I just read a fascinating article from Nielsen about impulse shopping. As it happens, fresh produce, coffee, milk and eggs are the needs (i.e., products) most likely to drive consumers to a store. Indeed, consumers buy fresh produce and milk in 40% of all trips to the store.

In the non-food space, prescription medications and pet care/food drive most trips to the store.

And once in the store, frozen foods and snacks add to the impulse food basket, while in the non-food category, it’s items from the personal care aisle.

Now, I wouldn’t put this article on the required reading list for harried fundraisers; I’ve probably already told you more than you want to know!

But it did get me thinking … is there any analogue in the fundraising space?

On the donor’s way to the animal welfare ‘aisle’, is there any chance for a side visit to the human rights ‘aisle’?!

When you think about it, when you choose direct mail lists to rent, you’re anticipating this kind of cross-promotion. If Tom gives to the Sierra Club he might well consider a contribution to the Audubon Society. But of course, those two gifts are temporally separate.

A ‘thank you’ message that includes an ask (or a return envelope) might be a closer analogue in terms of leveraging the donor’s immediate attention.

What I’ve never seen is a ‘thank you’ that more audaciously bumps you to a new, additional ask … “We appreciate your generous gift to our Save the Whale campaign, would you consider a monthly sustainer for the upkeep of our monitoring ship?”

The broader question that arises: how much giving is impulse, how much is in direct response to a specific ask, and how much is actually intentional (i.e., initiated by a donor with a specific purpose or goal in mind)? Across all fundraising, I’d venture 30%, 60%, 10% respectively. What’s your estimate?

For any given charity or cause, it might be much different. I suppose, as with consumer products, it depends on the cause or charity. Less likely to buy a Porsche on impulse than a bag of chips. Less likely to give on impulse to your local museum than to a disaster relief appeal.

So, how does a nonprofit position itself to be in front of the consumer/prospect when he or she is simply ‘going about their business’. By definition, face-to-face fundraisers do this. A direct mail letter does this as well. The consumer was happily minding their own business, when ZAP! Both of these examples are real interventions … confronting the ‘prospect’.

A well-targeted online appeal comes a bit closer to simply being at the right place at the right time, lurking in the weeds — e.g., placing an animal welfare appeal on a pet care website. Or presenting a petition-signer with a follow-on fundraising appeal.

In a fundraising scenario, that’s as close as I can come to: Tom went to the store to buy milk and eggs, and came home with shampoo as well!

Set aside your carefully calculated annual fundraising plan, with its 48 contacts per donor tightly scheduled over the next twelve months, and think for a few moments about the impulse shopper/donor.

Harnessing impulse … what other fundraising examples or opportunities can you come up with?

Tom