Fundraising philosophy/profession

Urgent Alert to U.S. Nonprofits–Immediate Action Needed

If you’re willing to turn over the list of your top donors to the government then you need read no further. However, if you’re not sure, or you’re absolutely certain you’d be unwilling to give up the donor list, then take this post to your CEO and General Counsel. Immediately. Why? Because right now the […]

Learn More August 13, 2015

Lazy Fundraisers

As he dashed out the door for his annual vacation Tom’s last act was to fill The Agitator’s “Grist Mill” Inbox with a ream of suggestions for posts during his absence. Maybe it was the demon of envy in my self-conscious that forced my eyes to settle on one item. After all, this year Tom […]

Learn More August 12, 2015

American Cancer Society Flops

If bullshit were the new cure for cancer then the direct marketing staff and consultants of the American Cancer Society should win the Nobel Prize in Medicine hands down. That was pretty much the conclusion of dozens of Agitator readers who phoned, emailed and texted following their attendance at last week’s presentation at the DMANF New […]

Learn More August 10, 2015

Innovation Series #4: Failure to Innovate

What’s stopping you from innovation. Nothing we can think of except the usual sloth, fear and idiotic board or CEO. Perhaps you can enlighten us. What reasons do you give for failure to innovate? Here’s Tom’s take in his 2012 post Nonprofit Failure is Too Rare. The Editors By Tom Belford | December 6, […]

Learn More August 6, 2015

The Single Most Important “Fix” for Fundraising

Back in May Ken Burnett served up a thought-provoking finale to his 5-part Future of Fundraising series: Fundraising and the rule of law. For those who missed this series we especially want to repeat and focus on a key reform we all need to work on –fixing the donor’s experience. You’ll find Ken’s recommendations set forth […]

Learn More July 30, 2015

Wanted: “Retentioneer”

Seems like the hot new job title in Silicon Valley is “Retentioneer.” The term is a combination of “Retention” + “Engineer” = Retentionner.” Tech companies are finally realizing the futility of focusing on growth without fixing the leaky bucket of attrition. In short, they need to fix retention to have any chance of real growth. Sound […]

Learn More July 29, 2015

Fundraising Hypocrisy

If you’re one of our 872 UK Agitator readers this is for you. And also for the other 7,247 Agitators around the globe. Most likely the shoe also fits. Here’s the deal. Over the last few months the UK tabloids busted the fundraising British sector for its overly aggressive tactics in telemarketing and Face –To-Face techniques. […]

Learn More July 28, 2015

Wallowing In Fundraising Delusions

Awhile back, Jeff Brooks cited a number of ‘fundraising delusions’ he read about on Social Velocity. The Social Velocity article opened as follows: “Fundraising is, for the most part, a fundamentally misunderstood activity. There are a lot of misconceptions, among nonprofit leaders, board members — even donors — about effective ways to bring money in […]

Learn More July 23, 2015

The 20:2 Principle

We’ve all heard of the Pareto Principle — the 80:20 rule — in one form or another. In its basic formulation, something like 20% of your customers — or donors, or stores, or products — generate 80% of your income. [I’ve often daydreamed: does 20% of my time generate 80% of my income? Sadly, I’ve […]

Learn More July 22, 2015

Broken! Dangerous Fundraising Machinery

I wonder how many donors give in spite of the fundraising machine, not because of it?! As I read and wrote about the press and public’s outrage over Face-2-Face and telemarketing techniques that’s spilled forth in the UK, I kept asking: “Why or how in the world could a sector this sophisticated have allowed this […]

Learn More July 16, 2015

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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