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Breaking Out of the Status Quo

The Plague of Churn – Donors and Staff

Money isn’t everything.  Direct cash outlays to the poor can make them psychologically worse off if those outlays are temporary.  In an experiment poor people were given $2000, $500 and $0 (control group).  Both groups getting the money were objectively better off having spent it on bills, food, clothing for kids, etc. But, both were […]

Learn More July 11, 2022

Half of All Impressions are Wasted

Attention Direct Marketers: This may seem like a branding post and the “soft” metrics of awareness and people liking your brand.  It is!  And that’s a big, big part of your job even if you aren’t actively putting time against it. Why?  All your direct marketing has much, much, much more immediate failure than success.  […]

Learn More March 2, 2022

2021 Shows Largest Increase in Giving Since 2012

Although we focus mainly on forward-looking developments in fundraising it’s also advisable to occasionally check the rear-view mirror to see what may be gaining on us or what we may have missed as we passed by on our way to the future. Benchmarks and macro-giving reports serve that function.  Unfortunately, sometimes the smug and self-content […]

Learn More February 18, 2022

The Fastest Way to Perfect Supporter Satisfaction

Q: What’s the fastest way to get perfect supporter satisfaction ratings?  A:  Have all your dissatisfied supporters leave and never come back. If that isn’t your preferred option, you might be interested in another.  If so, mark your calendar: 4th November, 10am EST, Webinar on Donor Satisfaction. Kevin and I will share a new and […]

Learn More October 27, 2021

There are No Best Practices

That is our headline from an analysis of (newspaper) headlines that found no discernible pattern in determining what makes for winning headlines.  I know, dizzying. The analysis was performed on a  a big data set: 141,000 A/B headline tests run by 293 newspaper websites.  The project was done by academics at Northwestern’s Computational Journalism Lab.  […]

Learn More October 20, 2021

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

The Value of a Fundraiser

Almost every sector of the economy is now facing the issue of how many employees will actually return vs. how many will simply opt for greener pastures. If the financial meltdown of 2008 was the Great Recession, will almost-post-pandemic- 2021 turn out to be the Great Resignation. Virtually every part of the nonprofit sector – […]

Learn More June 16, 2021

Humility in Numeracy

Numeracy, defined as a basic understanding and ability to work with numbers,  matters. The less numerate earn less and have less wealth.  They’re also more likely to have chronic disease, take more prescription drugs and be less able to follow the (partly numerated) instructions, thus adding more health risk.  Some of this is conflated with […]

Learn More June 14, 2021

Preventing Donor “Never Events” by Focusing on “Always Events”

“Happy families are all alike; every happy family is unhappy in its own way.” That’s the  opening line from Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina and one of the most famous openings to a novel in all of literature.  A solid statement; even though  a bit grim. Tolstoy went on  to examine relationships in 19th century Russia.  He devoted […]

Learn More April 7, 2021

Beware of Junk Science

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is the most popular personality test in the world.  Fortune 100 love it.  Government agencies love it.  More than 1.5 million people take it every year. Our only issue with it as social scientists is this:  It’s absolute garbage.  Otherwise, we too love it. It fails on two fundamental requirements. Not […]

Learn More March 17, 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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