Uncategorized

Oprah and the Gift of Giving Back

On her show that aired Monday, Oprah Winfrey gave more than 300 audience members each a $1,000 debit card sponsored by the Bank of America to donate to a charitable cause. Famous for giving members of her audience new cars, paying off their debts, or fulfilling their wildest dreams, Oprah has now given what she […]

Learn More November 1, 2006

Campaign Ads To Be Ashamed Of

We're now a week away from the long-awaited mid-term elections. Conventional wisdom runs deep that the GOP will post big losses and the Dems will gain. Meanwhile, the remaing days of the campaign countdown will find millions of television -watching voters exposed every 10 or 15 minutes to a barrage of campaign spots. The New […]

Learn More October 31, 2006

Into the Darkness: An Editor’s Plea

Each day five or six of us read dozens of news items, a half dozen polls and research studies and try our best to put together the 'editorial budget' for The Agitator. Noble, sure. Effective, I'm not so sure. Why? Each week hundreds of regular, repeat readers visit this site. You are folks who clearly […]

Learn More October 30, 2006

You Can Win $1,000, Maybe Even $100,000

No, not by completing our Staying Ahead of the Curve survey (see right column, top). For that, you simply earn our gratitude and some insight into how your peers are doing when Agitator reports the results. For $1,000 or $100,000 in prize money, you need to win Carson Daly's (originator of MTV's “TRL” phenom) “It's […]

Learn More October 29, 2006

We’re Flabbergasted

This post in Don't Tell The Donor really surprises us, since we generally find this guy quite insightful … hence his inclusion on our blogroll. Basically the post calls “total rubbish” the following comment by a writer for a local business publication: Today, nonprofits need to operate like a business. Budgeting funds is a must, […]

Learn More October 28, 2006

Email Heresy

Recently we blank”>posted on the thorny subject of whether email lobbying campaigns were actually getting their messages through to Congress. The focus of the posting was on the technical side of whether (or to what extent) such “generated” messages were filtered out in various ways by legislators' defensive systems. In addition, however, The Agitator expressed […]

Learn More October 27, 2006

Two (Make That Three) Things That Kill Marketing Creativity

Marketing creativity is a favorite theme of Seth Godin's, and his comments here nail it. Still, to his two creativity killers, I'd add a third: Fearful, unimaginative bosses.

Learn More October 26, 2006

Madonna Deserves A Raise

Madonna is being villified for seeking to adopt an orphaned Malawi child. Here, from the Chicago Tribune, is a typical article, which disparagingly concludes: “When the public tires of Madonna’s latest exploit and the media moves on to something else, little will have changed for Malawi and the million orphans she left behind.” To which […]

Learn More October 25, 2006

If A Tree Falls In The Forest …

… and no one is there to hear it, was there a sound? I can't make up my mind. Should I be following the meltdown of the ACLU for lessons in how a venerable nonprofit brand can self-destruct? Or is this internecine warfare merely “inside baseball” as one ACLU ally put it … real only […]

Learn More October 22, 2006

Are You Addicted?

No, not to love. According to Reuters, researchers at Stanford University's School of Medicine have reported a new malady … Internet Addiction. Here's the profile YOU might fit (I know I do): 13.7% find it hard to stay offline for several days at a time. (Days? How about hours?!) 12.4% often stay online longer than […]

Learn More October 21, 2006

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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Uncategorized

Oprah and the Gift of Giving Back

Campaign Ads To Be Ashamed Of

Into the Darkness: An Editor’s Plea

You Can Win $1,000, Maybe Even $100,000

We’re Flabbergasted

Email Heresy

Two (Make That Three) Things That Kill Marketing Creativity

Madonna Deserves A Raise

If A Tree Falls In The Forest …

Are You Addicted?

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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