The Secret Life Of A Donor
Mark Phillips of Bluefrog in the UK is one of the most insightful bloggers I read. He recently posted This is not a strategy. The title got my attention. I clicked and was delighted to see that his original source was Dilbert (actually Dogbert), a true fount of organizational knowledge.
As Mark notes, here’s an approach not to follow …
Here’s how Mark describes great fundraising, and I can’t improve upon his words:
“It’s about engagement.
It’s about finding a point of connection that resonates with your audience.
It’s about creating that spark of understanding in your donor that giving brings joy.
It’s about keeping that spark alive and watching it burst into flames as you show your donors that giving is one of the most enjoyable things they can do.
Any idiot can ask someone for a few pounds or dollars. What’s hard is showing someone that their donation is worth far more to them than its cash value.”
Amen!
Tom
P.S. And here’s another nugget from Mark — a video comically depicting The secret life of a donor. Ain’t it the truth! Enjoy.
4 responses to “The Secret Life Of A Donor”
Behavioral Science Q & A
Integrating an individual giving appeal with other communications from a charity can have both positive and negative effects, and the outcome largely depends on how it’s executed. Advantages of Integration Brand Consistency: Maintaining a consistent appearance and messaging across all communications can reinforce the org’s brand identity and strengthen brand recognition and trust among your […]
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I’m not aware of any in-market tests specifically comparing recurring vs. gift frequency language. I suspect the answer might not be the same with all gift frequencies, nor with all people. It sounds like a great opportunity for you to test and find out what works for your audience. Based on the literature, here’s a couple […]
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Based on what we know from existing data, those renewal notices can actually be pretty effective in getting people to donate. They tap into our psychology – creating a sense of urgency, reminding us of past support, and using personalization to make the message hit home. They’re playing on our natural tendencies to feel obligated […]
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Interesting question. I had a quick look at the testing done on this topic. On the positive side, in all cases, over half of donors decide to cover the fee. In some cases, it goes as high as 65%. Not a negligible percentage at all. Here’s another test from iRaiser showing consistent results (see point […]
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There’s just one thing to consider when designing a supporter journey: the supporter. More specifically, you need to take into account: Who the supporter is i.e. their identity, which is the reason they support this cause, and their personality, which describes the way they “see” and process the world. These will determine the kind of […]
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I’m not an expert in this but a quick search surfaced this article on the effect of tax reforms on 2019’s charitable giving. The researchers didn’t find a reduction. Actually, they observed an “increase in charitable contributions in 2019, even with the lower tax rates and the dramatically smaller number of taxpayers who itemize their […]
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LOL! Gotta love this. And on the serious side, yes… transformational fundraising is about igniting the spark of passion that brings human beings joy. That’s why fundraisers (the good ones) are to be treasured, not castigated. The good ones are guides and leaders, not paparazzi.
We have to laugh or we would cry! We can come up with buzz words, recycle materials, but the one that seems to stand the test of time for me is the great quote below – you could add to it: people will forget what you wrote, sent etc, but the core is about how we make them feel…
“I’ve learned that
people will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Maya Angelou
Great post!! the video is tremendous. Thanks Mark and Agitator!
Take a look at Roger Dooley’s neurosciencemarketing.com newsletter. So much is applicable to fundraising.
Check out Dooley’s new “persuasion” slide / concepts. How can we use these ideas in fundraising.
http://www.neurosciencemarketing.com/blog/articles/persuasion-slide.htm