The Agitator

Back at the beginning of November, Roger published a post urging fundraisers to progress to The Age of Donor Conservation. In the relative quiet of the holidays, I urge you to reflect on his message. Observing that "donors are precious, not limitless," Roger argues: "Successful ...  Read more

Here, from The FLA Group, is a superb paper on how to craft your fundraising case. I wish (for the sake of US readers) I had seen it before the Thanksgiving holiday. I would have insisted that you take it home and memorize it over your "off" days. The basic principles presented in ...  Read more

Yesterday, in our first report on The Agitator’s 2010 Fundraising Plans survey, we commented on the general mood of nonprofit fundraisers as they looked ahead to next year. Our assessment … creeping optimism. We noted that most fundraisers were expecting improvement in new donor ...  Read more

If you won’t listen to me or Roger on the value of knowing — really knowing — and cultivating relationships with your best donors, then listen to marketing maven Seth Godin. Seth is talking about customers generally, but we know he’d say the same of donors. Writing a post ...  Read more

A couple of days ago Tom relayed Ken Burnett’s view of what donors and fundraising will be like ten years from now. In brief, technology will put donors more in control of the channels through which we communicate with them…donors will seek greater accountability, transparency and ...  Read more

Back in July, Mark Dolliver wrote this terrifically insightful article in Adweek regarding marketing to today’s age 65+ consumer. [Sorry, I'm just catching up to this, thanks to a mention by the Boomer Project.] Dolliver refers to this group as the Silent Generation (born 1925-42) ...  Read more

Half way through the year, like the mythical Janus, capable of viewing the past and future at the same time, I’m leafing through a pile of good stuff I should have passed on to Agitator readers, but somehow didn’t. Shame on me.  BUT … it’s not to late to put this ...  Read more

According to Giving USA, total giving to US charities declined 5.7% in real terms in 2008 compared to 2007, the first decline in real terms since 1987. Total giving in 2008 amounted to $307.65 billion, with these components (all declines inflation-adjusted): Individuals — $229.3 billion ...  Read more

All I can say is WOW! Today, the Women’s Funding Network and Women Moving Millions announced that more than 90 women have committed individual gifts of $1 million or more, with a total of $174 million raised, to improve the lives of women and girls. These funders have responded to a ...  Read more

We have to confess that The Agitator does not do justice to the important area of planned giving. Now we don’t have to feel quite so guilty! Our colleague Phyllis Freedman of Continuum Planned Giving has begun The Planned Giving Blogger. She’s a pro. In case you don’t know ...  Read more