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Breaking Out of the Status Quo

What if Donors Could Give More Now and Pay Later?

A huge bonus springing from the BBB’s Wise Giving Alliance’s Heart of Giving Podcast are the windows host Art Taylor opens onto the personalities and motivation of folks who do the work, provide the charitable services, and come up with innovations worth exploring in our sector. Such was last week’s podcast featuring Dominic Kalms, the […]

Learn More July 13, 2022

How Do You Know Which Sustainers are At Risk of Quitting?

Everybody wants more regular, monthly givers but do you know what an at-risk regular giver looks like? The non-answer on this is a “clawback” in the F2F, canvassing world which quickly became the number one channel for sustainer acquisition in the States (pre-covid) and always was in many other countries. The clawback is a full […]

Learn More March 30, 2022

Are You Undermining Donor’s Sense of Control?

People give of time and treasure. We know this to be true.  A factoid in support:  Americans donate over $310 billion and volunteer 8.8 billion hours per year. If you take the median household income in the US (67k) and the average hours worked in a year you see that the hours given are worth […]

Learn More March 28, 2022

The Anatomy & Science of Conversation

Conversation abounds in the world of fundraising whether in-person or over the phone. Everybody makes note that we should be active listeners and strive for making a conversation, well, you know, “conversational”.  That feels thin. The social science world has done a lot to get a more robust answer.   This has implications for humans talking […]

Learn More March 7, 2022

What Works Best: The Spoken or Written Word?

We know that all fundraising writing or speaking should be conversational and personal.  It should avoid long words, nouns, prepositions and adjectives that all make the copy feel dense.  But which approach works best? We’ve scored lots of copy and transcribed phone conversations that follow written scripts.  Neither has an inherent legup on being conversational […]

Learn More January 7, 2022

Quantifying the Donor Experience At Scale

What gets measured gets managed.  How many brands out there are regularly measuring donor experience?   How many people read that last sentence and aren’t even sure what it means? You’d be excused, hell you’d be applauded,  since donor experience is thrown around ad nauseam with little or no practical definition, much less linkage to fundraising […]

Learn More October 13, 2021

Past Behavior Predicts Future Behavior – Who Cares?

This post’s title largely summarizes my view.  Past giving predicts future giving and so begins the circular logic of donor understanding.  It’s akin to noting that someone is on time because they tend to be punctual. Knowing that past behavior predicts future behavior can make you more efficient but you can efficient your way out […]

Learn More August 30, 2021

The Now or Never Effect

Faux deadlines are a stock in trade for online fundraising. “Faux” because most organizations will  take every penny that comes in past the deadline and even if there is a match thrown in to juice the offer  – e.g. give by Date X and your gift will be matched. But does it work?  And “work” […]

Learn More August 16, 2021

REMINDER: FREE SUMMER SERIES

It ain’t Sheakspeare in the Park, or the Tamglewood Music Festival, nor one of the Edinburgh Festivals, but it’s custom made for fundraisers open to re-thinking and re-imagining how to best approach post-pandemic challenges.  This Free Summer Series is brought to you by DonorVoice, the Behavioral Science Fundraising Agency and you can  register here In these short, […]

Learn More June 1, 2021

Science of the Supporter Experience Summer Series

This Free Summer Series is brought to you by DonorVoice, the Behavioral Science Fundraising Agency, register here. Are you ready to come out of lockdown? Not personally (who isn’t?), but professionally? Will your pre-pandemic plan do, or could you benefit from a re-think? If you’re open to re-thinking and re-imagining your fundraising you’ll want to […]

Learn More May 24, 2021

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Ask A Behavioral Scientist

    Behavioral Science Q & A

    Q: As a designer who works with non-profits on fundraising strategy, I see the language like the following: “Our supporters help empower every girl, ensuring she has the resources she needs.” I do not think the word “help” is useful–I think “Our supporters empower every girl, ensuring she has the resources she needs. ” is much more engaging. Thoughts?

    Whether “help” is more engaging or not really depends on the framing and context. The word help can sometimes weaken the perceived agency of the supporter, making their role feel secondary rather than central (your point). On the other hand, help can also signal collaboration rather than implying full ownership of the outcome, which might […]

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    Q: We started offering a donor cover option last april 1. The data to date suggests this may be dampening giving.eg. those who say yes to donor cover have a lower average gift (based on analysis of 6000+ gifts). I’m wondering if those who give lower gifts feel more guilt and therefore say yes to donor cover or if the presence of donor cover is making people adjust (lower) their gift size to accommodate the extra 3%. Would love any insights you have.

    Great question! Here’s how behavioral science can help unpack what might be happening: Pain of Paying: Even a small extra charge can make giving feel more transactional than emotional, potentially reducing generosity. Fairness Concerns: Some donors might perceive donor cover as a surcharge rather than a contribution to the cause. If they feel the charity […]

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    Q: When writing an appeal, I waffle back and forth between writing “Your gift CAN…” or “Your gift WILL…” Any studies of which of these two words is best for an appeal?

    The choice between “Your gift CAN…” and “Your gift WILL…” taps into the psychological framing of certainty vs. possibility. Currently, there is no academic research directly comparing these two framings in charitable appeals. However, I suspect no framing is universally better—the outcome likely depends on your target audience and the campaign’s goal. Here are some thoughts: Certainty Framing – […]

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    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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