Donor Identity

Repeat Giving Gamified

Wordle will tell me how many consecutive days I’ve played, my streak. Same for Peloton and the activity app on my watch and phone. Streaks, we love to maintain em’. It becomes a goal unto itself. And if that goal is tied to an Identity – as runner or biker or puzzle person – then […]

Learn More March 22, 2023

The Three Layers of A Person and Your Fundraising Story

I want a story that speaks to me. But who am I? A bundle of complexity just like you and exactly not like you. Personality Psychologists often talk about three layers of a person, The foundational, rough sketch layer are our broad personality traits. You’re extroverted, I’m introverted. You’re agreeable, I’m not. But, there are […]

Learn More March 20, 2023

All Segmented Up and Nowhere to Go

Why create segments? The only reason is you believe Different Strokes was something other than an early 80s sitcom. But what makes people different isn’t the question. Some people like red hats, others blue; knowing that won’t help you raise more money. What are the different reasons people support your charity is closer to the […]

Learn More March 15, 2023

Is Your Quest for Relevance Spewing CO2?

People who say messages must be relevant or authentic are often guilty of putting extra CO2 into the air. These are extra words. Nobody’s advocating or aiming for the opposite. More critically, these extra words are rarely followed with specifics – as in how, exactly. The path to relevance is, like Hell, paved with good […]

Learn More March 8, 2023

Happy or Sad?

If you don’t show a sad face you’re not showing the need and therefore, reason to give. If you show a sad face you’re guilting people into giving and undermining the resilience of the beneficiary. Happy! No, Sad! We want things to be as simple as possible, but not simpler. Arguing for one over […]

Learn More March 6, 2023

Discover Fresh Potential in the New Peer-to-Peer Landscape

Otis and Katrina have done it again! I’m speaking of fundraisers/authors Katrina VanHuss and Otis Fulton. Their just-released Social Fundraising: Mining the New Peer-to-Peer Landscape — a must-read encore to Dollar Dash, their breakthrough guide to tapping the true potential of Peer-to-Peer fundraising. The potential of Peer-to-Peer fundraising (let’s call it P2P for brevity’s sake although […]

Learn More February 6, 2023

Are You Giving Your Donors the Trump Treatment?

For whatever unfathomable reason my brain somehow connected coverage of Donald Trump’s bizarre eulogy at a supporter’s funeral with some of the lousy behavior exhibited by some nonprofits in dealing with their donors. Let me explain. At a memorial service for Rochelle “Silk” Richardson, half of the rabidly vocal pro-Trump commentary duo of Diamond & […]

Learn More January 27, 2023

Remember When?

I remember when people were in awe of email. They loved it. Until they didn’t. The convenience –the ability to communicate directly and personally in writing regardless of time zones and free of telephone buzzy signals or answering machines and fax machines—was astounding. Unfortunately, that early awe of convenience and effectiveness has now morphed into […]

Learn More January 6, 2023

Supporter Motivation Is Under Your Control

Motivation is arguably the coin of the fundraising realm. If a donor feels motivated to give, they’ll keep doing it. Motivation differs by amount, a lot or little and by type, high or low quality. And most importantly it differs by situation or context. We all experience this; different levels of motivation for different jobs […]

Learn More December 9, 2022

What Should You Know When You “Know” A Donor?

Charities love to segment and design appeals and giving programs to fit a group. These groups are typically created using demographics (age or income) or donors’ giving history – sustainers, lapsed sustainers, one-time donors. Segmentation works, helping create more effective appeals. Giving Tuesday can mean something very different to, say, a long-time monthly donor versus […]

Learn More December 7, 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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Donor Identity

Repeat Giving Gamified

The Three Layers of A Person and Your Fundraising Story

All Segmented Up and Nowhere to Go

Is Your Quest for Relevance Spewing CO2?

Happy or Sad?

Discover Fresh Potential in the New Peer-to-Peer Landscape

Are You Giving Your Donors the Trump Treatment?

Remember When?

Supporter Motivation Is Under Your Control

What Should You Know When You “Know” A Donor?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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

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