Uncategorized

Growing your data garden

Places like Facebook are called walled gardens. You can play all you want in the garden while you are there, but everything stays in the garden. From a marketer’s perspective, however, they are more like a Roach Motel: data checks in, but it doesn’t check out. It’s not just Facebook. Try to use the major […]

Learn More August 23, 2018

TEST RESULTS: You Raise More Money When You Listen to Donors’ Preferences

We know that, given the options, many donors would give more if they could direct where their gift went (see, for example, here and here). Yet restricted giving is a giant pain for most fundraisers. You could end up in your finance department explaining yourself for the rest of your natural life (and some of […]

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TEST RESULTS: External Validators Are Vitally Important–Except When They Aren’t

We’re looking at external validators – seals and such – in our week-long series on how to frame overhead and impact. These validators were the second most important factors to get right, lagging only how overhead is presented (which we covered yesterday) In the DonorVoice study with the DMA Nonprofit Federation, we looked at five […]

Learn More August 22, 2018

TEST RESULTS: Donors Don’t Care How You Spend Your Money. They Care How You Spend Theirs.

It sounds like a semantic difference – after all, if donors are donors, then their money becomes your money. But it makes all the difference in the world. We know that (unfortunately) donors have an aversion to overhead. Take a study from Gneezy et al. They allowed participants to give $100 to either charity: water […]

Learn More August 21, 2018

TEST RESULTS: Donors Care About Their Impact, Not Your Overhead

A significant factor in the donor’s decision to give rests in how s/he answers the question, “how am I going to feel if I make this gift?” So, the job of the fundraiser is to determine how those factors under an organization’s control can be most effectively presented. One major set of issues involve those […]

Learn More August 20, 2018

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, What’s The Best Mindset of Them All

Some fundraisers believe that donors are born the way they are and little can be done to change them. Others believe that valuable and committed donors aren’t born that way; they have to be created. My experience is that these beliefs are often a mirror reflection of the fundraisers themselves. The “donors are born that […]

Learn More August 17, 2018

When do donors lapse?

Back in May, I argued that you haven’t really acquired a donor until they’ve given permission, information, and/or a second gift. Let’s look at the end of a donor lifecycle – the moment they lapse. That one is easy, you say. We have a business rule that says someone is lapsed after they haven’t given […]

Learn More August 16, 2018

WoW

Soon we’ll enter the “crank-up-for-year-end-giving-and-2019- acquisition -efforts” phase of the year and we’ll have lots to say about key elements of all that. However, let’s not forget that behind all the research, advice, commenting and debate the Agitatorand our readers engage in we’re all participants in a shared and fundamental mission: changing the world. Making […]

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Awareness Versus Impact: Which Do Donors Choose?

Does raising awareness sell? That is, do people want to donate money to raise awareness about an issue or organization? Or do they want to fund efforts to remediate wrongs directly? Robert Smith and Norbert Schwarz wanted to find out. Actually, being good scientists, they wanted to analyze donor’s metacognition about awareness activities vis-à-vis whether […]

Learn More August 15, 2018

EMAIL: The King of the Digital Hill

Email – not Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms—remains King of the Hill when it comes to driving online advocacy action and contributions. That’s the key nugget delivered to nonprofit news and public media organizations by Jesse Littlewood, a campaigner and digital strategist who’s helped build Common Cause’s impressive digital advocacy and fundraising […]

Learn More August 14, 2018

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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Uncategorized

Growing your data garden

TEST RESULTS: You Raise More Money When You Listen to Donors’ Preferences

TEST RESULTS: External Validators Are Vitally Important–Except When They Aren’t

TEST RESULTS: Donors Don’t Care How You Spend Your Money. They Care How You Spend Theirs.

TEST RESULTS: Donors Care About Their Impact, Not Your Overhead

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, What’s The Best Mindset of Them All

When do donors lapse?

WoW

Awareness Versus Impact: Which Do Donors Choose?

EMAIL: The King of the Digital Hill

Ask A Behavioral Scientist

Behavioral Science Q & A

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?

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?

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