Uncategorized

Creating Quality Donors From Scratch

Are you tired of playing “Donor Roulette” with your acquisition efforts? Growing weary of playing the numbers game and crossing your fingers for donor gold? What if we told you there’s a better way to know your donors from the get-go? A way to ensure you’re not just acquiring any donor but cultivating the right […]

Learn More April 5, 2023

Is AI Creative?

Creativity is often defined by three criteria, The idea or product is novel (original) and, Has value or utility (usefulness), Within a specific context or task (task appropriateness) AI can certainly devise novel works of music, art and writing. It’s true AI has no cognition, emotions or experiences and therefore, its originality is limited to […]

Learn More March 31, 2023

Remember When You First Fell In Love?

You were sure that exhilarating rush would last forever. Alas, as we all know, the early flames of a long-term relationship usually die down. A stable bond replaces the exhilaration. BUT…that bond needs occasional juicing if it’s to stay healthy and deepen. A good deal of what the Agitator covers focuses on the essential task […]

Learn More March 27, 2023

The Power of One Vs. Collective

Joseph Stalin said “the death of one person is a tragedy; the death of one million is a statistic.” And Mother Teresa agreed, “If I look at the mass, I will never act.” Our sense of empathy and moral motivation to help tends to fall off when faced with a group in need versus an […]

Learn More March 24, 2023

Repeat Giving Gamified

Wordle will tell me how many consecutive days I’ve played, my streak. Same for Peloton and the activity app on my watch and phone. Streaks, we love to maintain em’. It becomes a goal unto itself. And if that goal is tied to an Identity – as runner or biker or puzzle person – then […]

Learn More March 22, 2023

The Three Layers of A Person and Your Fundraising Story

I want a story that speaks to me. But who am I? A bundle of complexity just like you and exactly not like you. Personality Psychologists often talk about three layers of a person, The foundational, rough sketch layer are our broad personality traits. You’re extroverted, I’m introverted. You’re agreeable, I’m not. But, there are […]

Learn More March 20, 2023

Iron Law of Megaprojects

Your mega-project will fail. This reality and Iron Law comes from a Dane, Bent Flyvbjerg, who has spent a lifetime studying mega-projects. In our world this megaproject might be he new website, the CRM conversion, a new “product” with heavy investment. His research shows these projects are over-budget, late and under-deliver, almost always. 48% are […]

Learn More March 17, 2023

All Segmented Up and Nowhere to Go

Why create segments? The only reason is you believe Different Strokes was something other than an early 80s sitcom. But what makes people different isn’t the question. Some people like red hats, others blue; knowing that won’t help you raise more money. What are the different reasons people support your charity is closer to the […]

Learn More March 15, 2023

Your Beneficiary is Too Far Away to Help

If I show you a beautiful, scenic picture from 5 feet away you will appreciate and feel it more than if I show it to you 50 feet away. We humans apply this same logic to charitable giving, assuming more impact on nearby vs. faraway beneficiaries is physical and social distance and they operate independently. […]

Learn More March 13, 2023

Is Your Quest for Relevance Spewing CO2?

People who say messages must be relevant or authentic are often guilty of putting extra CO2 into the air. These are extra words. Nobody’s advocating or aiming for the opposite. More critically, these extra words are rarely followed with specifics – as in how, exactly. The path to relevance is, like Hell, paved with good […]

Learn More March 8, 2023

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

Creating Quality Donors From Scratch

Is AI Creative?

Remember When You First Fell In Love?

The Power of One Vs. Collective

Repeat Giving Gamified

The Three Layers of A Person and Your Fundraising Story

Iron Law of Megaprojects

All Segmented Up and Nowhere to Go

Your Beneficiary is Too Far Away to Help

Is Your Quest for Relevance Spewing CO2?

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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