Seeing is believing
Simon George | 22 December 2010 | Blogs
What is it that best motivates a donor to give to your cause? It could be any one of a number of factors (gratitude, duty, idealism, habit etc), but this week I was reminded of a particularly effective one, which some charities perhaps overlook.
I’m a trustee of an overseas charity and one very powerful tool in our fundraising armoury is to take supporters (primarily major donor prospects and local activists) on overseas visits to experience the work on the ground for themselves. This is a chance for them to see the problems the charity is addressing and to meet people at the sharp end who are impacted by its work.
Past experience has found that, when donors return from such trips, they are very fired up and want to tell the world – or at least their friends, families and communities – about what they have seen and how they can help. One recent participant said “This has changed my life! Things will never be the same for me after this.” Is she now likely to increase her support, recruit others and be committed to the work? You can bet she is.
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Now it’s not always possible to take donors on trips or to show them your projects. But you can still show them the impact of your work in other ways. So why not make some short videos, interviewing staff and beneficiaries about how you are helping and what your charity means to them. Put this on your website, on YouTube and email the link to supporters. Even if they can’t be there in person, they can still see for themselves the benefit of your work, which reinforces their decision to give and motivates them to keep on giving.
Donors need to know their money is achieving something and if your charity cannot demonstrate this clearly to them, the danger is they will switch their giving to one than can. These days, the technology is there to produce video cheaply. It does not need to be slick and corporate – a home made feel is usually enough.
So if you are not yet showing donors the impact of your work and re-enforcing their decision to give to you, maybe this should be on your to-do list for 2011?
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Simon George is a Director of Wootton George Consulting and a Fellow of the Institute of Fundraising. He has worked in fundraising since 1987 and was the founder of the IoF’s Trusts Special Interest Group. Today he chairs the IoF’s West Midlands region and works with a wide range of charities in a consultancy capacity. www.wgconsulting.co.uk si***@wg**********.uk Tel 01785 663600.
About Simon George
Simon George, BSc (hons) FInstF (dip) FRSA is a Director of Wootton George Consulting and has been fundraising since 1987. He has special interests in fundraising strategy, legacies and charitable trusts. A longstanding member of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, he founded its Trusts and Statutory Special Interest Group in 1999 and was also the first Chair of the IoF’s West Midlands region. He has written two e-books on legacies and grant fundraising, published by SPMFundessentials and has achieved the Diploma in Fundraising Management. In 2010 he was made a Fellow of the Institute of Fundraising. Today he manages a team of 20 fundraising consultants around the UK.