Monday, November 29, 2010

Raising Money for Charity – Proven Techniques from Psychology


In these difficult economic times, many non-profit organizations that rely on charitable donations are finding it difficult to raise funds to cover expenses. The people who donated in the past may have since lost a job, taken a pay cut, or needed to rework the household budget. Yet, the missions of these organizations are still relevant, if not more relevant: there is more need for shelter, food, safety, and education. The need for charities has not gone away, even though so much of the funding has.
I was listening to one plea for help recently, where a very well meaning person addressed the audience saying that out of so many possible donors, only this small percentage had made a donation so far. It seemed to me that the intent was to use guilt as a motivation. “We are relying on so few to do so much. You should be doing your fair share!” is the unspoken message. Given my background in psychological research, I realized that the actual message was quite different. In reality this person was saying “You probably have not given any money for this cause, and you are not alone. In fact most people have not given anything so far. Times really are bad, and you are right to hold on to your money in case of emergency. Let someone else give the money.” How do I know this is the actual message?
When you read the academic description of experiments and field studies, you see that people pay attention to what the norm is. You know the old saying: “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Actually, we do this all the time. Don’t believe me? Try a little experiment. Get some of your friends to accompany you to the mall or the city or some public location where other people will be walking by. First, try looking straight up to the sky, as if there is something very important that you need to stare at. Have a friend stand some distance away and write down the number of people who look up to see what you are looking at. Then, have two or more of your friends look up at the same spot with you, and still have that other friend write down the number people who look up. If you choose a good spot, and if you spend an equal amount of time on the first and second condition, you should get results that match the findings from social psychology. Specifically, when a group of 3 or more individuals are doing something, they cause other people to do the same thing. The larger the group, the stronger the persuasion. The more uncertain the situation, the stronger the persuasion. Human beings are often called social animals, and our reliance on social norms is a good example of why we get that name. We want to fit in, and we are less inclined to act in a way that is different from what others are doing. There are documented cases of increasing recycling behavior and reducing household electricity use just by sharing certain aspects of what many other community members are doing. That same “social pressure” can be used to encourage individuals to reconsider their charitable contributions, and the techniques are both ethical and subtle.
If you want to elicit donations from a group of people, you should be creating the sense that everyone is contributing. You should create a social norm, where giving money is the thing to do. How? Clearly in the beginning of a fund raising drive, most people have NOT given money. What if the norm that you want doesn’t exist?
First, it is important to highlight an example of someone who really represents the population and who has also made a donation. Perhaps that person stands up at a meeting or is highlighted in a newsletter. Secondly, that person should be talking about more than just reasons to donate, but also how to make room in the budget. For example, John could stand up and say that giving a $1,000 donation seemed impossible to him at first, but then he realized that if he could save $50 on twenty occasions, he would have the money set aside—really, than meant skipping one family trip to the restaurant every other week. He realizes that not everyone is in the same situation, but maybe others can find a way to put aside money that they didn’t realize was accumulating towards other things, like movie channels or cell phone options. Suddenly, John has everyone thinking about trivial expenses that aren’t really necessary. Of course, if Mary makes a donation after hearing this short speech, then she can also stand up and talk about how she made it work.
Soon, statistics can be shared, such as the fact that 100 people made donations so far, and all their pictures are posted by the door. “In fact, some of these people will greet you as you leave today. Be sure to thank them for their generosity.” Make that 100 number seem very large and yet also very personal. By focusing on the successes, you can create the perception that people just like me are contributing. Eventually, when you know that you are over 50% participation, you can ask everyone at a meeting to stand up if they have made a donation. Suddenly, it seems that everyone is joining this worthy cause… and I should, too. At this point, it is important to make it very easy for people to join in. If people are not sure how to make a contribution, then pass out a card with options. If some people are interested, but not taking out a checkbook, then hand them a form to collect their phone number and address so that someone can follow up on the best way to fulfill a pledge today.
Remember, pay attention to the perception of how many people are joining in, and make that perception work for you rather than against you. Be creative, and show evidence of multiplying support. People will know what to do when they see the norm.


This content is protected by the 1976 Copyright Protection Act of the United States of America. The proper citation for this blog is as follows: Mastrangelo, P. M. (date posted). Title of Post. Bump on a Blog, available at http://paulmastrangelo.blogspot.com. This post is not intended to represent any person or organization other than Paul M. Mastrangelo.

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