Uncategorized - Agitator

Breaking Out of the Status Quo

The Zero Party Future is Already Here – Proof.

Canvassing is the number one method for acquiring sustainers (according to Target benchmarking). There is a lot of money being spent and a lot of donor loss occurring, especially in the first few months. What to do about it? A lot of forward-thinking brands (e.g. TNC, ACLU, No Kid Hungry, Special Olympics) have been using […]

Learn More February 14, 2020

“Zero Party” Data is the Best Party Data

To recap our previous post, zero-party data draws a distinction between first party data (i.e. data you have based on direct interaction with your supporters) that is voluntarily, willingly shared and that which is passively and (often) unknowingly collected. The latter requires inference and assumption, the former is knowing and understanding. There are three types […]

Learn More February 12, 2020

The Key To Curing Your Fundraising Ailments

Retention concerns? Privacy concerns? Opt-out/opt-in concerns? Regulatory concerns? Making content relevant concerns? All of these concerns can be effectively addressed—and solved whether you’re in a small organization or a large one– by First Party Data and it’s little known sibling Zero Party Data. Too good to be true? Nope. What we’re going to cover in […]

Learn More February 10, 2020

What Is Important to Your Donors? How Do You Know?- Part 3 of 3 on Donor Surveys

Consider this hypothetical but quite illustrative example of what many organizations (and the vendors conducting the work) might do to measure importance. Survey Question: Non-Profit X engages in the following activities. Please rate each based on their importance to you, with “0” being not at all important and “10” being extremely important. Providing clean water […]

Learn More February 7, 2020

Survey Question Design 101- Part 2 of 3 on Donor Surveys

A caveat upfront: Our view is that survey research, especially questionnaire design and analysis is not art but science. This means it is not a subjective interpretation of what is and is not good design and analysis. There are rules from the social sciences and the statistical sciences. Violations are sometimes subtle, sometimes egregious. The […]

Learn More February 5, 2020

Facts and Myths of Donor Surveys- Part 1 of 3 on Donor Surveys

“The only research you can trust is actual response to real fundraising. Surveys can reveal interesting and useful information. But they are no good at uncovering donors’ real motivations. The only way to know that is watching what they do.” That quote comes from a well-known blogger in the fundraising space. What it lacks in accuracy […]

Learn More February 3, 2020

Mango Chutney With a Hint of Burnt Hair. C’mon, Try It!

This 30 second spot inspired today’s post. CLICK HERE It reminded me of a question an Agitator reader emailed me some years back asking: “Why do you think most fundraisers are so resistant to innovation and change?” A good question. An important question. I attempted to answer that question three years ago when I first received it. […]

Learn More January 31, 2020

Has Gregorian Sabotaged Your Supporter Journey?

Yes, Gregorian, as in the 12-month calendar most of civilization has been using since 1582. (Though, it turns out Great Britain and its Empire didn’t convert from the Julian calendar until 1752 by which time they needed to correct for 11 days of discrepancy and so Wednesday, September 2nd, 1752 was followed by Thursday, September […]

Learn More January 29, 2020

Digital Fundraising: 2019 Year End Results and Insights

It’ll be a few more weeks until the definitive, multi-channel results on 2019 End of Year Giving (EYOG) for the sector are published by the Blackbaud Institute and The Fundraising Effectiveness Project. However, digital fundraisers take note. Late last week in a post (“Everything you wanted to know about 2019 EOY fundraising but were afraid […]

Learn More January 27, 2020

Finding the Real Donor-Centric Unicorn

Why do donors give? And how do we build our segmentation and “journeys” around who they are and why they give? If we need or want a label to guide us, and of course most of us do, enter the elusive term “donor-centric”. This is our sector’s magic unicorn that is rarely seen and yet, […]

Learn More January 24, 2020

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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Breaking Out of the Status Quo

The Zero Party Future is Already Here – Proof.

“Zero Party” Data is the Best Party Data

The Key To Curing Your Fundraising Ailments

What Is Important to Your Donors? How Do You Know?- Part 3 of 3 on Donor Surveys

Survey Question Design 101- Part 2 of 3 on Donor Surveys

Facts and Myths of Donor Surveys- Part 1 of 3 on Donor Surveys

Mango Chutney With a Hint of Burnt Hair. C’mon, Try It!

Has Gregorian Sabotaged Your Supporter Journey?

Digital Fundraising: 2019 Year End Results and Insights

Finding the Real Donor-Centric Unicorn

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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