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A Walk Into the Sunset or a Walk Off a Cliff

Blackbaud Institute’s 2018 Charitable Giving Report was recently released, and though giving was up 1% (due to large donors), the most disappointing metric for 2018 is that online giving remains stuck below 10% of total giving.

Ten years ago, most of us (including myself) predicted that more money would be coming in online than offline by 2019.

But donors have been stubbornly resisting the digital transition.

This pesky fact has been the subject of much discussion around the watering holes at fundraising conferences.

Digital has disrupted nearly every facet of the economy since its arrival a generation ago. Remember travel agents, mail catalogs and Blockbuster Videos?

Yet, by and large, the old ways of fundraising remain unchanged.

I think most of us would agree that digital fundraising will replace direct mail at some point. The question on my mind is whether direct mail will have a slow, steady walk into the sunset, or will it walk off a cliff because of some new Silicon Valley innovation?

It’s not just the information that’s important; it’s how you present it

by Bill Jacobs | Sep 12, 2021

There is so much information out there. And that’s a problem. It’s a problem because many of us spend more time looking for relevant information than we do acting on information. And that is a losing proposition. I’m a firm believer that the best information is the...

“GO BIG” ISN’T ALWAYS BEST

by Bill Jacobs | Sep 12, 2021

In 2013, we were chatting about how the technological movement known as “big data” was at its tipping point and it seemed that nothing was going to stop it. And… that was right. Nothing has stopped it. Since then, even large companies like ® are finding ways of using...

Twenty Years of Knowing More

by Bill Jacobs | Aug 23, 2021

In September, Analytical Ones begins its 20th year providing fundraising analytics and donor behavior research for nonprofit organizations and their advertising agency partners. Over the past two decades, we have been fortunate to serve hundreds of clients. While many...