Roger Craver Quits!
Roger and I spent the Easter weekend in deep contemplation, reflecting over the state of humanity, the important things in life, and The Agitator too.
And we had an epiphany.
We realized that we’ve been dead wrong about too many things.
We’ve led our readers astray.
For example …
Retention. We’ve harped and carped about the critical importance of a strong focus on retaining donors. But who are we kidding? If those ingrates – oblivious to the heroic work and sacrifice of your nonprofit – insist on leaving, hell, show ‘em the door! Who needs that kind of rejection, over and over? They probably joined just so they could quit. Life is too short. Best to cut ‘em loose and start all over again … make new friends. Sooner or later you’ll have a ‘tribe’ that truly adores your organization, no matter how much you abuse them or how little you communicate.
Charity Navigator. We’ve complained about Charity Navigator’s mis-guided, counter-productive obsession with overhead and cost of fundraising. But we’ve reconsidered after hearing the story of a small food bank that was operating quite successfully, thank you, feeding several people out of someone’s home kitchen. But then ego and blind ambition took over. They actually went out and rented a store front location … they even bought a large new refrigerator and stove so they could provide more meals to more homeless folks. My god, what a waste of resources, when they could have been buying more canned food. And that’s not even counting the energy waste involved in commuting to their new palatial digs! We’ve forwarded a complaint … go get ‘em Charity Navigator.
Social media. We’ve cautioned against fundraisers following along like sheep to the next new thing, before really learning and optimizing the already-proven stuff. But after seeing the new Pope’s Facebook page, we’re recanting. Sad but true, there’s more to life than raising money, no matter what your boss says. It’s about time fundraisers woke up to that reality and started making some Friends.
Quite frankly, what you should be doing on this first day of April is enhancing your personal Facebook page, tweeting its existence to the world in hopes you’ll snare some Friends, then taking the rest of the week off.
And the list goes on … donor centricity, testing, donor screening, integrated marketing. It’s all hogwash.
As the senior partner and intellectual leader at The Agitator, Roger was taking all of this re-assessment rather hard. Several of his longstanding fundraiser heroes received calls – later described to me as delirious – in the middle of the night on Saturday.
He even made an appointment to have his Adrian Sargeant tattoo removed.
Then, the last straw.
On Sunday, we received an “Unsubscribe” notice from one of our readers. The reason given was: “Too many posts. I only have time to read 2 or 3 a year.”
Roger lost it (possibly hyper from too many chocolate eggs).
“My fingers are bleeding, my gout is aching and my head is splitting from laboring over five brilliant – if wrongheaded and misguided – Agitator posts a week, and this ingrate is deserting! She’s just as bad as all those donors. I’ve had it. I’m outta here!”
For my part, I’ll try to pick up the pieces and make amends. It’s painful to admit we’ve been wrong all along. But I look up at the treasured Consultant’s First Principle pinned to my bulletin board: “Often wrong; never in doubt!”
Re-inspired, I vow to forge on. I think it’s important to make some humble effort, starting tomorrow, to redress all the bad advice The Agitator, especially Roger, has given.
So be sure to read my Tuesday post … Spamming with Extra Premiums for Millennials.
Tom
P.S. If you would be so kind as to send in a few messages of consolation and forgiveness to Roger (editors@theagitator.net), I’ll pass them along. Perhaps we can help him overcome his guilt and remorse and return to The Agitator. Say something nice about Retention … like, “Once upon a time it was a great concept …” (you don’t need to mean it).
9 responses to “Roger Craver Quits!”
Behavioral Science Q & A
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What a great way to begin the week and the month. Oh geez… I just remembered… Is today April Fool’s Day? I particularly like “removing the Adrian Sargeant tattoo.” My Tom (not to be confused with the Agitator’s Tom) had dinner with Adrian a few weeks ago. And have dinner again with him at AFP in San Diego next week. I’ll make sure to tell him about the tattoo removal!
Good luck, Roger, with the quitting. I fear that you might find yourself returning to the fold, fighting the good fight. And, I suspect, that in addition to those who unsubscribe because you write too damn often…there might be a few who actually pine…pine for the Agitator of truth, the pesky reminders of good work.
I look forward to more spam…and your ideas about better spamming. Then let’s combine spamming and up the ante for social media because, as we all know, social media is solving most of the world’s problems and will solve all the world’s problems — including the fundraising ones — within the next…hmm…year or two?
Happy day. Simone
Okay, i get it, APRIL FOOLS…
thanks for keeping up the great work… Enjoy the day….
looking forward to seeing you at the Engage Conference..
cheers, Erica
Can I have the Adrian Sargeant tattoo when you’re done with it? I want it for my shrine. And frankly I think we could all do with an April Fool’s MONTH.
Roger will be back, it was coming down from the sugar high of the chocolate egg. Reminds one of the time Roger dropped the mail off in St. Joseph Missouri at the Pony Express offices, it was early in his career. He ate a whole chocolate bunny that April 1st and got such a buzz he ran with the Pony Express all the way to Sacramento.
What is he 10 feet under ?! Of course Roger will be back – and we all look forward to some straight forward speak about fundraising from you both!
Roger who?!
Best. April. Fools. Column. Ever.
Tom
We all remember where we were and what we were doing when we heard important news- Kennedy’s assassination, the fall of the Berlin Wall…but I’m dammed if I can remember what I was doing when I read this this morning. It was something to do with sorting the socks in the sock drawer I’m sure. But anyway…
I think this is basically good news for all of us concerned to stop the flood of troublesome communications disturbing the sleep of contented citizens who don’t really want to know about bad stuff happening. Three suggestions:
* first make sure that Roger is kept safe in the residential setting to which he must now retire. Charity Navigator does an excellent assessment of homes that aren’t wasteful with nurses and stuff. Make sure the Matron knows to keep his medication levels high. I hear McMurphy Memorial got 5 stars
* second take away his new fangled mobile phone. It will stop the making of delirious calls. Get him to Tweet a Vine about his cat’s funny antics- it will go viral and help him engage supporters to pay his care costs. Above all stop him sending powerful well-written notes to people by post telling them about his concerns and asking them to take action. Waste of time!
* third take this opportunity to rename The Agitator something more upbeat like the Social Media Users Group and focus on getting people to Like you on facebook. You guys need more friends and this whole critical/objective/tell it like is thing is frankly a bit like ‘forming a circle at a firing squad with licensed and entirely necessary semi-automatic weapons’ to coin a slightly cumbersome phrase. (c) 2013
Dammit what was I doing about the socks? I’m sure if I organised them by colour it would make a great Pinterest thing.
ps Who IS Adrian Sargeant- does he have other merchandise?
Hehehe!