Search Results for: ask less
The Barcode’s Birthday and Its Role in Fundraising World
In the Muzak -misted modern marketplaces, amidst the rhythmic beep of machines, lies a revolution so profound yet so quietly integrated into the fabric of our daily lives that it scarcely draws attention. This revolution, now marking its 50th anniversary, is none other than the barcode—that modest stripe of black and white that’s silently reshaped […]
Jerry Cianciolo is Dead
Jerry Cianciolo, ground-breaking Co-Founder and Chief Editor of the publisher Emerson & Church is dead The news reached us via an email from Jim Hilborn, head of Civil Sector Press, the global nonprofit publisher that in 2022 acquired the Emerson & Church backlist and continues to publish and update their books. (See Keeping the Soul […]
The New Acquisition: Don’t Miss out in 2024
One of the eternal mysteries here at the Agitator is why so many fundraisers ignore the issue of donor retention in favor of obsessive focus on donor acquisition. They’re whistling past the graveyard of declining acquisition returns and rising costs. Even back in 2012 when we launched the three-year study of donor behavior that led […]
Too Much of What Matters Doesn’t Get Measured At All
Does the donor experience (DE) matter to retention? If so, we probably need to deconstruct the abstract DE term. Let’s start with context, this example is a telefundraising campaign converting digital petition leads to sustainer. A Mental exercise: Name two parts of the call experience that have a statistically significant impact on sustainer attrition in […]
No Ragrets?
There’s a funny scene in “We’re the Millers” where Scottie P., a skate rat and carnival worker, arrives to pick up Casey, one of the main characters. Scottie P. is carefree and mostly oblivious, highlighted by his “No Ragrets” tattoo. Jason Sudeikis, playing Casey’s father, asks about it, “What’s this one?” pointing to the chest […]
Giving Tuesday 2023: Tips and Hacks
Over the years we’ve offered many tips (as in Try Dying for Giving Tuesday) and many admonitions (see Avoid the Snoringly Generic Approach to Giving Tuesday) Most recently, Kevin’s 2023 entry weighed in with Livng Dusday our study of 573 Giving Tuesday emails scored on meeting (or not) […]
The Donor’s Experience Matters But Not Equally
Word of mouth is an interesting phenomenon because it’s inherently organic and somewhat unpredictable and impossible to turn off. If you have an online presence you’ll get word of mouth whether you want it or not. And even if you could erase your online presence, there’ll forever be ‘offline’ WOM. And while charities aren’t purpose […]
Is Your Direct Mail Funnel All Bookends?
We send out X pieces, Y people respond. Done and dusted. This isn’t a funnel, it’s two bookends and no books. You’re missing out on the stories, lessons, and nuances contained within the “books” in the middle – the donor behavior, preference and needs in these crucial steps. Here’s a much more complete mental model […]
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 […]
Where Has All the Money Gone?
Recently The New York Times’ Michelle Goldberg, in her column questioned Where Has All The Left-wing Money Gone? Citing “endless appeals, sometimes in bold all caps” of the seemingly endless the-sky-is-falling, guilt-tripping and flood of fundraising emails is a reason folks aren’t donating as much as they used to. She […]