Uncategorized - Agitator

Breaking Out of the Status Quo

Just Who Benefits From Volume?

A discussion of incentives in direct marketing wouldn’t be complete without talking about that Agitator bugaboo of communication volume. We’ve pointed out how volume has been poorly tested by those who advocate sending more and more …how organizations have found lower volume works better, and that donors hate it (twice). And… twice we emphasized that volume isn’t […]

Learn More July 13, 2018

Compared to what?

Two polls of Britons came out last fall. One said that only 19% of Britons were willing to pay at least 10 billion pounds in EU “exit fees” as part of Brexit. The other said 29% were willing to pay at least 25 billion pounds. Here’s the weird part: these polls don’t conflict. Rather, both […]

Learn More July 12, 2018

Beware the Mismatched Incentives Between You and Your Canvassing Firm

A few weeks ago, Kevin Schulman here ignited a firestorm by suggesting a F2F model where the canvassing vendor does some or all the financing for this new donor acquisition. There were some well-thought-out concerns about the history of financing acquisition and about the viability in today’s marketing. Regardless of on which side of that […]

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Channel Manager Incentives: A Modest Proposal

When a siloed staff is channel-structured and channel-incentivized, the knives come out. Direct marketers who are measured against a net budget goal are loathe to give up “their donors” to major donor prospecting or try to drive them to events. In turn, Events folks want their walkers, bikers, gala goers, etc. to keep walking, biking, […]

Learn More July 11, 2018

What Happens When Your Boss Has Different Goals?

Nonprofits need to exist as long as their issue exists. Most deal with long-term problems. Thus, they need to exist in the long-term. That’s why we preach retention above almost all other things – the donors you have are the ones who will sustain you. As a fundraising professional, it’s your responsibility to think about […]

Learn More July 10, 2018

Be Attentive to Incentive

“Never, ever, think about something else when you should be thinking about the power of incentives.” — Charlie Munger, investor, author, philanthropist and Warren Buffet’s irreverent partner at Berhshire Hathaway. In my post on the future of “full service” agenciesI urged that we all give serious thought to re-directing the financial incentives to reward innovation, growth […]

Learn More July 9, 2018

A $400 Billion Industry Powered by Anecdote

You’d think a $400 billion industry like ours would have empirically based standards and practices readily available and accessible to all. After all, most sectors — ranging from apple growers to doctors and hospitals, and even zoos — have them. Fundraising doesn’t. What we do have is mass of accumulated tribal wisdom, often conflicting, seldom […]

Learn More July 6, 2018

Volume is not a retention solution (part MMCCLVI)

I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. Yet another agency has argued for more email volume as the solution to online retention. Sigh. Well, once more into the breach. We’ve debunked a lot of this before, so to catch those up just joining us: There is a negative correlation between email volume and retention for us as […]

Learn More July 5, 2018

The Slow, Painful and Costly Death of the “Full Service” Agency

Four years ago In Part 5 of our Barriers to Growth series I raised the question of whether the “full service” fundraising agency has outlived usefulness. More pointedly I wondered whether in fact they’re actually a danger to the sector. Today, I’m revisiting this issue because, if anything, I’m convinced the “full service” agency is more […]

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Celebrating Dissent

This photo of my grandsons Jalen (at left) and Zachary (in the “kiddie cage” at right) joining the national protest against the Trump Administration’s separation of migrant families made me more than proud. It serves as assurance that the gene of dissent has successfully made its way to the next generation. I wanted to share […]

Learn More July 4, 2018

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

Just Who Benefits From Volume?

Compared to what?

Beware the Mismatched Incentives Between You and Your Canvassing Firm

Channel Manager Incentives: A Modest Proposal

What Happens When Your Boss Has Different Goals?

Be Attentive to Incentive

A $400 Billion Industry Powered by Anecdote

Volume is not a retention solution (part MMCCLVI)

The Slow, Painful and Costly Death of the “Full Service” Agency

Celebrating Dissent

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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