I’ve long been fascinated by how helpful an understanding of some basic psychological principles can be to the effective practice of fundraising. One of my favorite blogs, focused on consumer marketing, is Sean D’Souza’s Psychotactics. It applies in spades to fundraising, because it involves getting inside your target constituent’s brain — the essence of donor-centered fundraising.
Recently Sean ran a three-part series of podcasts on the one thing all marketing (and fundraising) ultimately boils down to:
“Risk.”
When a prospective donor contemplates making a gift to you, they ask themselves (consciously or unconsciously) what the risk is in so doing.
Allow me to explain by taking a look at how your donor’s brain works.
Researchers such as Paul Slovic and Daniel Kahneman have shown fear of loss weighs heavier than hope of gain. So, from the get-go, would-be philanthropists consider what might be lost if they give/don’t give to your cause.
In the past I’ve discussed how to turn the fear of loss equation from a personal win/lose to a communal win/lose. This is important as it causes the donor to think from a perspective of generosity (If I don’t give, hundreds of children will have no water) rather than greed (If I give, I won’t be able to go out to dinner tonight). This will cause some folks to tip into the “yes, I’ll give” column. But… not everyone.
So it’s also important for you to understand how your donor calculates giving pros and cons as a personal win/lose proposition. Because people can’t help it. Human beings are wired this way. And the reasons they’ll consider range from the seemingly ridiculous or trivial to the more substantial. For example, “Will giving away this money:”
