You just might be saving your donors' lives.
A recent HealthDay report, Have a Purpose in Life? You Might Live Longer, finds a correlation between purpose and longevity:
We found that people who reported a greater level of purpose in life were substantially less likely to die over the follow-up period -- only about half as likely to die over the follow-up period -- as compared to people with a lower level of purpose.
This sense-of-purpose stuff is their responsibility, not yours. But you can play a meaningful part by the way you communicate with them:
- By really bringing them in to the cause of your organization. Making it clear how important there gifts are.
- By thanking them promptly and specifically when they give.
- By reporting back to them what their gifts make possible.
- By giving them meaningful choices in the relationship about when, how, and about what you'll communicate with them.
- By letting them direct their giving where they want to.
- By inviting them to other kinds of participation than giving -- like volunteering, advocating, recruiting, advising.
Old-line fundraising tends to de-emphasize the relational and cause aspects of giving, making it more of a simple transaction. Too bad, because that's what boosts the sense of purpose that's already innate in charitable giving. Which saves lives. And it raises more money.
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