Major donors - Agitator

Communications

The End Of An Era. Thank Heavens!

A couple of days ago Tom relayed Ken Burnett’s view of what donors and fundraising will be like ten years from now. In brief, technology will put donors more in control of the channels through which we communicate with them…donors will seek greater accountability, transparency and control of how their money is spent and what […]

Learn More November 5, 2009

Handwritten Letters

Handwritten letters … what a concept! I enjoyed this article by Max Kalehoff writing in — of all places — Online Spin! Says Max: "… the growing volume of communications in digital form also drives attention deficit, dehumanization and diminishing returns. It’s a tragedy of the commons when digital innovations, celebrated for their improvement on […]

Learn More November 2, 2009

Try Or Die!

Yesterday, with his Scrooge hat on, Tom offered his opinion and advice on how to approach the question of fitting social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) into the fundraising mix. Tom justified his parsimonious approach to investing in social media on the grounds that the “fundraising team’s job is to protect and nurture our existing donor […]

Learn More October 2, 2009

Want To Try Something New?

Yesterday we reported our Agitator survey results on current nonprofit fundraising priorities. The survey was triggered by our desire to get a sense of how fundraisers planned to fit social media (Facebook etc) into their marketing mix over the next twelve months. We weren’t surprised by the results — major gift fundraising and and direct […]

Learn More October 1, 2009

Your Fundraising Priorities

You’ll recall that we’ve raised the issue of where the use of social media fits into the overall fundraising priorities of nonprofits. We’ve now "closed" our online survey asking your opinions on the subject. Here are the responses to our three questions. First we asked about the overall fundraising mix … As a fundraiser in […]

Learn More September 30, 2009

Education Sector Flunks Online Fundraising

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) recently did a study of online fundraising at more than 550 colleges, universities and independent schools. What fundraisers at these institutions reported is appalling. There appears to be very little understanding in the sector of online fundraising, and very little measurement of the scant online fundraising […]

Learn More September 22, 2009

Giving: A Luxury Or A Need?

Yesterday The Agitator asked how donors might be sizing up their financial situation these days, given that some surveys indicate increasing optimism about the economy. Is the glass half-empty, or half-full? Here’s an article from the Washington Post that looks more anecdotally at the current spending attitudes of the top 20% of U.S. households in […]

Learn More September 11, 2009

Anyone Excited Yet?

In case you headed to the beach early last Friday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a financial conference that the economy — U.S. and globally — is on the verge of growing again. As reported here in the NY TImes, despite his upbeat tone, he did say the recovery would be "relatively slow at […]

Learn More August 24, 2009

Fundraisers Divided On 2009

The verdict is in from Agitator readers … 2009 fundraising for the first half of 2009 is, well, so-so! First of all, thanks to the 130 readers (81% from nonprofits, 19% consultants/agencies) who completed our mid-year assessment survey. Here’s the topline of how you are viewing 2009 to date: 1. Has your program performed better […]

Learn More July 22, 2009

Total Giving Down; Online Up

According to Giving USA, total giving to US charities declined 5.7% in real terms in 2008 compared to 2007, the first decline in real terms since 1987. Total giving in 2008 amounted to $307.65 billion, with these components (all declines inflation-adjusted): Individuals — $229.3 billion, down 6.3% Foundations — $41.2 billion, down 0.8% Bequests — […]

Learn More June 11, 2009

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 […]

Read Full Answer

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 […]

Read Full Answer

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 […]

Read Full Answer

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 […]

Read Full Answer

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 […]

Read Full Answer

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 […]

Read Full Answer

The Agitator Tool Box

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