Key Strategies to Give Meaningful Nonprofit Work Feedback
Network for Good has a great ebook out with 10 Resolutions to Make (and Keep!) for Online Fundraising and Marketing Success in 2012. It’s worth downloading the whole thing, but I’d like to talk about the first resolution they highlight: Put fundraising first.
Of course, a priori, this makes total sense. If you are a nonprofit, and you rely on contribution income, then fundraising is mother’s milk to your mission. You can’t survive without it. You must ‘put’ it on the table, in a specific place, in a specific way. And you must do it from the outset; it’s what creates a winning position.
Okay… now, just exactly what is “fundraising”? If there’s one thing I know, it’s that fundraising without asking is hardly fundraising at all.
A recent study shows that the primary trigger of giving is asking. We always knew this (or should have!), but now we know empirically that this is true. It’s an interesting study. What it reveals is that people don’t avoid giving; they avoid being asked. If you do get people in a situation where you can ask them, they’ll respond to the empathic stimuli and social cue.
In fact, very few people will give in the absence of empathic stimuli. So, if we’re to put fundraising first we must really put empathy first. This ties back to the ‘survival of the kindest’ research by Dacher Kelter of the Greater Good Institute showing that human beings are wired to be selfless. People regulate their altruism however, much as they regulate their exposure to a favorite food when they’re dieting. They know they’ll go for it, and they seek to moderate their impulses.
If putting empathy first equates to putting fundraising first, what does this mean for our strategic plans? The research shows us several things:
- We must tell stories and show visuals that trigger empathy.
- We must ask in person. It turns out giving is 57% more likely in the presence of a simple, polite request.
- There is power in numbers. The propensity to give is triggered even further when there are two askers.
- Offering passive opportunities to give doesn’t work particularly well. We need to create situations where potential donors are not able to easily avoid a direct ask.
Human beings have difficulty resisting the temptation to give. Give this a moment to sink in, because this is a game changer.
If we’re wired to be giving, why do so many people shy away from putting fundraising first? (i.e., “I’ll do anything BUT fundraise). People fear asking because they’re uncomfortable with the subject of money. Money is believed to be filthy. We don’t want to talk with others about filthy subjects. It’s taboo. But what if we think about fundraising and giving from a psychological perspective? Psychological models of altruism begin with empathy. It’s not about the money; rather, it’s about what the gift can accomplish that changes a life.
Many folks (e.g., board members) think from an economic perspective. The psychological perspective suggests that the act of giving is a struggle between empathy and executive function. In other words, the pull of the heartstrings vs. the family budget. When a direct look or ask stimulates the brain’s empathic response, the altruistic act is harder to resist. So, the very act of asking enables people to act on their deepest primal instincts to be kind and caring and creating of community.
This year, and every year, let’s give everyone — especially our friends, colleagues and family — the benefit of the doubt and presume they want to be of service. If this is the case, why would we deny them the joy of giving? Let’s be kind, and do what it takes to kindle and rekindle their passions.
One final thought: The flip side of asking is thanking, and it’s equally important. Ask and ye shall receive. Thank and ye shall receive again. In my next blog post, I’ll talk about the importance of thank yous.
What makes it difficult for you to put fundraising first in your organization, and how can you overcome these challenges?
3 Comments
WOW. I couldn't agree more and rarely have I seen so much good research so well presented to convince board members, executive directors and other nonprofit leaders — that they just need to suck it up and have a conversation.
I think the next challenge is knowing what to say in a meeting. How about a script for that?
Thanks Martin. Watch for something resembling a script in a future post. For now: we need to remember we're not begging. We don't ask for ourselves. We ask to enact the values inherent in our mission — values that we know our prospective donor shares( or we certainly should know this, and should have built a sufficient relationship with our prospect that we understand what they care about and why they've agreed to meet with us). Assuming the donor values what we do, by asking we're giving them the awesome opportunity to act on something they believe. To maybe make the world a better place. To perhaps save a life or change a life. This isn't an opportunity folks get offered everyday. Asking should be an uplifting experience. — both for the Adler and askee.
Oops. I meant asker and askee. Don't know how Adler slipped in there. It's some corollary of a Freudian slip. 🙂