When more than 5,000 donors spill the beans about what could unleash their philanthropy at a whole new level, fundraisers everywhere should take note.
Landmark fundraising researcher Penelope Burk, president of Cygnus Applied Research, recently released some early findings from her company’s annual donor survey, focusing on this surprising statistic:
“Even in the worst moments of the recession, close to 50% of donors we surveyed agreed that they could have given more money in the previous year but held their philanthropy back.”
Why the hold up?
While some respondents said they weren’t clear on the organization’s goals or the ripple effect of their giving, others said they want to feel like they’re making a difference or even more explicitly that “many of [their] gifts are “test cases” to see whether charities will tell [them] how they have used [their] contributions.”
It all boils down to information. Donors want more information before they donate, while their money is being used, and after the fact explaining the cumulative effect of their long-term gifts.
To time-strapped fundraising officers, this sounds like more reporting, but donors actually want something more, or more precisely, something different. They want “the need for funds translated into personal stories,” as one survey respondent so succinctly put it. Letters from campers about how summer camp has changed their lives, photos from a theater of the set pieces donations helped purchase, o r a video from an ESL teacher in South America showing her students’ progress affect donors more than a fundraising report ever could.
Harness the power of your stories for increased giving by including the iGivefirst button at the bottom of your emails, blog posts or web pages so donors can give easily the moment they feel inspired.