Do you know what the people who give you money want from you in return for their financial gift? For some it’s a simple thank you note. For others it’s to know their gift has lasting impact. For others, well, we don’t know unless we ask them.
So I did.
During one of my webinars for members I asked three philanthropists who have collectively given more than $100 million to social profit organizations some questions about why they give, why they stop giving, and what advice they have for development staff. We had two men and one woman. Ages ranged from 40s to 70s. Here is what they had to say:
What causes you to make a financial gift?
- Emotion
- Personal connection
Why stop supporting an organization?
- Concerns about executive or board leadership
- Feel taken for granted and under appreciated
- Don’t feel ongoing personal connection
- Individual giving priorities have changed
- Wasn’t really connected to the mission in the first place, but rather gave initially because a friend was involved
How do you decide what size gift to make?
- The level of passion I have causes me to stretch
- Personal involvement
- The need has been articulated clearly ($_________ will do _________)
- The need and cost associated with that need are clear
Pitfalls of fundraisers
- They don’t listen, they only go on about their organization. They need to listen and ask questions to learn about my priorities, passion and interests
Overall advice
- Make sure NEED has been explained fully
- Do homework, personalize and customize approach
- Create passion & find out what I’m passionate about
- Provide tangible opportunities for a donor to fill a need
- Try different approaches
- Keep good donor records
- Know that not everyone is a fit or cares about your mission, even after you explain it to them. Be okay with letting them go but don’t forget to ask if they know someone who would be interested
- Match the ASKER to the DONOR (especially in regards to larger gifts over $1k). The ASKER should have some sort of relationship with the DONOR and always have them accompanied by staff or board member who can speak to the mission and organization details.
Their answers may not surprise you. But will they cause YOU to take action and find out what YOUR supporters are thinking? I hope so.
This post was included in Withism’s from Lori: Boldness, Clarity & Wisdom for Fundraising Professionals Making a Difference (Volume 1), now available in paperback, on Kindle, and Nook.
Lori, your research should be considered gold for fundraisers! I hope that they will take notice of this information to do a better job at both keeping donors and gaining new ones. Thanks for some wonderful insight.
Lori, Great info!! It’s pretty amazing that in these times when social investors are preaching only the outcome measures mantra that your donors still listed emotion and personal concern as their top two reasons for making a gift. And that the lack of making a good case for support and listening to donors are pitfalls for fundraisers — underscores again the basics, doesn’t it.
Another eye-opening post from you, Lori! I was struck by “What causes you to make a financial gift?” Emotion is KEY – yet so often lacking in nonprofit copy. Gayle: I love when I can tie emotion to outcomes (as an example, including w/ stats on how many of our kids were accepted to college with one kid’s own story).
Thank you all for your great comments! When we conducted this Q & A I was struck by the clear, succinct answers each major gift donor provided. They truly want our fundraising community to know that THEY want to be involved with both their heart and their head in conversations, not simply solicitations.
Aw, this is awesome! Thanks for conducting this bit of research and for sharing with us. It totally confirms what I believe and teach to my clients.
Sandy
Lori–I love that you list “emotion” as a reason your philanthropists gave for their giving. I’ve been involved in some very frustrating conversations with Executive Leadership and Boards where emotion was poo-pooed as only a small giver’s motivation. Good for you for telling it like it is. Emotion can and is a driver for giving whatever the size of the gift. Which means that major donor communication should be packed with juicy emotion, not just stats.
Great stuff!
st
Steve, thank you for reading and for your post. I enjoy your website and Tweets!