Five tips from Decision Science to support your fundraising
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Want to make your fundraising more effective? Here are five tips from our pilot with Management Centre exploring the science and psychology behind why people donate:
1. Experiment with new approaches and take some risks. Play with rewriting messaging, or try having different people make the ask for donations on behalf of the organisation – how does the response to an ask from the Artistic Director compare to an ask from a volunteer or beneficiary? Monitor the results of your experiments, adjust your approach, and try again.
2. Suggest donation amounts and tell people what each one might enable. This helps potential donors to understand which amounts are most useful, and how they will be helping. It also streamlines the donation process by reducing the number of decisions a potential supporter needs to make.
3. Simplify your messaging, and have a clear call to action with signage that tells people how they can donate. This help to focus the donor’s mind onto what you need and how they can help.
4. Normalise giving. How we behave is influenced by the behaviour of people around us. By showing potential donors that other people like them are donating, you increase the likelihood that they will do the same.
5. Incentivise giving. Make it easy and fun. Offer a reward, even something as simple as a sticker or badge, and make sure there are no barriers in the way once someone has decided to donate. Online donations, for example, should take as few clicks as possible. By making the experience of giving a pleasant one, you increase the chance that a donor will give again, and again.
