It Feels Great To Give
Apropos of our conversation the past two days regarding the downside of expecting or making donors think about their impulse to give, check out this article from NY Times yesterday: Charity Campaigns Try Gentle Approach to Get Shoppers to Spend on Good Deeds.
In the campaigns discussed, groups like the American Red Cross and Oxfam America are attempting to leverage the holiday impulse to ‘give’ (i.e., emotion at work) and channel it into donations.
Here’s a passage from the article:
“Scott Jackson, chief executive of Global Impact … says nonprofits ‘are trying to do a better job of telling their story, which is based on emotion, but it can’t just be a picture of a child or an animal. The message has to spell out the effectiveness.’
The emphasis on results means ‘the giver is guaranteed that the gift will do something really important and not end up in the bottom of the drawer,’ said Stephanie Kurzina, an Oxfam America spokeswoman.”
Sorry, I’d still argue that the campaigns featured in the article are all about emotion … the initial urge to give being augmented by the emotional need to signal one’s own personal social responsibility and indeed the desire to be recognized by the ‘gift’ recipient for having such sensibilities or values. And finally, for the recipient, there’s the warm glow generated in them as they feel that their gift-giver regards them as someone who shares those pro-social values.
Everybody feels great. Oh, and yes, the cause is served.
I realize I’ve probably made this all sound rather mechanical or crassly manipulative. But it’s not (in most cases). It just happens, dare I say, without much thought at all.
Tom
Behavioral Science Q & A
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