Search Results for: survey

Answer:  Nobody doesn’t love control. Double negative notwithstanding, we humans love control or the perception of it.  Control is one of three key psychological needs, often referred to as a sense of autonomy and choicefulness: aka control. People who feel a sense of autonomy over their giving are more likely to do it again.  A […]

Soccer (football for our non-US readers) fans are (in) famous for their fandom. During a 2002 Real Madrid vs. Barcelona match a Barcelona fan threw a pig’s head onto the field because he was so angry seeing a former player from his team wearing the white of Real. That fandom is an Identity, one causing […]

The adage, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is, of course, nonsense.  A metaphor so often used as an excuse to adapt and change. Kevin’s post on Doggy Personality got me thinking even more than I usually do about change and risk-taking,  His post outlined how a donor file could be tagged, at […]

The answer is an emphatic yes and no. The classic case of crowding out is government spending on social ills that lowers the need for individuals to give.  Empirical evidence for this effect has been mixed. But, what if the effect is more complicated than that and what if it has nothing to do with […]

We do a lot of surveys.  Heck, I’ve got an advanced degree in Survey Methodology, whatever the hell that means. Surveys are ubiquitous it seems, especially in politics and public policy.  Your organization might do a survey for constituent understanding or for public release to advocate for this or that cause. What makes surveys trustworthy […]

Teachers were asked by their school district to complete a survey.  The experiment was a 2×2 design (one of our faves): The result?  A nothingburger.  No difference in survey participation between A-D, randomly assigned groups. To quote Paul Harvey, “And now for the rest of the story.” Researchers noticed a difference in survey participation on […]

I hate my phone and love it. Check that; I love my phone and hate my kids’ phones. Check that;  I love my phone and hate my kids’ phones except when I need to reach them but even then, I still kind of hate their phones because they insist on texting with initials and shorthand […]

This tongue-in-cheek headline raises the question of just how effective progressive advocacy and social change organizations can be when a good part of their staff energy is focused on battling each other rather than advancing the group’s mission at this critical moment in history. This is particularly true when it comes to reproductive rights organizations […]

Should your fundraising message be concrete and specific or abstract?   Most would probably say the former and most would be correct. The better question is why?  Why does being more concrete and specific with messaging versus generic and abstract work better?  It isn’t enough that the answer to the first question (concrete or abstract?) seems clear […]

July 4th,  the day to celebrate and remember what America’s all about. On this fraught-filled, future-fearing  July 4th I sure as hell hope we’re all taking the remembering seriously. Because Agitator’s mission focuses on direct response fundraising, I’ll forego the usual patriotic platitudes.  Instead for Independence Day 2022 I’m invoking the memory and wisdom of […]