Not another Giving Tuesday post! A little neuroscience for today…

Not another Giving Tuesday post! A little neuroscience for today…

With the hundreds of Giving Tuesday blogs, why add one more?  At this point, either you have prepared your agency’s communication and solicitation packages or not – and that is okay, provided your year-end appeals are moving forward.

A recent Harvard Business Journal (HBJ) article asks the question:  how do the brains of generous people function differently, if at all?   The term neuroeconomics refers to the algorithms by which the brain makes choices.  Researchers used MRI scans to learn the brain computes two separate values in giving decisions:  the self-benefit and the benefit to another.

The game of experimental economics, “the Dictator Game” examines self-interest through one person (the dictator) deciding how to split an endowment, if at all, with a second person.   Some suggest this game tests the value of concern for the well-being of others.  Without delving into the moral or psychological implications, MRI scans revealed two different sections of the brain lit up when thinking about self and about others.  A third section of the brain lit up for both quantities – researchers theorize this area puts all factors together and the conscious decision is then made.  Though the researchers could not definitively state whether the charitable disposition emanates from education and environment or genetics (or a compelling case for giving).  Research subjects chose self-interest the vast majority of the time during the game, but one-fifth (21%) behaved in a generous fashion.

Suffice to say the love of mankind – philanthropy – may have always been in our nature because humans have functioned in groups for thousands of years.  Or does philanthropy fundamentally buck our ‘survival of the fittest’ instincts?

Unfortunately, this experiment does not provide crystal clear answers about the neuroscience behind philanthropy.  Those in the development profession must focus on the ‘art’ of philanthropy in determining who to approach for a gift and why someone makes a charitable gift.  One lesson from the research:  make giving simpler by focusing on how another might feel.

I welcome your comments and questions.

All the best,

John Gilchrist, FAHP, CFRE

 

Giving Tuesday – Just the Beginnning

One week from today is Giving Tuesday, a concept created by Henry Timms, Executive Director of the 92^nd Street Y, to remind Americans of the real meaning of Thanksgiving:  showing thanks for our blessings by helping others in need through giving to charities.   The nonprofit sector has made progress in popularizing Giving Tuesday, and much work needs to be done in the future.

On November 23, the John Templeton Foundation released the results of a study, conducted by Edelman Berland, on the consumer mentality takeover of the Thanksgiving holiday.  93% of Americans are familiar with Black Friday – the biggest shopping day of the year in terms of activity (Cyber Monday, first coined in 2005 by Shop.org, may have overtaken Black Friday in dollars spent – but that is another conversation).  Yet only 18% of Americans are familiar with Giving Tuesday.

The study revealed fascinating results on the relationship between giving and happiness.  People who classify as generous (donating time or money) are happier and more satisfied with their lives than people who are not generous – 49% vs. 33%.  Good news for charities:  the Templeton study also revealed those who daily expressed their gratitude give more than those who do not – $468 vs. $319.

So what is the point of sharing findings from a study?   Most charities have implemented their Giving Tuesday communication programs.  Focus the same amount of energy into thanking, thanking, and thanking those new donors who consciously choose your organization with a gift.  Donor retention is a huge problem in our sector, as noted in previous posts.  And most of the reasons why donors leave is within the control of charities.

Consider a Retention Wednesday.   Make that prompt, PERSONAL phone call to the donor – this is a proven way to involve board members who may be reticent about solicitation.  Tell the donor how that gift will benefit the mission (are your talking points ready?).  Invite that donor to get involved in a facet of your organization – show a real appreciation and interest in his/her story!

Giving Tuesday is an excellent way to motivate a prospect to take the final step and become a donor.  Retention Wednesday can prove most beneficial in turning that donor into an investor in your charity’s future.  #GivingTuesday  #RetentionWednesday

All the best,

 

John Gilchrist, FAHP, CFRE

 

The Philanthropy Prime Directive

For the dozen or so people on the planet who have never heard of Star Trek, what follows makes no sense.  For the billions who are familiar with the nearly 50-year old franchise, and especially those who call themselves Trekkers and who are involved with philanthropy, this is for you.

Every Trekker knows the prime directive:  non-interference in other cultures to allow organic and independent development.  Philanthropy has a prime directive as well:  demonstrating our love and concern for our fellow man in as many ways as we can.  Our prime directive as development professionals can be distilled to this: making the donor so enthralled and enthusiastic about the real changes philanthropic gifts are creating that he/she becomes part of the mission of the agency – takes a sense of ownership.   Some call the process ‘donor satisfaction’ and that only scratches the surface – after all, who wants to be just satisfied when one can be energized?  Others call the process ‘donor engagement’, which is a great place to start.

What are some laudable accomplishments made possible through philanthropy?

Earlier this year, the Schiede family donated their book collection, which comprised each of the first six printed editions of the Holy Bible (including the 1455 Gutenberg Bible); early works of Shakespeare, Beethoven, Mozart, and Schubert; original letters from Lincoln; and a manuscript of the Magna Carta.  Princeton University will make these items available to scholars and the public; the value of this gift was placed at $300 million – the largest gift in the history of Princeton.

You may not have heard of Nathan Straus, but his philanthropic legacy can be found in the dairy aisle:  pasteurized milk.  While Louis Pasteur discovered that heating milk destroyed many disease-causing germs, it was not widely adopted in the US until Nathan Straus happened on the scene in the late 19^th century.  Mr. Straus gave the majority of his fortune to see pasteurized milk become the accepted norm for his adopted homeland.  Through his generosity, Straus underwrote the delivery of almost 3oo milk stations in over 35 cities.  By 1925, these stations provided nearly 25 million bottles of pasteurized milk.  Infant mortality plummeted from 125.1 per thousand in 1891 to 15.8 in 1925.  His campaign to mandate pasteurization of milk sold commercially in the US has saved millions of lives. (Source: M.D. Cohn, Lehigh University thesis, 1993)

Charities across the country have success stories.  While they may not all have the mega-impact like the gifts of the Schiede family or Nathan Straus, they definitely impact local communities and families.  As a reminder, your prime directive is to draw that donor’s attention to the good work done by your nonprofit, show the outcomes philanthropy makes possible, and ask the donor to partner with your agency to make these results a reality.