The Fundraising Four: examining donor motivations

As a charity, you live and breathe your cause – it’s your reason for being, after all. But, while a core of loyal supporters undoubtedly share your passion, especially if they have a personal reason to be grateful, for many others, the charity that benefits from their donation or activity is almost a side issue.

So why do they do it?

For these people, support for charity is driven by social factors that have very little to do with the cause. They might be drawn in by a desire to be sociable and get involved in a group event, for example, or they might be keen to take part in a personal challenge. Or they might want to build social standing among friends or colleagues, or just lend support to family and friends who are fundraising.

A new report – The Fundraising Four – delves into these contrasting motivations and explores the differences between those who make an active decision to support a charity (the ‘committed’) and those who are driven by social factors (the ‘co-opted’).

The research, carried out by RedFox Research, found that over a third (37%) of donors mainly give because they are co-opted by someone they know, while only 49% feel they have a moral duty to give to charity.  

The research, based on profiling of over 2000 UK adults, identifies four different giving personas, each with distinct motivations and giving styles:

• Good Samaritans
• Duty Calls
• High-Octane Heroes
• Press-Ganged Pals