Behavioral Science Posts

Advance Notice: Online Course– The Science of Supporter Motivation

For several years we’ve been reporting the research and results of pilot projects conducted by the behavioral scientists at DonorVoice. Charities around the world have seen improved conversion, increased value and improved retention. Quite frankly, although their results have been more than impressive, for most fundraisers applying the principles behind these successes is not recipe […]

Learn More October 19, 2020

Political Hypocrites–The Digital Variety

Visions of Grandma Craver appeared after I received a note from Nick alerting me to a project at Princeton University analyzing political emails. Grandma Craver despised hypocrites. No matter whether their hypocrisy was of the religious, moral, or political variety she simply labeled them all with the disdainful phrase: “Everyone who talks about heaven ain’t […]

Learn More October 14, 2020

The “Donor” Identity is Lame

I’m a woman and a coffee lover. But being a coffee lover isn’t one of the most important ways I define myself, while being a woman is. This simplistic example illustrates the difference between identity presence, whether one has a certain identity, and identity importance, how central that identity is for their sense of self. […]

Learn More October 9, 2020

Deliberate Giving?

One. That’s likely the modal number of gift frequency for (cash, one-off) donors on your file. The average gifts per donor per year is ballpark 1.7. Really strong charities are slightly north of 2 and lousy ones are hovering a few tenths below the average. If you get cash donors to give twice per year […]

Learn More October 5, 2020

Emotion and Fundraising: Will Any Emotion Do?

“People give based on emotion, not facts.” Some version of that statement is sacrosanct in marketing and fundraising. It begs several questions, not least of which is whether emotion is the cause or the goal. We know it to be the latter. But today’s post is to beg another question: what emotion? Will any emotion […]

Learn More September 28, 2020

How Do You Get Conservatives to Care As Much as Liberals About the Environment?

Answer: message to them differently. More specifically, conservatives and liberals can see themselves as equally moral (Identity) but for very different reasons. Much like there is a Big 5 of Personality that is trait-based and predictive of attitudes and beliefs (and in turn, behavior), there is another Big 5 in Morality that, not surprisingly, has […]

Learn More September 25, 2020

Should You Put the Next Dollar on Brand Building or Direct Response?

The answer is $.60 on brand, $.40 on direct response. Why? Because, as the curve below shows, that 60:40 split produces the optimum long-term benefit. The most financially beneficial, long-term effects are about growth, defined as profit and market share, not volume growth which is often a short-term activity delivering little to no improvement in […]

Learn More September 21, 2020

Why Does Wikipedia Keep Doing It Like This?

For years now, as part of the donation request, Wikipedia informs us that most don’t give and acknowledges that most will ignore this request. As a behavioral scientist, I’m puzzled why they keep using this message and if they’ve ever tested it. Behavioral science is now very popular – maybe too popular for its own […]

Learn More September 14, 2020

Let’s Play A Game

Here’s a game for you, the professional fundraiser. Below is Wikipedia’s solicitation. It has been floating around for a while now, and, as a behavioral scientist, I wonder why they haven’t changed it yet. Can you spot the issues with this request? Tell us in the comments section what they are and what suggestions tied […]

Learn More September 11, 2020

The Great Telemarketing Comeback

In yesterday’s post, The Great Fundraising Comeback, I opined that in order to meet the future “we will need to start over”. I don’t mean begin from scratch—much of our knowledge and experience will prove durable and improvable– but I do mean we’ll be forced to look at first principles which means challenging virtually every […]

Learn More September 9, 2020

Ask A Behavioral Scientist

Behavioral Science Q & A

Q:We are struggling with acquistion. During our biggest community campaign, a colleague is suggesting that we have a QR code directing donors to a donate page that does not capture donor information – just a donation and an email address. We won’t be able to post any of these new doors our lvoely newsletters, or thank you letters. We’ll likely never hear from them again. What’s the best method to get this team to see the importance about a donor vs a donation?

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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Q: Should we include “Giving Tuesday” in the subject lines for the emails that are going out before Giving Tuesday?

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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Q: can we pull the match language into the subject lines? Or this should be an A/B test?

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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Q: Our mid-level donor team removed the QR code from the DM donation form that links to the donation page, but have left the URL for them to type it in manually. Not sure why they are adding a barrier to the donation process for a higher value donor – but I have to ask – is there any proof – either way – if a QR donation code reduces MV online giving, has any effect on their donation amount, has any effect on off line donations? Thank you….

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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Q: How can we effectively use behavioral science to help shift our Board’s mindset. The majority are extremely resistant to asking their networks or sharing their contact lists with us, even after a candid discussion with an external lay leader who has been training boards with her fantastic Fundraising isn’t the F Word! workshop. We have also offered to use our automated email tool to send their appeals from their own email. It is so frustrating. We even have 2 Board members and the chair trying put some accountability on them for our big event but people are not really moving!

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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Q: Copywriters often argue the ask should appear on the first page, but that usually breaks the story in two. With a one-sided letter the ask is always on page one, but with a two-sided letter it may fall on the second page—do results differ? Has your appeal structure been tested on both one-sided and two-sided letters? I just read the article Your Appeal Outline: Thoughtful Strategy or Random Spasm?

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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