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Behavioral Science Posts

Want Your Ad to Go Viral?

Go catch lightning a bottle. Maybe not. Maybe it isn’t random. But what it certainly isn’t is “brilliant” or “emotional” ads. The characteristics of the ad do matter but there is a lot of interplay with characteristics of the viewers. In short, part ad, part people. And, one can argue, as we will, that the […]

Learn More July 13, 2020

To Nudge or Nudge?

Every single test should have both theory and evidence as its basis. You could test a brown kraft envelope vs the plain white control, and then find some theory of human behavior that justifies this test. But, if you start with the theory, you may discover a better test idea. Why do people give? Social […]

Learn More July 10, 2020

Great Monthly Giving Is In The Details

In the midst of all our ranting, pontificating and advice-giving it’s easy to overlook the fundamental importance of paying attention to details. “So mundane” …” So below my pay grade” …” So what?” Everyone reading this knows down deep that indeed details do matter. And, if we’re going to succeed we have to make the […]

Learn More July 8, 2020

Identity and Need Satisfaction (should) go hand in hand

I’m a Canadian. A behavioral scientist. A fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins. A husband. The son of a parent afflicted with cancer. These are some examples of the identities I hold. Identities refer to important social roles, relationships, attitudes, and passions that people use to describe themselves. Everyone has various identities that are more or […]

Learn More July 6, 2020

On Stopping Hate for Profit

Just a week ago Mark Zuckerberg, who controls the social media sludge and sewage operation known as Facebook, held a call with advertisers where, according to The New York Times he struck a “defiant tone” as “he discussed the importance of freedom of speech and stressed his company would not bow to pressure on its […]

Learn More July 3, 2020

Dealing with Doubts About Legacy Giving in a Pandemic and Depression

Back in April, as the coronavirus pandemic was heating up, we raised some questions posed by many nonprofit board and fundraisers. Put bluntly the question, in its basest form was, “Should we be asking for legacy gifts right now, before the virus gets our donors?” We noted that a solid set of answers could be […]

Learn More July 1, 2020

Embarrassed by Death. Educated by Hot Pants

“More than $1.4 billion in stimulus checks went to dead people, the Government Accountability Office said.” When I saw that headline in yesterday’s New York Times it was instantly clear to me that clearly the Trump administration is not using The Agitator Toolbox.. Let me explain. Seems like in the rush to inject money into […]

Learn More June 26, 2020

Whack-A-Mole Pandemic Effects and Results

In a seemingly breathless but not surprising headline — “Giving Plunges 6% in First Quarter, Signaling $25 Billion in Lost Revenue for Nonprofits“– the Chronicle of Philanthropy announced the release of the 2020 1st Quarter Fundraising Effectiveness Report (FEP) noting a decline in individual giving in March. Not a pretty picture. But, optimism continued to rule […]

Learn More June 24, 2020

The Theory of Giving : A Fundraiser’s North Star

Since last Wednesday’s post announcing the 2020 Pilot Study to determine how drivers of giving – Identity, Personality, Quality of Motivation, Commitment and Satisfaction –impact giving and how you put this information to practical use Agitator readers have expressed significant interest and participation. To briefly recap, you’ll recall that this DonorVoice research project—global in scope—aims […]

Learn More June 22, 2020

Celebrating Juneteenth

Today, June 19th, is Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. It’s an official holiday in 47 states and should be a national holiday all across America. African-Americans have celebrated it since June 19th, 1865, when more than 250,000 enslaved people in Texas learned from a Union army general that […]

Learn More June 19, 2020

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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Behavioral Science Posts

Want Your Ad to Go Viral?

To Nudge or Nudge?

Great Monthly Giving Is In The Details

Identity and Need Satisfaction (should) go hand in hand

On Stopping Hate for Profit

Dealing with Doubts About Legacy Giving in a Pandemic and Depression

Embarrassed by Death. Educated by Hot Pants

Whack-A-Mole Pandemic Effects and Results

The Theory of Giving : A Fundraiser’s North Star

Celebrating Juneteenth

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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