise it. Many of our clients have been cautious about placing the ask at the very end. To address their concern, we’ve tested both approaches, and the results are clear: when the ask comes last, even if that means it appears on the second […]

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