How to get donors to believe in your work

Four ways to get donors to believe in your work

Raising funds for your non-profit through individual monthly donations can be a sustainable and reliable source of income but getting people to commit to supporting your work can be difficult in the first place. The main reason people start giving is that they believe in what you are doing (or in you or a member of the team). When they believe in the work, they will want to give and continue to do so. So how can we get people to believe in the work?

Experience

When I was a youth worker of a local church, I ran a series of youth group sessions on the theme of injustice and tried to encourage my young people to care about injustices happening in the world. But after weeks of youth sessions delivered with conviction, there was no difference. I remember being frustrated at them for not caring! As part of the final session, we delivered a Slum Survivor[1] weekend in which the young people lived in their constructed slums from wooden pallets and tarpaulin. For the weekend they lived off a basic rice diet, had to rebuild their slums when we destroyed them, watch a friend get poorly and be sent home and get wet in the night when their slums leaked. On the Sunday morning, I delivered the final session of the series and as I shared, I looked at their faces and this time it was all different. One girl had tears in her eyes. Finally, the penny had dropped and they cared about those less fortunate than them in the world. Why? Because they had experienced it for themselves.

Nothing gets people caring about a cause more than experiencing it for themselves. Are you able to invite people to your project? Can they join you at one of your sessions? Can you creatively share the experience of the work if people can’t get to your project? Compassion UK has managed to do this through creating a portable exhibit in which people can walk through rooms set up like the homes of some of their beneficiaries whilst listening to a headset of a child’s voice explaining their surroundings. This immersive experience gives people the opportunity to experience poverty and hopefully, moved to give regularly to the work.

Story

I once mentored a year seven girl who had been referred to me because the staff suspected she was self-harming, had an eating disorder and was struggling with her sexuality. We had a few sessions together and in one of them, we explored the true meaning of beauty. I asked her all the things that society, culture and her friends and family would say made a person beautiful and I wrote these on a blackboard. I then asked her which of the ones written did she believe made a person beautiful and I put a star by each of these. Finally, I asked her which ones would her family and friends say about her and I circled them. As we sat back, we noticed that each of the definitions with a star also had a circle round it. I asked her what this meant. She had her head hung low and remained silent for what seemed like forever. I asked her again and eventually, she looked up and with tears streaming down her face, she said ‘I can’t do it. I just can’t say it. No-one has ever made me believe I am beautiful before’. We continued with the session but before she left, I asked her the question again. This time, with tears in her eyes again, she said ‘I am beautiful’.

I could tell you the numbers of young people myself and the charity I ran mentored. I could tell you statistics of improved self-esteem and confidence. I could even tell you the state of child poverty in the area. But you are less likely to be moved by these than a story.

The global film industry in 2018 was worth a whopping £105 billion!! People just love watching films. Why? I believe it’s because of the story. People are drawn to leading characters, horrified when it goes wrong and captivated by the plot line until the hero wins!

Stories are incredibly powerful and using them to attract donors to your work can be powerful too. People love hearing about the change you make in the lives of people. When you see adverts for charities, you often see them telling a story of a child, an animal or a community that has been transformed through the donations they have received.  These charities know that framing the need in a story will be more powerful at encouraging people to give.

Shock people!

Every minute, 21 children under the age of five die somewhere in the world due to preventable causes.[2] One person in fifteen had made a suicide attempt at some point in their life.[3] More than 1 million species face extinction which means that dozens of species go extinct every single day.[4]

Charities use shocking statistics to encourage people to give to their cause. Statistics like these get your attention right from the start. By being brutally honest about the state of the situation the charity is addressing, they can shock you into wanting to be part of the solution. Just watch adverts on TV for charities (the amount increases in the build-up to Christmas, along with perfume adverts!). They will use unbelievable statistics to help you grasp the severity of the problem being addressed.

As well as statistics, shocking images have a huge impact on motivating people to give. Do you remember when the press issued a picture of Alan Kurdi in 2015, the three-year-old dead Syrian refugee washed up on a beach after he and his family attempted to reach Europe. It was harrowing! People were so moved by the image that donations to refugee and migrant charities increased hugely. One charity Migrant Offshore Aid Station, reported a 15-fold increase in donations within 24 hours of the image being released.[5]

So, you need to do your research. Have you got a statistic from within your work that will shock people? Or can you find that right statistic from books you read, research papers, the internet etc…? Also remember that it doesn’t have to be negative, it can also be positive e.g. how many people are saved from…

Find out what they are passionate about

Listening is key to motivating people to give. If when chatting with a potential donor, you waffle on about your work but haven’t taken the time to listen to them, not only will they feel undervalued and being used as a commodity, but also you may be targeting your ‘pitch’ focussing on completely the wrong things. Consider what you are passionate about? What do you talk about the most when chatting with friends and family? For me, it’s my faith and my family. If someone was trying to motivate me to give and was telling me about the animals that are in need across the world, no matter how good the pitch, I am less likely to be motivated. But tell me about mothers in desperate need because their children are dying and before long, you’ll find me a blubbering mess!!!

Take time to listen to people this week. When they chat to you about their day-to-day, the topics come up the most for them will be the things they are passionate about. If someone constantly goes on about their children (sorry if that’s been me!), then that’s what they’re passionate about. A friend of mine is a single woman without children and so what would motivate me to give would have the opposite effect for her. She has other passions and interests so you would need to spend time listening to her. You will save yourself time and energy and show value to people if you listen to them first.

Questions to reflect on:

What can you do to give your potential or existing donors a chance to experience your work?

What good news stories have you got that you can share?

What shocking statistic or image can you use?

Do you do too much talking when asking people to give? Do you need to listen more?

[1] http://www.soulaction.org/resources/slumsurvivor/what-is-slum-survivor/

[2] https://www.unicef.org/mdg/childmortality.html

[3] McManus S, Bebbington P, Jenkins R, Brugha T. (eds.) (2016) Mental health and wellbeing in England: Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2014. Leeds: NHS Digital. Available at http://digital.nhs.uk/catalogue/PUB21748. [Accessed 18 October 2017]

[4] https://www.ecotricity.co.uk/news/news-archive/2017/six-scary-facts-about-climate-change

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Alan_Kurdi