Reflections on 10 Years

• “The biggest thing to look out for is being too involved to see the forest for the trees. When you are in doubt about something (from the detail level to an overall program perspective), ask for an outside opinion.”
• “Be sure to test everything and anything.”
• “Don’t be afraid to make wise investments in your program. Be a tireless advocate for your expense budget. Investments do pay off, and data bears that out.”
• “Listen to your donors. The $5 donor has as much of an opinion about how they are treated as a $5,000 donor.”
• “The truth lies in the data 90 percent of the time. The rest of the time, it’s pure instinct that will see you through.”

From Andy Wilder, then senior director of analytics at Epsilon (feature, “A Closer Look at Models”):