Behavioral Science Posts

To Nudge or Nudge?

Every single test should have both theory and evidence as its basis. You could test a brown kraft envelope vs the plain white control, and then find some theory of human behavior that justifies this test. But, if you start with the theory, you may discover a better test idea. Why do people give? Social […]

Learn More July 10, 2020

Identity and Need Satisfaction (should) go hand in hand

I’m a Canadian. A behavioral scientist. A fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins. A husband. The son of a parent afflicted with cancer. These are some examples of the identities I hold. Identities refer to important social roles, relationships, attitudes, and passions that people use to describe themselves. Everyone has various identities that are more or […]

Learn More July 6, 2020

Why Measuring Donor Satisfaction Isn’t Enough

The great German philosopher, Immanuel Kant, argued knowledge cannot come from raw, sensory input alone; there must also be pre-existing, mental categories to sort and organize the sensory information. A modern-day Kantianism for our world is Data without theory is blind, but theory without data is empty. Let’s tackle the first part of this maxim […]

Learn More June 29, 2020

Pandemic Accelerant

The most frequent topic at Agitator editorial meetings in recent weeks has centered on the question “What does this pandemic mean for the future of fundraising?” More specifically, what should we be doing to help organizations prepare for what all of us here believe will be a long, slow, multi-year recovery that could have us […]

Learn More June 17, 2020

Should We Reward Supporters or Not?

Before I answer, let’s take a small step back… As fundraisers, we employ different techniques to motivate people to give. But, as we explained before, there’s good and bad motivation. We can definitely make people give by triggering controlled motivation e.g. if you don’t give, this child will starve. But that’s not the goal. Why? Because […]

Learn More May 8, 2020

The Right Kind of Donor Motivation

Emotionally manipulative messages can backfire because of psychological reactance, that rebellious response people sometimes show when they feel unduly pressured. They may still give in the moment but your donor retention hinges on your ability to create a sense of autonomy in your donors. But how to do that? And can it be measured and […]

Learn More May 6, 2020

Beware of Psychological Reactance

“Tug on donors’ heartstrings…” “Make them feel pain and sorrow… “ “Guilt them into giving…” “We want donors to feel like giving will bring them closer to God’s heart…” “The quickest route to connection is fear and pain…” “By giving, donors will get relief from their emotional discomfort…” If statements like these characterize your approach […]

Learn More May 4, 2020

Don’t Lead With Death

Questions about Planned Giving abound in the crisis climate of the coronavirus pandemic. Should we be communicating? Should we be asking? Pushing to get folks to make Will before the virus gets them? Some of these? All of these? None of these? By far the most helpful and thoughtful guide I’ve seen has just been published […]

Learn More April 15, 2020

Take This Personality Test to Help Cope With The COVID-19 Pandemic

Knowing something about your own personality may be useful as we all work to limit the spread of COVID-19. After all, not everyone copes in the same way. Self-isolation and social distancing are hard to swallow and even harder to implement. To make your self-isolation easier—or at least more understandable– here are some useful insights […]

Learn More March 30, 2020

Can Your Organization Raise Money Now?

We aren’t raising the question of “should” your organization be raising money. The question we’re asking is “how viable “will your fundraising be in this time of crisis? The answer? It depends. But first, a major caveat. The situation we are in is very different from those analyzed or theorized about in the past and […]

Learn More March 25, 2020

Ask A Behavioral Scientist

Behavioral Science Q & A

Q: Do you have any insight on whether integrating an individual giving appeal with other comms from the charity in both appearance and messaging can uplift results? Or does the actual appeal become ‘lost’ for lack of stand-out?

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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Q: Is there any research on response rate impact in direct mail when referring to a sustainer gift as ongoing or recurring (catching all frequencies) v. monthly or annual?

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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Q: A major conservation nonprofit sends me lots of mail, many of which have on the envelope “time to renew” or “2nd notice.” I find this practice deceptive, especially as I haven’t given to said organization since 1997. It must be effective or they wouldn’t do it. But is it ethical?

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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Q: I find it irritating when some nonprofits accept my “gift” and then ask me to cover their credit card fees separately. It feels like a practice that does nothing to help win donors and runs the risk of turning others off. Is there any data on this either way?

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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Q: What are the three most important things to consider when designing a brilliant supporter journey?

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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Q: Is there any evidence that changes to the tax laws in the USA changed end of year giving behaviors? Previously, ~30% of US taxpayers filed itemized tax returns allowing them to receive a deduction for charitable giving. Tax law changed in 2017 so that now only ~10% itemize. This should mean tax year-end giving should not matter to millions of people for whom it used to matter. Is there any data evidence to support this?

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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