A Journey Inside the Brain of your Donors and Clients
Leah Eustace, CFRE
Principal and Chief Idea Goddess @LeahEustace
…and it makes them live longer
So, giving people the opportunity to invest
in your organization is, in reality, doing them a favour
Moral identity matters
“Thanks for calling and becoming a kind and caring WFIU
donor (or client)”
Those two words increased giving by 21% amongst female donors (no impact on males).
Humans experience psychic numbing
“If I think of the mass I will never act, if I think of the one, I will”
We really don’t make any sense
Give $10 million to fight a disease claiming 20,000 lives and save 10,000.
or
Give $10 million to fight a disease claiming 290,000 lives and save 20,000.
Read more about this study
The case of Karen Klein
Stories are powerful
Our brains change as we age
And so does readability
If your fundraising messages has a grade level higher than 7, it will draw a lower response than one written at 7 or less. It’s a tested reality.
Obama is really good at this
MRI’s of Donor Brains
Speaking of planned giving
Most people have no idea what those words mean
95% of planned gifts
are bequests Read about the research here
Why, not how
Telling someone your goal makes it less likely to happen
Be cautious about raising awareness
Beware of what people say
In summary
• Use persuasion
• Focus on emotion
• Moral identity matters
• Use stories, not stats
• Don’t forget design & readability
• Stop using “planned” and “legacy” giving
• Why, not how
• Beware of stating your goal and/or raising awareness
• Actions speak louder than words
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