The Agitator

The Pew Internet Project has released new figures on home broadband penetration in the U.S. Their key observation is that broadband penetration is increasing most dramatically in population segments that have traditionally lagged — older Americans, lower income households and rural ...  Read more

Here’s a fun account from MediaPost of the phenom of Boomers joining the world of online social networking. As the article begins: "’Congratulations! Your parents just joined Facebook. Your life is officially over.’ Such is the greeting visitors receive upon entering the ...  Read more

Always "must read" for me are the reports from the Pew Internet Project on internet habits by generation. Here’s the latest, from which I’ve extracted a few factoids. Internet use by older generations: Age 55-59 - 71% Age 60-64 - 62% Age 65-69 - 56% Age 70-75 - 45% Over 75 ...  Read more

When we released our recent DonorTrends white paper, Giving Across the Generations, we noted the reported fall-off in Boomer (1946-1964) giving, compared to older and younger generations. Discussing the phenomenon, we cited a study by Pew Research, which termed Boomers "The Gloomiest ...  Read more

Free: Sign up here for first Agitator Editors Telebriefing, Fundraising in Troubled Times, this Friday, November 21, 2 pm eastern. Details in postscript.     Today The Agitator releases the second in its new series of DonorTrends White Papers. These papers are available to subscribers ...  Read more

Today The Agitator releases the first in its new series of DonorTrends White Papers. These papers are available to subscribers to The Agitator’s new Premium service. The first paper is titled Giving Across Generations: Issues That Appeal. It examines the levels and focus of charitable giving ...  Read more

The Agitator’s Week in Review. No question that the seemingly endless chain of bad financial and economic news has created a heightened sense of foreboding in our community that the fundraising sky is falling. Meanwhile, the last of the presidential debates took place on Wednesday as the ...  Read more

Or more to the point: Does Gen Jones know your nonprofit exists?Generation Jones is the demographically “lost” generation nestled between the bulk of Boomers and Gen Xers. This folks were born between 1954 and 1965, effectively the last 9-10 years of the Boomer generation (officially ...  Read more

The Agitator’s Week in Review. This was a week that began and ended with drama and suspense. In Washington, D.C. “The Bailout” which went down in flames on Monday rose from the ashes on Friday amidst a torrent of fear and loathing on Main Street. In between, in St. Louis, millions glued ...  Read more

Have The Agitator and DonorTrends discovered the Fundraising Rosetta Stone … demystifing the real reason behind falling acquision and retention rates and other recent fundraising plagues? We think so. In reporting our 2005 DonorTrends survey three years ago, we noted that Boomers had ...  Read more