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Getting Ready for the Revolution

Bob Walker, head of Enterprising Strategies, and one of the most experienced and thoughtful progressive strategists inside or outside the Beltway, has just released a must-read white paper titled “The Coming Political Realignment…And What it Means for Nonprofit Advocacy.” All this comes from a guy who's been there, done that and done it successfully. As […]

Learn More August 4, 2006

Get Ready For a (Good) Cry

August approaches, and many of us will take time to re-charge our batteries in the weeks ahead. Here is the most inspiring story I've read in ages. Read it and you will be energized and motivated to do better, try harder and take on bigger challenges. You'll feel more optimistic. You will not be able […]

Learn More July 28, 2006

Bus Leaving for Washington, NOW!

Attention planned giving fundraisers! Washington's abuzz. But it's only fair that you non-Washingtonians should get a bite at the apple. The biggest transfer of wealth in the history of the Washington region will occur over the next 50 years as current retirees and Boomers expected to die by 2055 make bequests totalling $2.4 trillion. So […]

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Jon Stewart vs. Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.

On the HuffingtonPost blog today, Washington insider Marty Kaplan laments the fact that the Network of Spiritual Progressives must buy its way into the NYTimes with an ad costing $154,000 or more. He writes: “What's odd is the monopoly on elite attention that the prestige press seems still to maintain. You'd think that new technology […]

Learn More July 27, 2006

Cabbies and Carbon Sequestration

When's the last time you had a great conversation with your cabbie about “carbon sequestration.” NOT! And that's the problem with today's knowledgeable, authoritative, but politically weak environmental groups. In a must read article in this week's Nation magazine, Mark Hertsgaard, the Nation's environmental correspondent, contrasts the staleness and homogeneity of the national groups with […]

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Play. Learn. Save the World.

“The generation that grew up with Super Mario is entering the workplace, entering politics, so they see games as just another good tool to use to communicate” says Henry Jenkins, an MIT professor quoted in Sunday's New York Times. The Times piece, “Saving the World, One Video Game at a Time”, explores and reports on […]

Learn More July 24, 2006

Agitating Again: “Funding Father’s” New Book Released

I'll never forget the phone call I received from Richard Viguerie, often called the 'funding father' of the New Right, on election night 1980. A dozen liberal Senate candidates, and presidential candidate John Anderson– campaigns that Craver, Mathews, Smith & Company had worked on that year — had just gone down to in landslide defeat. […]

Learn More July 21, 2006

Pods vs. Blogs

Nielsen/NetRatings reports that 6.6% of adult online users, or 9.2 million web users have downloaded audio podcasts in last 30 days, while 4.0%, or 5.6 million web users have downloaded video podcasts. This is comparable to the 4.8% who have published blogs. Back in January 2005 Pew Internet Project reported that 27% of internet users […]

Learn More July 18, 2006

More on Broken Models…Much More!

Here are the takeaways from an article on the demise of AOL by one of our favorite tell-it-as-it-is marketing gurus and Guest Agitator Denny Hatch. But you should really read the whole piece and milk it for all its wisdom! The lessons apply to non-profit marketing as well. If your business model has been a […]

Learn More July 17, 2006

Getting What They Deserve

Today two long-time friends Jerry Huntsinger and George Lizama will receive the highest awards given by the Direct Marketing Association of Washington, D.C. and the DMAW's Education Foundation. Jerry, often referred to as the “Dean of Direct Mail Fundraising”, will receive the 2006 Sisk Award for Direct Marketing Vision. He joins the ranks of distinguished […]

Learn More July 14, 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

Getting Ready for the Revolution

Get Ready For a (Good) Cry

Bus Leaving for Washington, NOW!

Jon Stewart vs. Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.

Cabbies and Carbon Sequestration

Play. Learn. Save the World.

Agitating Again: “Funding Father’s” New Book Released

Pods vs. Blogs

More on Broken Models…Much More!

Getting What They Deserve

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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