Uncategorized - Agitator

Donor retention / loyalty / commitment

Quality or Quantity Sustainers?

Way too much fundraising has an implicit “Or” that creates a false choice between Quantity or Quality of the donor. You’ll want to register for the upcoming sustainer webinar to learn how we can go from “Or” to “And” and hear from The Atlanta Humane Society, and One&All on how to apply behavioral science to get […]

Learn More February 8, 2021

TESTING: Best Practices- Part 1

In his post Locally or Globally Kevin emphasized the importance of testing that gets you beyond the usual confines of the “locally optimized” (same old, familiar, more of the same) to a ‘globally optimized” (a true re-think of what you’re testing) world of testing. Over the years we’ve written a lot about testing practices and […]

Learn More February 5, 2021

Locally or Globally?

Part of me would prefer this post be about “all politics are local”, or “to think globally, act locally”, or some other bumper sticker phraseology. Alas, it’s about a theoretical and practical problem that won’t neatly fit on your bumper. What if your best practice, or your best statistical model, or your best appeal, or […]

Learn More February 3, 2021

Bernie’s Magic Mittens and Abusing Your Donor

One of the light and bright photo by-products of the horrid trifecta of January events in Washington, D.C. – Insurrection, Impeachment, Inauguration—was the terrific photo of Senator Bernie Sanders seated at the Inauguration swathed in parka and hand-knit mittens. Of course it didn’t take long before that photo was transformed into an endless stream of mostly […]

Learn More February 1, 2021

Applying Science to Boost Sustainer Results

Here at the Agitator we post a lot on the use of behavioral science in fundraising. My purpose in badgering Kiki, Kevin and Stefano to keep their insights coming is because I believe the main purpose of their work is to use science to find and provide creative and practical solutions for fundraisers. I’m sure […]

Learn More January 29, 2021

Donor Retention and Loss: A Tale of Two Charts (actually 5)

Which chart would you rather show to your CEO, finance chief or Board? The answer is obvious and also underscores an innate human condition – we hate the thought of loss. In fact, we have such a subconscious aversion to loss that we will irrationally choose to frame everything as gain even though the […]

Learn More January 27, 2021

Nudging to Improve Human Experience or Simply to Sound Smart?

There seems to be an obsession with biases lately and by extension, a flurry of consultants and agencies slapping “behavioral science” on their letterhead. While acknowledging biases as real and important to understand, considering biases as the one and only answer is dangerous. When examined solely through distinct biases, human behavior appears to be concrete […]

Learn More January 25, 2021

Donor or Activist?

What makes an activist different from a donor? Too often the former is thought of as a lead-gen exercise to source names to ‘convert’ them to the latter. Activists and donors are different. And while activists often donate that initial act of activism (e.g. the lead-gen petition signing) should not be thought of as a […]

Learn More January 22, 2021

Time Sensitive Alert on Paycheck Protection Program 2.0

We just learned of this FREE webinar on the the new version of PPP taking place TODAY—Thursday at 4:00 p.m . Eastern, 1:00 p.m. Pacific time. This is short notice, but if you register now, even though you can’t attend, a recording and slides from the webinar will be e-mailed to you. BUT ONLY IF […]

Learn More January 21, 2021

On Stupidity

Most fundraisers know about the Pareto Principle—that 80% of an organization’s revenue comes from 20%, or fewer, of its donors. This handy rule of fundraising is a bastardization of the work of the 19th century Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, whose groundbreaking work helped develop the field modern economics with its data-oriented, scientific approach. Last evening […]

Learn More January 20, 2021

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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Donor retention / loyalty / commitment

Quality or Quantity Sustainers?

TESTING: Best Practices- Part 1

Locally or Globally?

Bernie’s Magic Mittens and Abusing Your Donor

Applying Science to Boost Sustainer Results

Donor Retention and Loss: A Tale of Two Charts (actually 5)

Nudging to Improve Human Experience or Simply to Sound Smart?

Donor or Activist?

Time Sensitive Alert on Paycheck Protection Program 2.0

On Stupidity

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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