Starting Over - Agitator

Fundraising philosophy/profession

Getting Sound Fundraising Advice

I been thinking about the Comments on my post last week, Who’s A Poor Fundraiser To Believe? In it’s most simple reading, the post was taken as reducing sound fundraising to choosing one side or the other of the ‘mail more, mail less’ conundrum. And looked at this way, the appropriate response was, in effect: This […]

Learn More August 8, 2017

Think AND Simplify?

In another incarnation, I spend a lot of time trying to get farmers to adopt ‘best practises’ that would improve their productivity and profitability while at the same time lessening their environmental footprint. What one sees is that there are basically three groups of farmers and growers out there: The top 20% ‘super farmers’ who […]

Learn More August 3, 2017

Eminence vs Evidence In Fundraising – Part 2: What is “Proper” Research

Judging from readers’ Comments to Part 1 of this series there’s a truly felt need and desire for collecting — and sharing — proper fundraising research and findings. Two questions arise. Just what is ‘proper’ research? And, ‘how’ can this information best be shared? What Is ‘Proper’ Research? The definition of what constitutes ‘proper’ research […]

Learn More July 27, 2017

Eminence vs. Evidence In Fundraising–Part 1: Emerging from the Dark Ages

Slowly, ever so slowly, fundraising is emerging from its Dark Ages of reliance on myth, tribal wisdom, and so-called ‘best practices’. For generations, fundraising ‘know how’ has been driven by anecdotes and passed-along rules of thumb largely free of any empirical or scientific validation. Examples of our trade’s reliance on received wisdom abound. “Mail more, […]

Learn More July 26, 2017

Are You A Fundraising Professional?

Be careful before you answer. It might be a trick question. I’m sure all Agitator readers regard themselves as ‘professional’, at least in the sense of making some ongoing, applied effort to be seriously competent — i.e. not regarded as a dilettante. But now consider this passage from a recent blog post by fundraiser extraordinaire, Giles […]

Learn More July 19, 2017

A REALLY BIG Deal!

Frankly, we’re gobsmacked. Astounded, awestruck and absolutely thrilled by a massive undertaking by UK fundraisers and other leaders in the voluntary sector that should attract the serious attention and participation of all of us — on every continent. Today the Commission on the Donor Experience released its overview of recommended changes to transform fundraising from […]

Learn More June 19, 2017

In Pursuit Of The Trivial

Slowly, but surely, research in the field of behavioral science is making its way into Fundraising Land. Over the past several years commercial marketers have begun to discover practices which those pundits and commentators who favor high-blown ‘strategic’ insights often consider ‘trivial’. What once seemed relatively trivial has proven to hold monumental importance compared to […]

Learn More June 15, 2017

Good Enough Is No Longer Good Enough – Part 4: Donor Journeys

The journey the organization wants the donor to go on is not usually the journey the donor wants to go on. The reason for this disconnect is that few organizations truly understand why donors choose to stay or leave, let alone know when the donor makes the decision to leave. This is not a new […]

Learn More June 13, 2017

Creating Great Donor Experiences

Tom’s post Designing a Customer-Centric Organization triggered a number of valuable comments from readers. I especially note Tom Ahern’s channeling of Mark Phillips insight, “The only thing worth a damn is the donor experience.” Then Ahern added, “And that experience has many parts worth considering.” One of our goals in the Good Enough Is Not Good […]

Learn More June 6, 2017

The Delivery vs. Discovery Paradox

It’s INTERMISSION TIME in our Good Enough Is Not Good Enough series. (Part 1 here; Part 2 here). We conceived the series for two reasons: We wanted to share some of the significant discoveries or findings that are emerging because of research. Particularly discoveries that have significant potential for increasing retention, donor commitment and lifetime value. It’s long been […]

Learn More June 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: