Why Agitate?
Way back in August, in a post called Why the Smorgasbord?,we talked about the raison d’etre of The Agitator, saying in part:
We believe the “empowered consumer” is now also the “empowered donor” and the “empowered activist.” And non-profit marketers — whether raising money, seeking activists, or trying to get a message out — will need to pick up the pace bigtime to stay ahead of their constituents. To survive and thrive they will need to learn how to engage new and different demographic groups, how to use new media, how to compete against even more communications clutter, how to “win permission” versus intruding, how to contend with tougher demands for accountability and performance … or yield to “upstart” competitors who will eat your lunch.
So, we’re consciously offering a broad canvas of news, trends, innovations and insights, because the exposure and range of vision and understanding for all of us engaged in the non-profit fundraising, communications and advocacy sectors needs to be wider than ever if we are going to successfully advance the missions and causes we all hold so dear.
We invited our readers to join the dialogue by signing up for our automatic daily e-mail or RSS feeds (just use the e-mail “Subscribe” or Feedburner buttons on your left) AND by sounding off using the “Comment” feature on each Post or by e-mailing us directly.
Here’s a great example from TW at the American Lung Association about how valuable the dialogue can be. Agitator both praised and quibbled with an e-mail video appeal ALA tested. TW responded with more info on how the project has gone. Very useful sharing of experience. The more sharing like this occurs, the better we’ll all be at fundraising and communicating.
PS: Don’t forget to take our “Transparency vs. Privacy” survey. Just go to the Survey box at top right of blog, or click here. Just takes 3 minutes!
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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