Why People Give

A good example of how this works takes us back to the political references made earlier in this piece. The public’s anger and fear following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 led to widespread support of President Bush, including strong support for the military invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. But as we saw in the mid-term elections, the public soured when they didn’t see positive accomplishments from these efforts. The president’s “stay the course” message failed to sustain the public’s support, and the Republicans took a beating at the polls. The same will happen when fundraisers rely exclusively on anger and fear to sustain their fundraising programs; initial response will be positive, but sustainability is doubtful.