WHAT MAKES DONORS CARE ENOUGH TO GIVE?
Steve Thomas
I understand first-hand what it takes in times like this to lead a nonprofit and provide the necessary income @oneicity
If people don’t already love what you do, how do you connect with them deeply enough to help them care?
Facts won’t do it. Raising awareness isn’t the solution. Just telling stories won’t get you there.
Connecting with donors through emotion is the key to helping your donors care about your work. Conjuring an emotional response is one of the very best ways to create a meaningful connection.
Don’t take my word for it. I’m calling in a scientist, a researcher and a professor. See what you think. At the end we’ll talk about the right emotions to influence donor decisions.
“The essential difference between emotion and reason is that emotions leads to action while reason leads to conclusions.” Donald Calne, Neurologist.
That’s why awareness campaigns don’t raise money. That’s why an infographic isn’t enough. More information or more facts won’t solve the “caring problem.”
It takes emotion.
You have to create the emotion for the donor.
Yet, not all emotions are equal in fundraising. It’s a tempting but rookie mistake to heap on piles of sadness or guilt to motivate a donor to give.
Kate Sweeny, a psychology researcher at the University of California, Riverside, puts it this way: “People avoid information that makes them feel bad.” OK, I thought I was the only one who did that. Turns out I’m not alone. Sweeny continues:
“People tend to avoid or remain unmoved by stories and situations that attempt to make them feel bad.”
Ezra Markowitz, associate professor at University of Massachusetts Amherst, who studies decision making puts it this way:
“The problem is we are really good at getting out of feeling badly since nobody wants to feel badly about themselves. We have a guilty bias. People are really good at trying to avoid feeling guilty.”
People avoid feeling guilty. People avoid information that makes them feel bad.
Sweeny states the obvious, people “are attracted to things associated with pleasant emotions.”
She continues, “People feeling pride were more likely to take a positive action than those anticipating guilt for having failed to act.”
It makes sense. We don’t like feeling bad. We will work hard to avoid learning something that will make them feel bad…like feeling guilty. Does guilt work in fundraising? Sadly, yes, but not for the long haul and not with most people. Guilt isn’t a relationship strategy.
What emotions will connect with and motivate donors?
Try:
Pride
Awe
Gratitude
Kindness
Love
Excitement
Nostalgia
Friendship
Admiration
Optimism
Hope
Why would you use guilt when you have these lovely emotions in your toolbox? Plus, it’s so much fun to learn to connect with the heart of a donor through positive emotions. It’s one of the ways you can begin to create real relationships with donors.
Certainly, there are individuals who are motivated differently. Individuals will respond to various emotions uniquely. But when you are communicating with masses of people, you must focus on how to connect with most people.
I’d love to know what you think. You can reach me at sthomas AT oneicity DOT com
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About the Author:
Leaders rely on Steve Thomas for real-world solutions in difficult times. Steve Thomas helps nonprofit organizations solve the tough problems of fundraising and leadership.
Steve Thomas is the CEO and Founding Partner of Oneicity (an ad agency providing fundraising for nonprofits and ministries). His expertise delivers revenue and strategic direction. He served as the CEO/Executive Director of a nonprofit for 5 years, so he understands first-hand the responsibility of generating income, charting the course for an organization and the realities of leading.
In addition, Steve Thomas consults with a range of nonprofits from start-ups to some of the largest national organizations. He’s especially good at helping connect donors with the heart of his client’s organization using the strategies that improve income.
Steve writes at the Oneicity blog.
You can get his free “every-other-week-ish” email newsletter on leadership, work-life and wise living by signing up here.
Reach out to Steve through LinkedIn or the Oneicity website.
Non Profit Executive | Business Owner| Fundraiser | Leader | Jesus Follower
4 年When I was an Executive Director of a homeless shelter, guilt was the number one emotion people felt when I first talked to them about our organization. So many of them drove by our building and wanted to do something. The guilt and the uncertainty of how to make a difference caused them to drive by. When I happened to speak with them over coffee I always concentrated on giving them confidence they could help the homeless. I had so many donors thank me because they could feel good about the ways they can be part of a solution. They did not have to drive by and continue to feel bad they are not doing more. In the end, thousands of donors chose to be part of the solution and felt great doing it.