Fundraising philosophy/profession - Agitator

Breaking Out of the Status Quo

The Benefits Of Collaborative Fundraising

In Part 8 of The Agitator’s Barriers To Growth series I cited “Insufficient Collaboration” as one of the principal barriers. Of the more than 1 million nonprofits in the U.S., nearly 75% post annual revenues below $500,000. I noted that “this leaves little or no room for the ‘science’ part of fundraising like data analytics, […]

Learn More March 9, 2017

Roger’s Blood Pressure

For months now, I’ve been sensing the steady rise in Roger’s blood pressure. I’ve watched two things in particular get him agitated … First, the glacier-like pace (and that’s me being charitable) with which fundraisers have responded to declining donor retention rates. And second, not unrelated, the apparent diffidence (again, I’m being charitable in my choice of […]

Learn More February 27, 2017

Our Job Is to Piss You Off

And get you thinking. Apparently we’re succeeding, judging from the thoughtful comment by Tom Ahern in response to my post on feedback. Tom takes umbrage with my snarky and no doubt intemperate comments on what I described as somewhat superficial approaches to ‘donor centricity’, whatever that is. First, let me apologize for any language that came […]

Learn More February 24, 2017

Who Will Get The Money?

In her comment on Monday’s Agitator post, 40 Nonprofit Trends, Gayle Gifford made a provocative point, which I hope might stir up some debate … “The overwhelming majority of US public charities, those small and medium sized organizations, simply don’t have the funds to compete for talented fund development staff or new technology to keep […]

Learn More February 22, 2017

The Best $5 You’ll Ever Spend. Guaranteed.

“I’m disgusted and frustrated. You should be, too.” With those words, Michael Rosen launched his post What are the Obstacles to Improving Donor-Retention Rates? “Once again, the already horrible existing-donor and new-donor retention rates in the USA have further declined, according to the 2016 Donor Retention Report issued recently as part of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and Urban […]

Learn More February 15, 2017

When All Else Fails: Merge

The general inability of large organizations to face change and flexibly deal with it hit home with this recent headline in Toronto’s Globe and Mail: Donation drop forces merger of Canada’s largest cancer charities, The merger of the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (CBCF) was triggered by revenue decline of 16% […]

Learn More February 13, 2017

Rise Up! Fly In!

This is a Call to Action. The 100-year-old charitable tax deduction is under imminent threat and nonprofits are gearing up for a fight. Mark your calendar, alert your clients, your board, your CEO and urge them to participate in the “100 Years of Giving DC Fly-In” on February 15-16 to persuade Congress that it must […]

Learn More February 7, 2017

Defending Black Lives Matter … And The Alt-Right

Make no mistake. Ever since the U.S. Presidential election political and ideological polarization has increased not diminished. It’s a dangerous trend that should concern and alert every nonprofit with a mission to advocate a point of view. Now, as much as any time in history, it is essential that individuals be able to express and promote their […]

Learn More February 6, 2017

What Do You See In Your Crystal Ball?

Over at the UK’s 101Fundraising, Matthew Sherrington has bravely shared his thoughts on the changes and trends he thinks will affect fundraising over the next five years or so. His 12 insights from the crystal ball are well-informed, cover most aspects of fundraising, and well worth a read. Two in particular resonated with me. “Expectations […]

Learn More February 3, 2017

Are You A Beggar Or A Fundraiser?

This marketer, writing in Targeted Marketing, clearly has had enough of the unceasing fundraising appeals he’s received from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Here’s the eighth message, which pushed him over the edge. And here’s his reaction … “Final notice”? That reeks of desperation covered by a thin veneer of bullshit. “Emotional hot-button copy is essential […]

Learn More February 2, 2017

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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The Agitator Tool Box

Ideas, applications, tools, processes, and case studies of break-through solutions in fundraising, including: