Don’t Think, Give
Thanks to the Boston Globe for this excellent overview article examining the research behind giving … Why we give to charity.
The bottomline won’t come as a surprise to experienced fundraisers. As the article summarizes:
“… giving is driven by emotional motives, rooted in deep impulses, cognitive biases, and even our own selfish needs. (Charity research isn’t necessarily flattering to donors.) And when we think too analytically about giving, we can deflate our initial generous instinct.”
To which I would add: So don’t make your prospective donor engage too rationally! Even offering too many giving choices can get in the way. And we all know how a too-complicated online giving process can yield mostly incompetions and ‘shopping cart’ abandonment.
Another observation regarding the ‘warm glow’ from giving:
“One dominant strain of thought among charity researchers is that our donations aren’t chiefly driven by concern for others, or a principled sense of altruism — that instead, it’s largely a way for us to indulge the desire to feel virtuous and happy about our role in the world.”
The article describes a number of research experiments where providing more information to people — from further facts about the problem being addressed to information about efficient management of overhead costs — actually diminished their giving.
What do you think? When donors start thinking, do they stop feeling … and giving?
I urge you to read the Globe article. Then, if you haven’t already done so, go back and read Roger’s post from last Monday. There he talks about a particular feeling you can cultivate amongst your donors to increase their giving.
Tom
P.S. Thanks to the Chronicle of Philanthropy for the heads-up.
One response to “Don’t Think, Give”
Behavioral Science Q & A
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