Breaking Out of the Status Quo

The Power of Giving Circles

A wise fundraiser constantly searches for new grass. Not ‘new’ in the sense of moving on to a new position. Not necessarily “greener” in terms of a richer lode of donors. But certainly “new” in terms of sources and approaches to giving beyond the conventional landscape on which most fundraisers graze. As we recently warned, […]

Learn More August 11, 2021

Who’s in the Behavior Business? Charity Program Staff or Fundraisers?

Are you in the behavior business? Or does this task fall to your program staff? There is a growing paradox in charitable organizations between how the program staff and fundraising are (or are not) rethinking their most intractable problems. The former is realizing they’re in the behavior business. Behavior can be described, predicted or understood. […]

Learn More August 6, 2021

Gender, Race and Fundraising

In The Vanishing American Donor we warned of the danger of not investing – time, money and skill—in reaching beyond an organizations usual comfort zone to understand, communicate with and attract donors in “new” markets. Without question one of the most under-appreciated group of donors for all too many organizations are women—particularly women of color. […]

Learn More August 2, 2021

How Can You Get Hooked on a Feeling?

Franceso Ambrogetti is a fundraiser who has served with many global brands, most recently (and frequently) with UNICEF in senior roles all over the globe. He’s probably forgotten more than I ever knew about the trade. He’s also a lifelong learner and committed to digging deeper into the why of behavior and in that way, […]

Learn More July 30, 2021

Engagement Lessons From a Dating App

Badoo is a dating app with almost half a billion registered users worldwide and 300,000 new, daily sign ups. But the dating app biz is a crowded space with low barriers to trying other dating apps, low barriers to exit and thefore, high promiscuity (had to, sorry). So, customer acquisition is only as good as […]

Learn More July 26, 2021

Stop Talking About Donor Experience. Start Measuring (and Acting on) It.

Do you really think the donor experience matters? We’d argue the only way to answer this question is by defining experience, otherwise it feels amorphous and fuzzy. An interaction with your brand creates an experience. That experience creates a judgement by the human being on the receiving end– your donor/advocate/supporter. Those judgements add up over […]

Learn More July 19, 2021

Attacking Donors to Save Democracy

It’s increasingly clear that we’ll all soon be embroiled in a major battle we can’t avoid. Truth vs. Lies. Easy access to a fair vote vs. suppression and miscounting of the vote. Authoritarianism vs. Democracy. The outcome answers the question, “Will American democracy die?” Currently the battle is playing out on a variety of fronts. […]

Learn More July 12, 2021

Is Preaching to Your Choir Turning Off Everyone–Including the Choir?

“We should all be less prejudiced.” Does this statement and point of view sit well with you? Maybe it matches your beliefs. Maybe you think it’s so obviously correct that it’s like saying water is wet; it’s almost factual and certainly unobjectionable. What about this sentiment? “You are free to choose to value non-prejudice. “ […]

Learn More July 9, 2021

When a Color Test Isn’t a Waste of Time

The brown kraft envelope versus the white one. I’ll never forget when I was indirectly involved with this test, in part because I had to google ‘brown kraft’ having no clue what the hell color or shape that might take. The other reason is it struck me as incredibly random. Why this test? If it […]

Learn More July 7, 2021

Is Your Testing Divorced from Reality?

“If only we could get more people to give and do so more regularly.” ” Let’s devise a test. ” The HiPPO { Highest Paid Person’s Opinion; the one usually in charge) in the room says, “More people will give if we change the landing page to have more/less…text/pictures/fields.” “Great, we’ll do that test”, says […]

Learn More June 30, 2021

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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