The Psychology of Giving

Friend’s fans, this is one for you. Do you remember the episode where the gang discuss whether true altruism exists?

Here’s a little reminder:

Joey argues that all good deeds are selfish, while Phoebe is on a mission to prove otherwise.

So, she comes up with what she thinks is the perfect selfless act by donating to a telethon that Joey takes part in. She hates the network it’s broadcast on, so isn’t happy about it, but knows her money will help people in need.

However, her plan backfires when Joey is singled out by the telethon host and congratulated for taking the highest donation of the night.

Phoebe is delighted that her donation got Joey on TV, until he reminds her that her happiness negates the selflessness of the act. Doh!

What does Friends have to do with giving?

Good question. As well as being a nice trip down TV memory lane, this clip raises a key question – what motivates people to give?

In 2021, researchers in Alaska ran an experiment to find out, by testing two of the most common motivations for charitable giving:

·        Pure altruism

Pure altruists are selfless. They help others without expecting anything in return. They’re motivated by a genuine joy of giving.

·        Impure altruism

Impure altruists are egoistic. They help others to improve their own well-being i.e., to feel a sense of self satisfaction. This is also known as “warm glow”.

To see which motivation produced most donations, the researchers sent postcards to 540,000 households in Alaska. Half received postcard (a) representing impure altruism or “warm-glow” and the other half were sent postcard b, (highlighting the benefits of giving to others selflessly (pure altruism).

The results were interesting: The individuals who received the warm glow appeal were 6.6% more likely to give, and gave 23% more than their counterparts in the control group. Meanwhile, the message that appealed to pure altruists had no significant effect on average donations relative to the control group. 

The takeaway

Although there’s a lot more research to be done around the psychology of giving, and there are lots of other motivations for giving, the takeaway from this experiment is that you’re going to receive more donations if your fundraising campaigns appeal to the warm, fuzzy feeling people reap from donating.

In a practical sense, this means tweaking the focus of your campaign messaging by highlighting the mood benefits of giving - empowerment, joy, and satisfaction.

It’s a win-win for the donor and your organisation. By promoting the benefits of "self-interested giving," you’re enabling people to experience that lovely ‘warm glow’ while increasing contributions to your charity at the same time.

The bottom line: If you want people to donate more, remind them how good it feels to give.

Hopefully this has given you something to think about – in terms of the psychology of giving and how you can use it to create more effective fundraising campaigns.

Fancy testing out a ‘warm glow’ campaign? We’ve got experienced fundraisers waiting in the wings to help. Give us a call on 020 3750 3111 to get started.

Four Fundraising Trends to have on your radar in 2023

Fundraising trends are ever-changing, and the charity sector is constantly shifting gears to keep up.

With this in mind, here are four fundraising trends to have on your radar in 2023.

1.     Fundraising flexibility for the win

As the cost-of-living crisis continues, people are rethinking how they spend their cash. As a result, charities are seeing a drop in donations. For some, such as Derby-based me&dee, donations have ‘ground to a halt altogether’.

Maria Hanson MBE, founder of the charity, said: “We recently lost five of our regular monthly supporters. This is our only set income, and therefore a massive concern.”

While the decrease in donations is not surprising, there is something you can do to hold onto your regular donors.

Enter flexible giving.

Flexible Giving

Research by PayPoint found that 64% of people who make regular donations to charity said they would welcome the flexibility to change the amount they donate and when they donate.

As a result, countless apps are popping up that put donors in control of how much they spend, when, and with whom.

Here’s the lowdown on just three of the many options on offer.

Toucan

Through the Toucan app, users can choose up to three charities to support.

They can donate to the same charities each month, or switch it up. And the amount and frequency can be changed at the touch of a button.

The ultimate app for flexible giving.

Buengo

With Buengo, people can sell unwanted items and donate the proceeds to a cause of their choice.

Sellers declutter, buyers bag a bargain, and charities raise more money.

Everyone wins.

Pledjar

When someone makes a purchase through the Pledjar app, Pledjar rounds it up to the nearest pound, and at the end of the week, the user can donate their accumulated ‘round-ups’ to a charity of their choice.

Users have full control over which charity they donate to and they can switch causes whenever they like.

2.     The Gift of Gaming

Gaming for Good refers to the trend of gamers raising money for good causes through playing video games. Typically, gamers record themselves playing and broadcast it live for others to watch online.

A few notable names in the gaming for good world are DanTM PewDiePie, and Jacksepticeye

Build a rapport with a gaming influencer in 2023 and you could see donations soar.

While we’re on the subject of influencers …

3.     Inspire through influence

Social influencers are digital creators with large, engaged social media followings, who have built a reputation for their knowledge or expertise on a specific topic. They use their authority to influence the habits, behaviour, and purchasing decisions of their followers by promoting brands, products or services on their social media channels.

Corporate brands have been utilising the power of influencers for years. But charities are just starting to recognise the value of influencer marketing, and are teaming up with influencers who want to use their influence for social good.

Take former Love Island contestant Chris Hughes. After signing up to be an ambassador for mental health charity CALM, he became the face of the charity’s #DontBottleItUp campaign, which saw him talk on video about how he deals with anxiety issues.

The video generated 120 million social impressions and 1.4 million views. CALM saw an influx of new supporters as a result.

With 29% of online donors saying that social media is the communication platform that most inspires them to give, it’s safe to say that charity-influencer partnerships will continue to grow in 2023.

4.     Peer-to-peer power

Did you know that peer-to-peer fundraising increased revenue by 30% between 2020 and 2021? That’s nine times the growth experienced from physical and hybrid fundraising.

Peer-to-peer or P2P fundraising is a strategy in which members of the public organise events or take on challenges to raise money on a charity’s behalf.

It’s an effective way for charities to tap into new networks of supporters.

With an ever-growing number of fundraising apps, the value of peer-to-peer will only increase as we move into 2023.

Final Word

That’s our take on fundraising trends for 2023. What would you add?

Fundraising 101: What is crowdfunding?

Are you looking for fundraising opportunities to boost your charity’s income (for relatively little effort), online? Of course, you are!

Let’s introduce you to crowdfunding.

Crowdfunding is a great way to raise funds in the digital space. What’s more, the online world is vast, providing access to more people than you can connect with in the ‘real world’ – so the pool of potential donors is, well, endless.

Intrigued? Let’s take a walk through the world of crowdfunding to see how it can help your charity with your fundraising efforts.

What is crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding is a way to raise money via individual contributions from a large group of people – a crowd, if you will.

It’s a popular method for entrepreneurs and small businesses to raise capital for new projects and ventures. But it’s not exclusive to profit-led organisations. Many charities have run successful crowdfunding campaigns, and so can yours.

There are 4 types of crowdfunding:

●      Rewards: Donors receive something in return for their donations - something to incentivise them to contribute to the cause.

●      Equity: Campaign hosts offer a stake in the business/project in exchange for contributions.

●      Debt: A form of P2P (peer-to-peer) lending where the money received is repaid with interest.

●      Donation: Donors contribute to the campaign expecting nothing in return.

Obviously, when it comes to charity, people donate to support worthy causes, so equity and debt crowdfunding are irrelevant.

Naturally, donation-based crowdfunding is the ideal way to crowdfund but offering an incentive for donations is not a bad idea if the uptake is slow. Rewards can entice bigger donations from a larger number of people.

What do we mean by incentive? Maybe donors are entered into a raffle with the chance to win a prize. This could be anything from a gift voucher to dinner at a fancy restaurant. The prize doesn’t necessarily have to cost either. If you pitch it right and offer the company promotion, you may well find they’re open to donating something to help you raise funds.

Something to think about, right?

Popular Crowdfunding Platforms

Online crowdfunding became mainstream in the late 00’s, and a tidal wave of platforms have sprouted up from the virtual ground since, to make fundraising dreams a reality.

Kickstarter, GoFundMe and Patreon are a few of the big players in the industry. But be cautious when choosing your platforms, as they’re not all suited to charity crowdfunding.

To save you googling, here’s a list of the best options for charities and the advantages of crowdfunding on them:

Crowdfunder

• You can add projects and prize draws

• It accepts Nectar points

• Zero platform fees

• The money raised goes directly to your charity’s bank account

JustGiving Crowdfunding for Good

• No cause is too big or small

• Zero platform fees

• The money is sent directly to your bank account

Fundly

• Fundraising for the social era

• Optimised for mobile fundraising

• You can raise donations through Facebook directly with integrated forms

Donately

• You can easily create recurring donations

• Collects donations via embeddable forms, fundraising pages and text messaging

FundRazr

• Next generation crowdfunding for non-profits looking to make a positive impact

• Fast, effective online fundraising with 0% fees

Examples of Successful Charity Crowdfunding

Still need convincing that crowdfunding is a great way to boost donations? Check out these success stories!

Food Bank Aid vs The Cost-of-Living Crisis

North London based charity, Food Bank Aid, launched a 36-hour emergency crowdfunding campaign in March 2022, in support of 20 local food banks that have seen a 25% increase in customer numbers due to the cost of living crisis.

In a matched crowdfunding campaign launched on Charity Extra, the appeal (at the time of writing) has raised 134% of its original goal - smashing the original £600,000 target to the tune of £792,081 and counting. Not too shabby!

Hospice Making Moments that Matter

In 2020, Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice in London raised nearly a third of its previous year’s income in 36 hours.

The Moments that Matter campaign aimed to raise £1.2m to create special moments for seriously unwell children. They reached this target within 24 hours, and to date have raised over £2m towards their cause.

A shining example of what charity crowdfunding success looks like if there ever was one, don’t you think?

Ready to Crowdfund?

So there you have it. We’ve reached the end of our crowdfunding 101. Let’s recap on what we’ve learned.

We discussed what crowdfunding is. Established the different types of crowdfunding, and which are best suited to your charity’s fundraising efforts.

We looked at the best platforms for non-profits and a couple of successful real-life crowdfunding campaigns that’ve raised thousands for good causes.

If we’ve inspired you to start your own crowdfunding campaign and you’re in need of a fundraising expert to get the ball rolling, we can help. Call us on 0203 750 3111 to talk tactics.

The Power of Pro Bono

The current cost of living crisis has everybody feeling the pinch and tightening the purse strings. It’s affecting charities in two ways.

1. The need for the services provided by charities is growing

2. The number of donations are dropping as people look to reduce spending

How can charities overcome these challenges and continue to provide vital services to those who need them?

By the power of pro bono.

In times like these, it makes sense for charitable organisations to build relationships with corporates that can offer the skills needed to continue doing good.

In this post we're going to look at some examples of charities and companies that work together as a force for good and tell you how you can find a pro bono partner.

But first…

What does pro bono mean?

As well as being an affectionate term used to describe fans of international rock band, U2, pro bono is short for ‘pro bono publico’ – a Latin phrase that means “for the common good”.

It’s used to describe the services provided to by professionals for free to benefit a charitable or social cause.

Law firms often provide pro bono services to charities and not-for-profit organisations, as do financial, media, marketing, and consultancy companies.

Let’s look at some examples.

JP Morgan’s Force For Good programme

Each year, global financial services provider, J.P Morgan, connects its digital experts to charities in need of support. Their tech teams ideate, develop, and implement digital solutions that charities need to improve functionality.

One such charity is the Make a Wish Foundation. J.P Morgan worked with them to develop an app to improve the user experience and streamline their ‘wish’ granting process.

Salesforce’s Power of Us programme

Customer relationship management solution Salesforce helps charities by offering ten free subscriptions and up to 20 hours of support on a pro bono basis.

With their support, Age UK Hythe & Lyminge gained a centralised digital system that helped them stay connected with their community and provide vital services during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

KPMG and NSPCC

KPMG (one of the big four accounting organisations), offers philanthropic, volunteering and pro bono services to a chosen charity for a three year period.

Before partnering with Marie Curie, they supported the NSPCC from 2018 - 2021.

During this time, the company helped build organisational capacity and deliver priority projects to the tune of £500,000. The support amounted to 3,119 hours from 195 colleagues.

How to find a pro bono partner

After reading about these examples of successful corporate-charity partnerships, you may be thinking about seeking out pro bono support for your organisation.

But where do you start?

How do you find a pro bono partner?

Here’s what to do.

Work out what support you need

Before you approach businesses requesting pro bono support, make sure you’re clear about exactly the type of support you’re looking for. This will help you focus your search and develop your pitch.

Do you need legal advice? An audit of your accounts? Tech or marketing support? Is it a short-term or long-term need?

Get to grips with your aims and objectives first and the search for the perfect partner will be much easier.

Know where to look.

Like our earlier examples of pro bono partnerships, many businesses run official pro bono programmes.

Start by checking out the websites of some of the big companies in the sector you need help in. You can also find similar schemes by doing a search on Google and keep an eye on charity publications such as Charity Digital and Third Sector for advertisements.

If you’re a smaller charity, there’s a helpful list of resources here.

Social media can be useful too. Especially LinkedIn, as it's a business-centred platform.

Start a discussion on your charity’s business page. Ask your staff to share the ask on their personal profiles and join relevant LinkedIn groups. You never know what might come your way.

Communicate your needs clearly

Once you’ve found a potential pro bono partner and you’re formulating your ask, be clear that you’re asking for pro bono help, and clarify exactly what, when and why you need it. It’ll save your time and theirs if everyone is on the same page and knows exactly what is expected.

Know the limits

Although businesses are more than happy to provide free services to charities, there’s a limit to the amount of time and resources they can offer.

Be patient and appreciative of the work they do and be sure to let them know if there is a budget for the work, even if it’s a small one.

Final word

That’s the power of pro bono. Have you found our dive into the topic helpful?

If you’re looking for the best charity professionals to join your team, give us a call on 0203 750 3111 to find out how we can help.

The Fundraising Regulator: Should your charity register?

If you work in the third sector, you’ve probably heard of the Fundraising Regulator. But what is it? How does it work? And should your charity register with it?

What is the Fundraising Regulator?

The Fundraising Regulator is an independent organisation that provides accountability and sets fundraising standards (such as the Code of Fundraising Practice), for organisations in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland to follow.

Scottish charities are primarily managed by the Scottish Charity Regulator.

The Fundraising Regulator also maintains the Fundraising Directory and investigates complaints made about fundraising and fundraisers.

Do charities have to register?

It’s voluntary to register with the Fundraising Regulator, but it’s good practice to do so, as it shows your charity is committed to legal, open, honest, and respectful fundraising.

Once registered, charities agree to follow the Code of Fundraising Practice.

How do charities register?

Applying to register is quick and easy. All you have to do is fill out a form on their website and they’ll do the rest.

In terms of the registration fee, it depends on how much you spend on fundraising each year. If you spend less than £100,000, it’s £50. If you spend above that, the fee is higher, and there’s a yearly fundraising levy on top to keep the Fundraising Regulator running.

The costs are listed on their website.

The Fundraising Regulator has plans to increase these costs in the coming years, to better support fundraisers, but they will still be tiered, meaning the amount you pay depends on your fundraising budget.

What are the benefits of registering?

Once registered, you can use the fundraising badge (an icon that says ‘registered with the Fundraising Regulator’) on all your fundraising materials. This is a great way to demonstrate to the public that you’re a trustworthy and legitimate organisation.

Considering charity scams increased during the COVID pandemic, it’s more important than ever to show potential donors that their money is safe in your hands.

As well as the badge, every charity registered with the Fundraising Regulator is added to their Fundraising Directory.

Corporates often check the directory for charities to support, so registering could bag you a partnership.

Registered charities can also access fundraising support, training, and advice. Some of it is generic and available for everyone, but some can be tailored directly to your organisation. Either way, it can help you level up your fundraising potential.

Looking for fundraising talent? That’s our area of specialty. Give us a call on 0203 750 3111 or email info@bamboofundraising.co.uk to find out how we can help.

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