Privacy - Agitator | DonorVoice

Breaking Out of the Status Quo

The Key To Curing Your Fundraising Ailments

Retention concerns? Privacy concerns? Opt-out/opt-in concerns? Regulatory concerns? Making content relevant concerns? All of these concerns can be effectively addressed—and solved whether you’re in a small organization or a large one– by First Party Data and it’s little known sibling Zero Party Data. Too good to be true? Nope. What we’re going to cover in […]

Learn More February 10, 2020

Are You Ready for Fundraising’s Changing Data Future?

As the current era of internet search and third-party cookies nears its end and the era of consumer privacy looms, I fear most organizations are ill-prepared. That’s understandable since no big changes are yet evident: the California Consumer Privacy Protect Act doesn’t take effect until January 2020, the CCPA has an exemption for nonprofits (but […]

Learn More November 11, 2019

Head-in-the-Sand Is Not a Donor-Centric Strategy

A year ago I wrote: “ I don’t know exactly when it will happen. In the not-too-distant future your organization will receive a letter from a donor that goes something like this: Dear ABC Organization, I’m growing increasingly concerned over the widespread use and abuse of my private and personal information by organizations like Facebook, Google […]

Learn More October 4, 2019

Shelter from the Privacy Storm

On Monday, Roger talked about the looming storm clouds of California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA.) This new act likely to portend a cluster… munition… for a few reasons: Even before the CCPA takes effect on January 1, 2020, there’s already a push to hold a new California referendum calling for even greater regulation. This on […]

Learn More October 2, 2019

U.S. Privacy Alert

I realize it’s rich in irony to be posting an alert on privacy to readers in an industry that routinely rents and exchanges its donors’ names and addresses to other nonprofits with little or no notice or permission whatsoever in order to create what many donors consider a nuisance. But the time has come for […]

Learn More September 30, 2019

Is There No End To Stupid?

It’s no secret that in the not-too-distant future, organizations in the UK and the European Union could lose access to between 50% and 85% of their donors if they don’t get some form of permission — from those donors — to send communications. The Agitator has written about this here … offered a free download […]

Learn More August 14, 2017

Protecting Donor Privacy

Efforts by the F.B.I. to compel Apple to break the encryption of the San Bernardino murderer’s iPhone is a stark reminder of the paradox faced by those living in a free society. Because of the current fear and fixation with ‘terrorism, some will find it easy to justify making an exception to this effort at […]

Learn More February 22, 2016

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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Breaking Out of the Status Quo

The Key To Curing Your Fundraising Ailments

Are You Ready for Fundraising’s Changing Data Future?

Head-in-the-Sand Is Not a Donor-Centric Strategy

Shelter from the Privacy Storm

U.S. Privacy Alert

Is There No End To Stupid?

Protecting Donor Privacy

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?

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?

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?

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?

Q: What are the three most important things to consider when designing a brilliant supporter journey?

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