Uncategorized

No Money Please, We’re British

About the only joy of living on airplanes is that I get to Europe frequently and can then tune in to all the channels of the BBC. One of my favorite programs (programmes) on the Beeb as the Brits call it, is Hard Talk. The sometimes puckish, often downright aggressive talking heads, always preppy and […]

Learn More November 29, 2006

Tell All …and Send Your Secret Bedroom Photos

Here at The Agitator find ourselves immersed in a real and very heated debate. Tom says that, in the interest of “transparency” and “accountability” anyone's contributions should be public and readily available online. Roger says, “it's no one's damn business and this sort of mindset is a real and present danger to civil liberties.” Of […]

Learn More November 27, 2006

Youth & Politics – Treasury of Data

Agitator confesses to being asleep at the switch back in October when The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE, funded by Pew and Carnegie) released its massive study on the civic and political engagement of youth (ages 15-25). CIRCLE's 2006 National Civic and Political Health Survey is a massive treasury […]

Learn More November 22, 2006

Ten Trends Transforming Marketing Measurements

Max Kalehoff is my man. He's VP of Marketing at Nielsen BuzzMetrics, a firm specializing in measuring consumer-generated media (you know, like blogs and YouTube videos). Never met Max, but find him a constant source of superb insight into how to measure and analyze consumer behavior. Our previous posts on consumer engagement and “happy losers” […]

Learn More November 18, 2006

Fundraisers Versus Communicators

You're probably overdosed on post-election punditry by now, but the Agitator just can't resist applying some of the smart analysis we've read to the fundraising and communications missions of progressive advocacy groups. Why? Because a classic battle is about to intensify within many cause groups. “Fundraisers” — whose mission is self-explanatory — thrive primarily by […]

Learn More November 15, 2006

Nabuur to Neighbor to Neighbour

One of the great movement entrepreneurs of the past 15 years is a Dutchman little known outside his home territory of the Netherlands and in global wildlife conservation circles. His name is Siegfried Woldhek (he's the guy on the right in the photo to the left above) and he's pioneering a new way of volunteer […]

Learn More November 12, 2006

Fishing With The Right Gear

Campus Progress, youth-oriented arm of the Center for American Progress, has been running a multi-media campaign dealing with the burden of student debt. The campaign involves online video ads running on the Washington Post and Slate.com sites (and viewable on YouTube), as well as on theater screens in eight cities, video banners on .edu-targeted sites, […]

Learn More November 10, 2006

Who Deserves The Credit?

We at The Agitator consider ourselves determinedly independent when it comes to politics, so we won't weep if a few progressive Republicans were elected here and there across America yesterday (though we're hard pressed to think of any … maybe Arnold). That said, we can live with the Dems winning control of the House, and […]

Learn More November 8, 2006

Still Waiting for the Revolution

Today, as voters go to the polls and we await the returns of the mid-term elections, others are already hard at work strategizing, politickin' and prognosticating about the forthcoming 2008 presidential campaigns. Yesterday's release of the Pew Research Center's study tited “The Internet and Politics: No Revolution, Yet” is great food spiced with a a […]

Learn More November 7, 2006

Reprieve for Postage Meters

Ginger Stickel, like most Americans, has been getting a lot more junk mail these days.” Thus reads the lead in a New York Times piece headlined “Junk Mail is Alive and Growing”. Ahhh, music to my ears. Remember back just five years when so many industry pundits predicted that the internet and e-marketing meant the […]

Learn More November 6, 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 […]

Read Full Answer

Uncategorized

No Money Please, We’re British

Tell All …and Send Your Secret Bedroom Photos

Youth & Politics – Treasury of Data

Ten Trends Transforming Marketing Measurements

Fundraisers Versus Communicators

Nabuur to Neighbor to Neighbour

Fishing With The Right Gear

Who Deserves The Credit?

Still Waiting for the Revolution

Reprieve for Postage Meters

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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