Behavioral Science Posts

Doggy Personality

I’m a dog person. I have two dogs and my children and wife only semi-kiddingly suggest the dogs are my top priority. They always agree with me and never complain, what’s not to like? Turns out my dog choice is a reflection of my personality. Neurotic people have neurotic dogs (plot on left) and extraverted […]

Learn More September 16, 2022

Trust in the Eye of the Beholder?

We do a lot of surveys. Heck, I’ve got an advanced degree in Survey Methodology, whatever the hell that means. Surveys are ubiquitous it seems, especially in politics and public policy. Your organization might do a survey for constituent understanding or for public release to advocate for this or that cause. What makes surveys trustworthy […]

Learn More September 9, 2022

Effort is a Fundraising Killer

Effort, be it physical or mental is often avoided. People will even endure physical pain to avoid mental effort in lab settings. If there are two equally rewarding outcomes we humans tend to follow the law of least work, the path of least resistance. Think about giving to charity. You do or you don’t. If […]

Learn More September 7, 2022

Are You Using the Power of Retro Fundraising?

Summer is coming to an end. Schools are about to re-open. Remember that first day back at school? It was full of excitement and eagerness. You had a new bag, new supplies, and you probably couldn’t wait to see your friends. Or maybe it was a bit different for you. Maybe you were shy, or […]

Learn More September 2, 2022

Avoiding Being Asked? Say it Ain’t So.

If people enjoy giving then why would they ever actively avoid a fundraising ask? Being solicited and the joy that can arrive from being charitable are not synonymous. Heck, sometimes they aren’t even distant, far-flung cousins. Relatedly, the act of giving is not what brings joy. It is how people react afterwards. We don’t give […]

Learn More August 26, 2022

If You Ain’t First You’re Last

One of the greatest movies of all time for those of us who enjoy parody, slapstick and juvenile humor is Will Ferrell’s Talladega Nights. He spends most of his life against an impossible standard of “if you ain’t first you’re last”, a motto from his father who was high on peyote at the time he […]

Learn More August 19, 2022

A Message Built of Concrete

Should your fundraising message be concrete and specific or abstract? Most would probably say the former and most would be correct. The better question is why? Why does being more concrete and specific with messaging versus generic and abstract work better? It isn’t enough that the answer to the first question (concrete or abstract?) seems clear […]

Learn More July 20, 2022

Words Matter. Handle With Care.

Words have always mattered. In this highly partisan, explosively charged times they matter even more. Take the term ‘white privilege’. To some people it summarizes the combined effects of historical, economic, and cultural forces that allow a larger percentage of whites to climb the socioeconomic ladder than Blacks or Hispanics To other folks use […]

Learn More July 6, 2022

How to Fundraise Like a Big Mac Marketer

Old school Big Mac marketers would sell a Big Mac… By hiring an agency to come up with a clever, “emotional” ad. Like this one. This ad would be shown to the McDonald’s rewards customers in email and on social. It would be aimed at anyone on mobile doing a search for “fast food near […]

Learn More June 29, 2022

When Getting Their Attention is Bad

Getting the attention of your supporter in an uber-cluttered world seems like a win. And certainly a donor’s ignoring the Crate & Barrel promotional discount email to process your appeal email is a big plus. But, what about the attention within your email? Might some content get their attention and make them less likely to […]

Learn More June 24, 2022

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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