Future Fundraising Now

What makes the donor a hero in fundraising?

Why fundraising is hard: to succeed at it, the fundraiser has to step outside their own head. Which is one of the most difficult things for a human to do.

Because it's so difficult, a lot of fundraisers create messages that are based on how the enterprise of charity looks from their own point of view. They end up telling what Russell James called the "administrator hero story" in this post at MarketSmart: Always remember – what matters most is the donor’s hero story, not yours.

Here's the point:

Fundraising messages in the administrator-hero story ... will be some form of the following: “Look at how wonderful our organization is. Look at the many great things we are doing. We are worthy. We are inspirational. We are heroes. Give to us.”

That's logical. Even factually correct.

But it doesn't work, because to the would-be donors you're trying to reach, it's not relevant:

Charity managers often ... think that giving is motivated by organizational impact. It’s not. Giving is motivated by the donor’s impact. Donors care about their impact because they care about their hero story.

You can fight that because you don't like it, but you won't get around the fundamental reality that people do things because what's in their hearts and minds, not because you know better than they do.

That approach doesn't work in any other human relationship. How well do you think a marriage proposal go if you said, "Marry me, because I'm awesome, and you don't really know what's going on."

That's what administrator-hero fundraising is like for donors. It might get them to admire you, but it's not going to get a whole lot of action -- that is, donations.

Tomorrow: What about all the other heroes?

Your fundraising story arc is too small

Traditionally, a well-made and complete story has these elements:

• Exposition: Set-up and context so the reader knows what's going on.
  
• Rising Action: Things start to happen.
  
• Climax: It all comes to a head.
  
• Falling Action. We see what happens as a result of the climax.
  
• Resolution: We find out the meaning of it all.
  

Many stories more or less follow this arc, even when the story-teller doesn't consciously use it as a framework.

Fundraisers, once they learn that that telling stories is an effective way to raise funds, often use the full traditional story arc in their fundraising messages. It's a story about a person in a difficult situation who struggles and then finds resolution with the help of the organization and the donor.

And that's often a mistake. Because it puts all the psychological muscle on what is really a sub-story to the real story they should be telling.

Here's a bigger and better way to build a fundraising story arc that isn't all in one place:

• Exposition: Happens within the fundraising message. It is about the person in a difficult situation.
  
• Rising action: Also within the fundraising, but it is mainly about the would-be donor. Will they or won't they enter the story and help bring about a desired resolution?
  
• Climax: It's not written by us. It happens (or doesn't happen) in the life of the donor. She makes a decision whether she will be part of the story or not.
  
• Falling action and resolution: They take place in the acknowledgement, thank you messages, newsletters, thank-you calls ... all the ways we tell donors their giving matters. (And those who chose not to give don't partake in this part of the story arc.)
  

By spreading the story arc beyond the initial message, you create a much bigger story that involves the donor beyond just reading a story. You help them become the protagonist in the part of the story that specifically involves them -- the decision to donate.

The whole reason we tell stories is to move people to a very specific action: to donate. That's why telling a story that puts that action at the climax -- and in the donor's hands -- works so well.

Top 5 blog posts of the month

Here are the 5 most-read Future Fundraising Now blog posts in the month of August:

1. The goofy cartoon character who can transform your life [Book Review]
   
2. Your unique voice makes your fundraising fail
   
3. The compelling power of "membership cards" in fundraising
   
4. Want to keep your donors? Be repetitive!
   
5. 4 things to know about fundraising in this economy
   

Wondering how you can possibly keep your fundraising on track with so much going on in the world? I know just what you need this year. It’s a FREE online workshop called: Fundraising in the Face of Inflation, Recession and Other Storms. It’s coming on Wednesday, September 14 and Thursday, September 15. Check it out now, before it’s too late!