Miracle on 34th Street – The Alternate Ending
DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Thousands of letters, all addressed to Santa Claus!
JUDGE: What do you have to say about all of this, Mr. Kringle?
KRINGLE: Your Honor, it started with one letter many years ago. It was to the guy who owned the place before I did, but it was a good cause, so I gave a gift. Well, it turns out once you donate once in the wrong guy’s envelope, every charity gets that information. I tried to correct them one at a time, but I would have had a better chance yelling at the tide not to come in.
JUDGE: But what about the sheer volume?
KRINGLE: Lemme tell you, your Honor – once you are on one list, you are on them all. It’s like these charities have some sort of collective of donors or something. And it turns out that when someone good asks me for a gift in December, I can’t help but make their dreams come true. (winks at the camera)
JUDGE: But these are postmarked February, June, August, and whatever. Do you only give in December?
KRINGLE: Yes, your honor. You’d think after over a thousand years of doing this they’d take a hint, but I’ve had just about as much success trying to take requests just in December as on the name thing.
JUDGE: This is sure a lot of paper. Wouldn’t it be easier if they emailed you? This is 2017, after all.
KRINGLE: Really? Then why are we in black and white? (rim shot)
I guess it’s because I started giving through the mail. Some email me in addition now, but no one emails me instead. It’s kinda sad; you give and give, but only a few of these folks ever get to know me.
JUDGE: So what do you do with all of these letters?
KRINGLE: Well, I haven’t had to pay for address labels in years, I can tell you that! I recycle most of them, but the ones from environmental charities, I throw away. When you’ve lived as long as I have, you have to take pleasure in irony.
JUDGE: Very well, then. I declare the defendant to be, for the purposes of charity mailings, Santa Claus on the condition that he removes these infernal missives from my desk. Court is adjourned.
Behavioral Science Q & A
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 […]
Read Full Answer
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 […]
Read Full Answer
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 […]
Read Full Answer
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 […]
Read Full Answer
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 […]
Read Full Answer
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 […]
Read Full Answer