A man and woman walk into a bar and sit beside a fundraiser.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one.

The Fundraiser says to the man and woman, “I work for a charity helping make sure outdoor enthusiasts have access to public lands.”

In unison, the Man and Woman, say, “We just came here for a beer, not interested”.

Nah, just kidding, that version only happened when they got solicited in the street by the pushy, ill-trained canvasser on quota.

In this version of the story, fate intervened, both the man and woman were wearing climbing gear and talking about the climb they just did. The three of them had a lovely conversation and both climbers were very interested in the mission even though they’d never heard of the organization.

Quiz:  What two, innate traits do the man and woman share?

• Identity: rock climbers.
• Commitment to organization: low to non-existent.

A couple of other fun facts. The woman has a high paying job and could easily write a check for four figures.  The man cannot.  They are not the same age.  They are not the same gender.   They do have a similar personality and disposition, both very high in the Openness trait.

How much of this background info on these two prospects matters?  Should we send the woman a glossy, newsletter or invite her to an online public policy forum?  Should we get the guy’s contact details and throw him into the direct mail stream,  or send an email asking him to sign up for the digital newsletter?  You know, because it’s cheaper.

The capacity part of the mid-level giving equation is the least interesting part.  It’s not strategic.  It has nothing to do with getting someone to say yes and should have nothing to do with your decision making on what touchpoints to include and with what messaging.

These male and female climbers are far more similar than different when it comes to the only thing that is strategic – their “why” for giving.

But, our female in this story does have different potential lifetime value.  Where and how does this factor in to her journey?

You Won’t Want to Miss This

Please join DonorVoice’s Kiki Koutmeridou, Chief Behavioral Scientist and Stefano Di Domenico, Director of Supporter Motivation for the only mid-level giving session fueled by the science of behavior.

This educational session is tomorrow, March 4th, 11am (EST).  Registration is limited but free.   However, it’s prioritized for charity staff.

And mercifully, I doubt Kiki and Stefano will continue this somewhat tortured climber illustration.

Kevin