The right focus for fundraising

Do people respond to huge problems, or small ones?

Some recent research, reported in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, says small ones. New Research Sheds Light on What Works in Charitable Appeals. (Also reported a couple of months ago in the New York Times: Save the Darfur Puppy (subscription to TimesSelect required.)

Subjects were shown a photograph of a specific girl in Africa who is facing starvation.

A second group was shown the same image, plus information about the scale of poverty in Africa.

The girl, alone, without the accompanying statistics, stirred more people to action than she did when she was put in context.

Another study put an even finer point on the issue. It showed one group the starving girl. A second group was shown a boy in a similar situation, while a third group was shown both the girl and the boy together.

People gave equal amounts to each child. But they gave less to the two children combined.

One hurting person is more motivating than millions. One is even more motivating than two.

George Loewenstein of Carnegie Mellon University, one of researchers, said, "It really puts fund raisers in a fix. They want to appeal to the mind and the heart. But if they do, there's a real risk of undermining the heart."

I think Dr. Loewenstein gives fundraisers more credit than they deserve: Many don't want to appeal to the heart at all! The standard reason given in fundraising for fighting hunger is the large number of hungry people -- which, this research says, is not motivating.

If you better fundraising results, ask yourself Where's the puppy?

(See also The bigger the number, the smaller the comprehension and Emotional fundraising: 1 > 2,000,000.)

Technorati Tags: fundraising, motivation