The psychology of giving

Giving to charity brings up a lot of emotion, conviction and memories. The psychology behind giving is something that many in the sector take for granted.

 

Taking things back to first principles, the crux of the matter is that giving makes donors happy. For fundraisers, tapping into that feeling often results in success.

 

 

The motivations behind giving

 

The experience of giving is like no other. Most people feel warm and fuzzy. But what’s the source of that?

 

According to experts, saying yes to donating comes from motivation to do good. Psychology Today says more explicitly that people donate because:

1. We care about others. The magazine says: “A key reason we donate to charity is to improve things for others, including other humans as well as non-human animals.”
2. We want to have a positive impact. Related but different from the first reason, people also give because they want to be responsible for something good
3. We don’t want others to feel bad. Donors also contribute because they don’t want others to suffer or have negative experiences. Relief giving is often related to this sentiment

Motivations matter because fundraisers who know how to tap into those driving forces can have much greater impact.

 

 

Identifying psychology types

 

The different motivators give rise to psychology types. Think of these as donor personas. Understanding donor personas is an integral part of personalisation.

 

 A few of the common ones include the altruistic, egoism, social, FOMO, relatable, trust, and impact donor, says Charity Link.

 

 

1. The Altruistic donor

 

This donor type already knows why it’s important to give. They typically feel it’s the right thing to do to support charitable initiatives. A common example of this type of supporter is one who signs up to be an organ donor.

 

How to approach them: They probably have already donated in the past and will likely respond again to an ask

 

 

2. The Egoist

 

The Egoist isn’t as self-centred as they sound. Instead, the egoist donor feels good when they support charity. Charity Link describes this: “Humans are hard wired when it comes to pleasure and lots of people feel good when they give. This rush of inner warmth and contentment is known by psychologists as ‘Egoism’”.

 

How to approach them: Use digital personalisation to boost this donor’s feel-good factor

 

 

3. The socialite

 

This donor cares about community and social events. The socialite donor thrives off of gatherings and making connections with others. They are often motivated by others or admire influential people who give.

 

How to approach them: Use the ‘herd’ mentality to motivate them.  When this donor sees others donate, they will do the same

 

 

4. The FOMO donor

 

The fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) donor cares about fun! This personality type is similar to the socialite but with a twist. Rather than seeking approval or going with the crowd, the FOMO donor wants a peak at what they are potentially missing out on before doing.

 

How to approach them: A little bit of pressure doesn’t hurt, along with some fun activities

 

 

5. The relatable one

 

The relatable one is empathetic. Charity Link says: “Personal experience on the other hand, is a powerful influencer.” For this type of donor, story-telling features heavily so that they can sympathise with beneficiaries.

 

How to approach them: Establish a link with them around their experiences first before making an ask

 

 

6. The trust-based donor

 

The trust-based donor cares about exactly that – what you do with the money you get. Trust is tied closely together with transparency. For fundraisers, overcoming scepticism by showing the who, what, where, when, and how of your purpose helps to win them over.

 

How to approach them: Honesty gets them on board. Give them the facts and let donors decide for themselves

 

 

7. The impact donor

 

This persona is getting a lot of attention lately. From Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) indicators, this donor wants to be sure about the impact their generosity is making. They want to know who is being helped and by how much.

 

How to approach them: Impact reporting improves transparency and can motivate this donor type. Additionally, let them know in measures what impact their specific donation has made to make them feel special

 

 

Bringing it together with digital

 

The usefulness of digital to reach out to donor personas is no surprise. Leverage the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system and go through the audience segmentation process to identify your donor psychology types.

 

When creating content, tailor the media and message to each type of donor. For those motivated by doing good and impact, show how beneficiaries are helped. From this perspective, immersive story-telling works well.

 

Last, solidify the trust. Use impact reports and transparency techniques to let audiences know how you’re doing.