Agents of Good

“Working with Agents of Good was a seamless process for us. Coming up with the dollhouse idea was a fresh new approach for us, and really fit with the work we do. Agents of Good took the ideas we brainstormed together and the feedback we gave during the design process, and turned out a great final product that really reflects our donors needs and our vision of the organization. We’re especially pleased with the online component, which took a different direction than the traditional PDF posted on the website. The online piece is interactive and fun – exactly what we wanted.”

I’ve not met John so my recommendation is limited to three key qualities I can easily see as a ‘remote’ client. First, John is an enthusiast; he has a seemingly endless appetite for what he does. Second, he’s knowledgeable; he knows what he’s doing and what he talks about and isn’t afraid to challenge accepted wisdom. Third, he’s creative; he ‘gets it’ really quick and comes up with neat, practical solutions that work. I’m sure when I finally meet John I’ll spot all sorts of other qualities, but these three seem fairly crucial, from the client side. (Oh, and he’s generous too!).

John created the logo for our non-profit’s main initiative. What impressed me so much, was John’s thorough and enthusiastic interest in what we’re doing. His research and creativity meshed to produce the ideal logo that’s not only aesthetically beautiful, but also on target with helping Spa4Diabetes reach it’s goals. Thanks so much John and we look forward to working with you in the future!

We’ve really enjoyed working with Agents of Good on many different projects over the last few years. They listen to our needs and deliver creative, interesting, budget-friendly ideas that blend perfectly with Interval House’s mission and direction. The Agents really took the time to understand who we are as an organization, who our donors and volunteers are, and what direction we’re headed in, and I think this is the reason why the projects we’ve worked on have been so successful. They’re genuinely passionate and enthusiastic fundraisers and are equally dedicated to giving organizations the tools they need to manage projects on their own (helping us keep costs down!).

The Agents of Good are rigorous, creative, strategic and fun to work with. Jen’s energy and John’s insights are bar none. David, who I first worked with over a decade ago, endures as one of the most important visionaries in the fundraising world. The other Agents that they pull in for special assignments, Gwen and Ross in particular, provide oodles of experience and know-how. The day that they walked into our offices was one of the best days of my life.

What makes John and Jen stand apart from other agencies is that they insist on doing great work – even when their clients are happy with “good enough”. Their process and their commitment are rare in the world of nonprofit marketing and branding.

What makes working with Agents of Good different from working with anyone else is their approach. They approached our web overhaul projects from the perspective of the user. They continued to ask – what does your audience want to see? How do they want to see it? While many companies might say they are donor-centric, Agents of Good embody that mantra in every word they write, every web page they design and every offer they make. And no one does it with more energy and enthusiasm for your cause than the Agents. I truly feel like they are as committed to our work as we are.

I love working with the Agents. I get senior support from start to finish, the opportunity to bounce ideas with peers who really know their stuff, and always end up with a great finished product that helps me get results for my clients. What more could you ask for?

Agents of Good are really the “Agents of Awesome”. They’re straight shooting and quickly lock on to the right way to connect with donors. They genuinely care about your donors as much as you do. There’s no fluff here, just pure talent — that gets results. All this, and they’re a pleasure to work with.

Not only are all the Agents knowledgeable, creative and friendly, they work with the best interest of both your organization and donors in mind. They understand that cultivation, stewardship and solicitation no longer occurs in silos. Rather, they embrace the complexity of multi-channel fundraising, and work with you to develop a unique, cohesive voice for your direct marketing programs.

CAMH Foundation hired the Agents to come in and breathe new life in to our symbolic giving program – Gifts of Light. From the get go, their enthusiasm, fresh ideas and commitment to our cause was evident. None more so perhaps than by their constant offering up of ideas – even outside the job at hand – to help better our fundraising efforts. In short, we got the sense they just truly wanted us to succeed and they would do all in their power to help us do just that.

We love working with the Agents of Good because they take the time to understand what is unique and different about our non-profit, they don’t just sell an off the shelf solution. Jen and John are also great fun to work with, their passion is infectious and a meeting with the Agents is always lively, fun, challenging, and creative.

The Agents of Good rock and they roll. Not only have I worked with Agents of Good directly at two different agencies, I have been part of the process that selected them to work at those agencies. Having been in fundraising a long time, I know what kinds of contractors I want to work with and which ones I don’t. The Agents are the kinds of folks I am happy to work with because they listen. No, they really listen. They have a tonne of experience and know everything that is going on, which means they can make a lot of suggestions or throw around ideas that challenge us to try new and exciting things. The Agents of Good are a joy to work with at a small shop because they can find ways to help smaller charities do more, thanks to their listening and their experience. I would always recommend them to any organization looking to find cohesion among their direct mail, web, social media and other communication needs.

I first brought the Agents of Good on board to write and design a new acquisition direct mail package. This package performed extremely well for Second Harvest, and has since become our control package for all subsequent acquisition mailings. The Agents of Good are now our chief strategic advisors, designers, and copywriters for our integrated direct response program, and their work consistently performs at a high level, both in terms of response rate and revenue raised. The Agents consistently challenge the development team to push our boundaries, test our theories, and confront our preconceived notions about what donors want. On the digital front, the Agents have redesigned our website and are working with Second Harvest to integrate direct mail, email and online channels to create a fully integrated direct response program. I highly recommend the John and Jen (and team) for any organization looking to improve its individual giving program and think more strategically about donor-centered fundraising.

The “Agents” are innovative and love to challenge what a typical Direct Marketing program should look like. Their think outside the box approach has worked well for all our programs. Whether it is online, direct mail or launching a campaign in our ON Nature magazine, or their “URG” (hire them to find out what that is!) – they always know how to keep campaigns fresh, exciting and engaging for the donors.

The Agents of Good are not your run of the mill agency; their campaigns are put together for YOUR donor – not someone else’s – and our positive campaign results show this.

Agents of Good really took the time to understand the nuances of our organization – they got right to the heart of our values, and our vision of a world where all women and children are free from violence. To borrow the words of a Child and Youth Counsellor here at the shelter, “when I read what they wrote, I felt like they could see inside my head!”. While the agents may or may not have real x-ray vision, they must have some sort of superpower that enabled them to really get us – and to do it faster than a speeding bullet!

Wow what an impressive team! Really informative, they know their trade! The Agents provide cutting edge creativity, well thought out recommendations that are current and relative. They set the stage to help us think critically about our charity and how we should move forward strategically. I find the agents extremely bright, well-informed – great presenters. Thank you very much – terrific work. I’m very happy to have them on my team. I have learned and continue to learn from their expertise.  

Agents of Good indeed! John and the team certainly brought good things to Quest Nature Tours. We needed a ‘refreshing’ of our look and feel to appeal to an established market and Agents of Good succeeded in spades. The greatest compliment is that no-one told us “why is your brochure different this year?”, they just told us “your brochure looks fantastic and I want to book a tour!”. I would like to thank the team for their great attention to detail and their inventive approach to communications. In a world full of messages, Agents of Good made ours come through clearly, effectively and beautifully.

The Canadian Women’s Foundation have been thrilled to work with the extraordinary team at Agents of Good to launch our new website on time, on budget and with great success. They exceeded our expectations and have now become an important strategic partner for our many other marketing and fundraising efforts.  The agents excel at listening, creative conceptualization, project management and championing the donor in every solution. And they do it all with a sense of humour that is contagious.