Three Things Your Donor Doesn’t Give a Hoot About

Sorry, Charlie, but it starts with you.

September 2008 By Willis Turner

multipage

It’s often been said (by me, anyway) that empathy could do more good in the world than war and peace put together. That’s especially true in the world of fundraising, where you’re trying to get people to give you money, and you’re giving them nothing in return but a warm feeling.

After all, it’s how people feel, not what they think, that determines their behavior.

So how do donors feel? It’s a simple question, but the answers can be very complicated and contradictory. We’re talking about human nature, after all.

It might not be easy to know what donors care about, but there are a few things you can be certain they don’t care about. And unfortunately, they might be things you care about very deeply. That’s why you need to fine-tune your empathy. It’s tough to do. But then, if fundraising was easy, anybody could do it.

Below are three things that probably are very important to your organization. You probably want to talk about them a lot, and you hope that your enthusiasm is infectious. Unfortunately, they are things your donor couldn’t really care less about. Let’s start with the most painful, and maybe it will get better from there:

1. You
I hate to say it, but your donor doesn’t really care about you. She cares about herself. That’s why she supports you. The work you do moves her. Helping you makes her feel needed and empowered. Her gifts give her a sense of being part of something larger than herself.

The more you tell her that she’s helping, the more she’ll contribute. The more you remind her that she’s on the side of the angels, the more often she’ll give. And the more she hears that she is important to you — and not the other way around — the longer she’ll stay an active part of your file.

2. The cool stuff you’ve done
It’s really fun to talk about all the great work you’ve accomplished. And it’s true that your successes have been important. You should brag about them often.

But not to your donor. There’s only one reason to tell success stories in a fundraising arena: to convince the donor that you have the ability and the clout to accomplish your goals.