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Breaking Out of the Status Quo

What’s Your Return on Experience?

“in addition to the traditional return on investment (ROI) metrics used to determine a company’s success, PwC believes it’s time to introduce another metric, one with a focus on customer experience…Measuring ‘return on experience’ (ROX), will help you understand your earnings on investments in the parts of your company directly related to how people interact […]

Learn More April 15, 2019

Speed Round: 7 Updates on 7 Issues

It’s spring, so it’s time for a bit of housecleaning.  Here are updates from the research, field, or my own fevered brain on the Agitator posts you know and love. The return on customer experience.  We talk a lot about the importance of donor experience.  In fact, Craig Linton, who you may know from Fundraising […]

Learn More April 12, 2019

Death Is Our Friend

She cleared her throat. Laughed a little in spite of herself. And then said, “Have you ever seen a U-Haul following a hearse? You can’t take it with you!“ Thus…with this brief account of their conversation with a legacy donor authors Fraser Green, Holly Wagg and Charlotte Field explain how they chose the title for […]

Learn More April 10, 2019

Consumers: The New Philanthropists?

We’ve done our share of sounding the alarm lately, from Roger’s post highlighting 23 changes necessary for the future of the sector, to my alert that we could lose more than half our donors in the next decade, to the need for new acquisition approaches. The TL;DR version is that we need to find new […]

Learn More April 3, 2019

Predicting Sustainer Retention

Monthly givers should be like an annuity or bond – an initial investment pays steady dividends over time.  In reality, sustainers are great, but they are not Ron Popeil’s “set it and forget it”: there’s far more investment of time and energy required to make sure a donor stays with you for the long-term. What […]

Learn More March 25, 2019

Donor Acquistion: Time for New Approaches

We’ve devoted significant space ( here, here, here and here) emphasizing the importance of tending your Garden of Existing Donors to assure higher retention at a time when, overall, the sector is hemorrhaging donors. BUT…as noted on Monday, even if we can arrest the momentum of the descent in numbers of donors, these actions alone will […]

Learn More March 22, 2019

Toward Donor Sustainability

You awake and grab your rod and reel.  You will eat what fish you catch; if you do not catch you do not eat. The fish awake.  They have two schools of thought*.  You have the Dory school with poor memories.  They think the western part of the water is a great place to get […]

Learn More March 20, 2019

Fund for the Widow of the Unknown Soldier

While preparing a follow-up post to Nick’s Two Identity Tests You Can Run I was reminded that not only is “donor identity”—the core reason for a person’s giving– powerful, but that it can also be powerfully misused. Nowhere is this more evident than when it comes to money raising for unethical or scam charities and scam […]

Learn More March 13, 2019

Two Donor Identity Tests You Can Run

We’ve talked in some detail about how donor identity – the person’s core reason for giving to you – is the best way to segment your file. But talk is cheap.  Let’s see some results. Can going deeper into donor identity improve results?  And can looking at new and different reasons to give bring new […]

Learn More March 11, 2019

Meet the New Platform: Same As the Old Platform

“So put your little hand in mine. There ain’t no hill or mountain we can’t climb…”  Slap alarm. Read newspaper.  Headline: Facebook Announces Now Accepting Donations for Nonprofits.  Read the story: Will they share donor information with the nonprofit?  No.  No they will not.  Discard newspaper and proceed with day. “So put your little hand […]

Learn More February 20, 2019

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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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