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Communications

Cool Stats On Social Media Fundraising

Nonprofit Tech for Good recently proffered 14 “Must Know” stats about fundraising, social media and mobile technology. Here are six to tease you on a Monday morning. I can tell you’re not quite ready yet for heavy lifting this week. 1. Responsive design increases giving 96% on mobile and tablet … 126% on mobile. 2. […]

Learn More June 16, 2014

‘F’ Grade For Online Giving

The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports a new study which gives a ‘F’ grade to most nonprofits for their online fundraising. The study of 151 charities, including 100 on the Chron’s Top 400 list, points to many shortcomings in these organizations’ online fundraising practices. Here’s where to download the Online Fundraising Scorecard, prepared by Dunham+Company. What […]

Learn More February 5, 2014

Don’t Read This Post Till Saturday

If you are inclined to read this post on Friday, or any other weekday, please refrain. Weekdays are work days … days when fundraisers should be raising funds. This post features a link to an article from the Non-Profit Marketing Blog about social media, which means pretty much by definition that it’s not about raising […]

Learn More January 23, 2014

Who Better To Talk To?

If you are seriously interested in arresting your nonprofit’s declining retention rate, there are several approaches you can take — tactical improvements to your cultivation and renewal streams, improving ‘customer service’ aspects of your operations, telling a more compelling story (delivering both emotion and results). Of course these are not mutually exclusive approaches … probably […]

Learn More January 22, 2014

Pew On Social Media

As in Pew Internet Research, that is. I was going to try to go the entire month of January without mentioning social media (this is chiefly a fundraising blog, after all), but here I am … caving in barely half-way into the month. Pew has published its latest round of research into social media use, […]

Learn More January 17, 2014

Phoning In The Content And The Money

Digital world monitor comScore has released the latest figures on smartphone ownership in the US. As of October, 149.2 million people in the US owned a smartphone, representing 62.5% penetration. The most common application on those phones by far is Facebook (76%), with apps like Google Search (52%), YouTube (48%), Gmail (46%), Instagram (26%) and […]

Learn More December 10, 2013

Benefiting From Your ‘User Reviews’

We’ve all heard about the influence of ‘word of mouth’ on consumer purchasing these days. Commercial marketers regularly place word of mouth above advertising, PR and other marketing as the most trusted — and consequently most significant — influence on consumer behavior. There are books on the subject. Try this one — Word of Mouth […]

Learn More December 9, 2013

7 Questions For Your 2014 Marketing Plan

With November almost half gone, there’s not much we can timely advise regarding your year-end marketing/fundraising program. For the next 90 days or so, it’s all about execution. Much of your execution will be online, so I do hope you noted Roger’s advice yesterday about breaking through the Gmail barrier. So now let’s turn to […]

Learn More November 13, 2013

Mobile Marketing

Marketers (maybe more accurately, market researchers) love to create new consumer segments to spin theories about. I can’t resist this stuff, just out of intellectual curiosity … and sometimes I actually pick up an insight. So I was curious to read about ‘Affluencers’ — a composite of affluents (household income of $100K+) and influencers (those […]

Learn More November 8, 2013

Top 5 Innovative Fundraising Ideas

Today I’m shamelessly exploiting the hard work of Angie Moore, who recently reported 50 Innovative Fundraising Ideas she collected from readers of Fundraising Success. I’ve boiled her list down to my own Top 5. In no particular order, here goes. No actually, #1 deserves to be #1 … 1. “Normally, fundraising departments increase their financial […]

Learn More September 30, 2013

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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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