The Agitator’s Editorial Stance
Reader comments on my ‘grumpiness’ last week got me thinking — and talking to Roger — about The Agitator’s editorial stance for the coming year. We do wish we could be more positive about our sector....
View ArticleExciting Time To Be A Fundraiser
I had already posted yesterday’s piece on the importance of thinking bigger and better when I received Marc Chardon’s view of the “Key Non Profit Sector Trends in 2013.” Marc is the CEO of Blackbaud....
View ArticleTelephoning Works
After last week’s focus on sexy social media, it is with some trepidation that I turn this week to — dare I say it?! — mundane telephone fundraising. So yesterday. At first I wasn’t going to do this....
View ArticleWhy Chuck Longfield Is Worried
When Chuck Longfield is worried, it’s time for fundraisers to wake up, pay attention, and begin making some serious changes. Chuck is the Founder of Target Analytics and Chief Scientist at Blackbaud....
View ArticleShow This To Your Board, Or Go Sit On Your Thumb
Last week, Roger did a good job of rattling the cage with his post, What Is The Watchdog Watching? He basically said: P*** on the obsession with fundraising overhead. But that was just a warm-up. Watch...
View ArticleFundraising Efficiency vs Productivity
Which should be more important to your fundraising … efficiency or productivity? If you said productivity … gold star! If you said efficiency (sometimes expressed as ROI) … go to the back of the class!...
View ArticleAt Last! Global Fundraising Supersized
Three weeks ago, we reported that Bernard Ross and his UK Management Centre were launching the Big Mac™ Philanthropy Index. The purpose of this new Index? To offer, once and for all, some basic...
View Article‘Great Fundraising’
“What differentiates great fundraising from the average, good or poor?” “What are the factors that allow an organisation to double, treble or even quadruple its income?” These are the questions...
View ArticlePrinciples Worth Noting
Courtesy of fundraising consultant Pamela Barden, writing in Fundraising Success, here are 12 principles that all fundraisers would do well to heed … You are NOT the target audience. So figure out who...
View ArticleFace-to-Face Fundraising Tips
Unlike Roger, who sings its praises, I confess to no personal experience with face-to-face fundraising … other than as a consumer. So I was pleased to get this article – 8 things you should know before...
View ArticleThe Courage To Change
Early this year the 100 year-old American Cancer Society (ACS) rocked the direct response ecosystem with its decision to stop all direct mail acquisition … stop the use of direct mail to non-dm...
View ArticleWhen Words Fail
Confession: I’m a slut when it comes to words. I believe, too much so, that they matter more than any other symbol of human communication. Understandable, because I once made a living as a copywriter....
View ArticleTo Hell With Facts
Image by Tim Gruber Jeff Brooks’ brilliant Fundraiser’s Guide to Irresistible Communications features an essential chapter titled, “Persuade with Story, not Statistics.” Jeff warns: “We’re all...
View ArticleFundraisers Who Cry Wolf … And Worse
Every copywriter worth her or his salt knows that for many causes ‘fear’, ‘urgency’ and, often, ‘ideology’ are key ingredients for success. EXCEPT when these ingredients are so ineptly combined as to...
View ArticleHow Do They Get Away With It?
#1 on the list of America’s “50 Worst Charities” according to a collaborative report from The Center for Investigative Reporting and The Tampa Bay Times is the Kids Wish Network. The Times/CIR...
View ArticleWhat To Do About Fundraising’s Dark Side
Thanks to those who have commented on Roger’s posts this week (here and here) on outrageous fundraising practices. But frankly, we wish we were getting even more concerned and constructive response....
View ArticleIs The Fed Wrecking Your Fundraising?
Kelly Browning, CEO of the American Institute for Cancer Research, possesses an abundance of the one trait I value most in fundraisers and nonprofit executives — curiosity. Seldom does any significant...
View ArticleGuides Or Paparazzi?
Commenting on a recent Agitator post, Claire Axelrad noted: “…transformational fundraising is about igniting the spark of passion that brings human beings joy. That’s why fundraisers (the good ones)...
View ArticleFundraisers As Travel Agents
Yesterday I asked you as a fundraiser to consider: Are you a valued guide to your donors, or simply a nuisance paparazzi? That question elicited a message from Tony Elischer at THINK Consulting. He...
View ArticleIngredients of Retention Success
Last week, Roger and I asked for retention superstars to tell us their stories. We loosely set the superstar benchmark at an overall 70% retention rate. Given that we have thousands of readers, who...
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