Tom Belford and Roger Carver are responsible for the blog, The Agitator, and it is undeniably one of the the most popular and influential blogs in nonprofit fundraising. After you read their blog for a while, you clearly understand why they call it The Agitator. They are constantly pushing, prodding, tweaking, admonishing and encouraging nonprofit fundraisers to “up their game” and raise their practice of fundraising.
Last Monday I wrote a post entitled “When a Page Turns, it Turns Fast.” In it I referred to the momentous decision of the 100 year-old American Cancer Society to abandon direct mail acquisition; a decision that is sending shock waves through the fundraising industry. By the way, that post of mine generated more comments than any other blog to date.
And lest you think that it is just me … yet again … giving my opinion that direct mail fundraising is in decline, now comes The Agitator post with the title “The Courage To Change,” handing out huge kudos to the American Cancer Society for their courageous leadership.
Look, I know you are busy and can’t read every email or blog … BUT READ THIS ONE (Click Here) … AND THEN FINISH MY BLOG TODAY.
Why?
Because your nonprofit organization’s financial existence may depend on it.
Hyperbole? Not really.
Over the last five years, we have audited twenty-some fundraising organizations that receive the majority of their donations through direct mail appeals. Upwards of 85% of their donor base are age 68 and older...most in their late 70s and 80s. Their donor files have aged and shrunk over the last 20 years.
Project that out ten years. What does it look like? Pretty scary, huh?
I really appreciate Tom and Roger’s hubris in The Agitator. Though they point out the problems with the current status-quo-thinking of most fundraising organizations, Tom and Roger still believe that somehow … somehow … fundraisers are going to iterate change to some new promised land of fundraising. They believe in transition.
But it’s not transition … it’s Transformation.
Join us.
-Mike
Welcome to BIG's Blog! Please feel free to forward this post to your friends and coworkers...and email me a comment at: mike@big-db.com
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