DonorVoice Online Course: The science of supporter motivation
by Dr. Stefano Di Domenico and Dr. Kiki Koutmeridou
Start Date: 20th January 2021 
Price: £1945
Christmas Discount: 20% till 6th January
This isn’t a theoretical course; theory is meaningless unless applied.
Delivered by two academics and full-time practitioners, this course will provide you with the theoretical background on supporter motivation, but more importantly with the skills to apply this insight on your day-to-day work. You’ll benefit from their expertise in philanthropic psychology and in fundraising practice. 100% evidence based – everything you learn will be based on case studies of successful in market application that are unavailable anywhere else.
When you sign up, you’ll be asked to bring an appeal you’re currently working on, whether that’s an email, your control/banker or a brief for a new appeal. At the end of each week, you’ll apply what you learned to your working appeal and at the end of the course you’ll be asked to submit your reworked appeal. Shortly after, you’ll receive an assessment of how well you’ve applied the insights as well as ideas for further improvement.
You’ll leave this course with your next appeal having the key motivational factors incorporated and with a deeper understanding and hands-on practice on how to repeat this in future appeals.
Course Frequency: once a week
Course Day & Time: Wednesday at 10am ET / 3pm GMT
Class Duration: 60 minutes
Course Outline
Week 1: Identity
- What is it & why it matters; evidence from the field
- How to collect it
- How to use it in targeting & in fundraising copy (all channels & donor stages)
Week 2: Personality
- What is it & why it matters; evidence from the field
- How to target specific traits relevant to fundraising
- How to speak to different personality traits differently in your appeals
Week 3: Motivation
- Motivation Quantity vs. Motivation Quality
- Why it matters? Evidence from the field
- How to trigger high quality motivation in your appeals (all channels & donor stages)
Week 4: Psychological Needs
- What are they & why they matter; evidence from the field
- How to satisfy your supporters’s psychological needs?
- How would fundraising copy change (all channels & donor stages)
- How to uncover and fix dissatisfaction
Week 5: Bringing it all together in your work. Submit your coursework and receive:
- Full review of how you’ve applied these insights
- Practical advice on how best to combine and apply all elements
- Guidance on improvement and test ideas
Behavioral Science Q & A
Thanks so much for raising this. Yes, capturing donor information can be helpful for stewardship like newsletters, thank-you letters, impact updates. But how you ask matters. Forcing full data capture introduces friction that can significantly depress conversion, many donors may simply abandon the process. Beyond the friction itself, required fields also shift the emotional experience […]
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Unlike holidays that everyone already knows, Giving Tuesday is a created event. Many donors recognize the name but not the exact timing, so referencing it becomes a helpful cue. It serves as a reminder and taps into social norm activation (“everyone’s giving today”), which boosts response. However, we still want it paired with the mission, […]
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When a subject line leads with the match (“Your gift matched!”), it risks triggering market-norm thinking: the sense that giving is a financial transaction rather than an act rooted in values, identity, and care. This shift reduces intrinsic motivation and, over time, can weaken donor satisfaction and long-term engagement. It also makes the email indistinguishable […]
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There’s no evidence that QR codes suppress mid-value giving; all available research suggests they either help or have no negative effect. In fact, behavioral and usability research consistently shows the opposite: reducing friction at any point in the donation process increases completion rates and total response. And that has nothing to do with capacity and […]
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What you’re experiencing is very common. Resistance often isn’t about capability, but about motivation quality. If board members feel pushed into fundraising, that triggers controlled motivation (low quality motivation) i.e. obligation, guilt, or fear of judgment, which often results in avoidance. Instead, we need to create conditions for volitional motivation (high quality motivation) by satisfying […]
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That’s a really thoughtful question, and you’re not the first to raise it. Many of our clients have been cautious about placing the ask at the very end. To address their concern, we’ve tested both approaches, and the results are clear: when the ask comes last, even if that means it appears on the second […]
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