NEW: Agitator Weekend
Welcome to the debut edition of Agitator Weekend. We’ve created it partly for those who can’t get enough, and partly for those delinquent souls whose other weekday priorities somehow trumped their sessions with The Agitator. -Roger and Tom
The Agitator’s Week in Review. As Americans and Canadians celebrated Labor Day, Hurricane Gustav hurtled toward an evacuated New Orleans. In Minneapolis the GOP forfeited its first day of national TV convention coverage in favor of fundraising for victims of the hurricane. And all around North America hundreds of other fundraisers worried about meeting this year’s numbers.
Week of September 1, 2008:
MONDAY: Took a Labor Day break
TUESDAY: Lessons In Targeting Your Message Online with an insightful case study of how Emily’s List targeted the Democratic National Convention.
WEDNESDAY: Fundraiser Refuses to Change Underwear. Clearly still recovering from his Labor Day revelry Tom chronicles the application of a winning technique pioneered by political consultants James Carville, advanced by tennis sensation Rafael Nadal and now apparently perfected for fundraisers by Environmental Defense CEO Fred Krupp.
THURSDAY: Why Does Obama’s Online Stuff Work So Well? An online marketing pro lists the key elements for the Obama campaign’s online success: focus on building relationships … relevant application of social media like Facebook and FlickR … and paying attention to technical details while reinforcing brand. A must read.
FRIDAY: The Real Costs of Online Fundraising. From the pages of Fundraising Success magazine a brilliant piece by the development director of PETA. Another must read for you and a raise for the author.
Your Weekend Bonus. With a fortnight of Democratic and Republican conventions now behind us, there’s one take-away for all fundraisers regardless of your political stripe: passion pays!
This was the week that saw – in a single day – the McCain campaign raise $1 and the Obama campaign $10 million.
Any wonder? Just take a look at the remarkable acceptance speech by GOP VP Nominee Sarah Palin. More than enough raw meat, skillfully delivered to fuel passion and inspire giving on both sides.
Given this week’s focus on the online world and the techniques that make it a potent channel for fundraising and communications, I can’t resist passing along the YouTube spoof of the conversation between McCain and Palin as he informed her of his choice.
Enjoy your weekend.
Roger
One response to “NEW: Agitator Weekend”
Behavioral Science Q & A
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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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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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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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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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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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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You should have resisted passing on the YouTube spoof.