A Main Reason Why Donors Give and How to Use It to Boost Fundraising Response

Let’s say you’re interested in protecting the environment. Maybe you wouldn’t lash yourself to an old-growth tree and defy the chainsaws, but you do think we need clean air and water.

And what really gets to you is fracking. You think fracking fouls the water and air, hastens climate change, harms local animal species and more.

You hate fracking. So, when you see a fundraising appeal that proposes to take on the frackers and stop them in their tracks or at least set them back a bit, what are you going to do? You’re going to donate, that’s what.

Why? Because you want action. You want to accomplish something. It’s a simple, basic impulse that beats within the heart of virtually every donor. Simple but powerful. Here’s why.

The slang term “woke” garners a lot of derision these days. But strip away the political connotations applied to it, and what you have is that woke simply means aware. That’s woke. It’s being aware of and concerned about what’s going on in the world.

All well and good, but are your donors woke? They are if they’re aware of poverty, hunger, discrimination, injustice, declining democracy, limited rights, income inequality, animal abuse, drug abuse or whatever the case may be. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t be in your donor file.

Here’s What Holds Them Back

So, yes, donors are woke. Because they are, they naturally want action.

Unfortunately, they might not be getting it from the appeals they receive. Donors see vague, abstract messaging like “give hope,” “stand with us,” “join our movement,” “make a difference” and other ambiguities.

This is too common in fundraising appeals of all kinds. It denies donors the ability to take action, which is one of the main things they want. It fails to connect with donors on the level of personal values (You hate fracking? So do we!). And it makes the nonprofit seem like it’s being very careful not to say anything specific (Will my donation actually do anything, or does it just go into a general-fund black hole?). You start to feel like you’re reading one long disclaimer instead of a fundraising letter.

Take our clean-air-and-clean-water-loving anti-fracker from a few moments ago. Does she want hope? Does she want to stand with anyone? Doubtful. She wants action. She wants to go after those frackers. She wants to hear, “Your donation will help take this fracker to court next month and make them answer for the damage they’ve done.”

Tell her that and her reaction is likely to be, “Where’s my checkbook?”

The reason is clear: We’re all tired of politicians who promise but don’t deliver, bosses who just want to maintain the status quo, friends who blather on without a point, partners who say they’ll replace the lightbulb but never do it. We’re all tired of the hot air, the talking around everything without actually saying anything directly and the constant dodging, ducking and weaving.

How You Can Get Rid of Ambiguity

That’s why when a donor gets an appeal from the local nonprofit hospital asking her to give to enhance the well-being of the community, she’ll probably shrug. But if the appeal tells her new research on lung cancer is on the verge of a breakthrough and needs her funding to take the crucial next step, she’s more likely to give.

When a local rescue mission tells a donor that he can make a profound difference, he’ll probably shrug. But when they tell him that five homeless men froze to death last winter and even more could die this winter unless he provides a warm bed so they don’t have to take their chances outside on a steam grate, he’s more likely to give.

When an international relief charity tells a donor she can help stabilize health systems in developing countries, she’ll probably shrug. But if the appeal says that $10 will send rehydration salts for babies in Uganda who are dehydrated from chronic diarrhea and near death, she’s more likely to give.

Donors see through platitudes, ambiguities and equivocation. They want action. It’s one of the main reasons for giving, if not the main reason for giving. When you lean into that with your direct response copywriting and connect with donors based on personal values and what’s important to them, they’re more likely to reward you with a donation.

The preceding blog was provided by an individual unaffiliated with NonProfit PRO. The views expressed within do not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of NonProfit PRO.