Treat Nonprofit Board and Donors Like Family. Or Else.
People are more generous when they feel more connected.
Like members of your community. Or, if you will, your family.
This isn’t just an opinion;
In fact, it’s documented in a study in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
The study found people have three basic psychological needs: relatedness, competence, and autonomy.
Today I want to examine relatedness and autonomy as they connect to success in fundraising.
Relatedness
Relatedness is particularly important for promoting pro-social behavior. Like philanthropy. The study found certain words — community, together, connected, and relationship — invoked feelings of relatedness.
Sharing feelings of relatedness also promotes pro-social behavior. This is why asking donors to share their own stories about why they volunteer, give or help in any other way is an effective fundraising strategy. Likewise, when you share with donors how you feel related to them this will make them feel good about how they’re affiliating with you.
4 Action Steps to Invoke Relatedness to Trigger Philanthropy
Here are strategies to engender feelings of being part of a family or community:
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