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Friday Feb 29, 2008
Elevator pitches, stats and stories
As fundraisers we get tied up all the time about key messages, and here at YouthNet we're no exception. We've worked quite hard to try and succinctly articulate what we do – something that's harder than you think when you look at the broad scope of www.do-it.org.uk and www.TheSite.org.
Anyway, seeing Joe Saxton talk about the "21st Century Donor" (check out the free report here) at the CHASE conference this week got me thinking about the key messages fundraisers use when asking for money.
One of the things he pointed out was that humans are completely irrational, and many of the decisions we make are linked to an emotional response, rather than hard facts. This is backed up by research – the example Joe gave described how when faced with the choice of donating to save one specific child, or a number of children, many people would choose the individual. As he explained, this is linked to "learned helplessness" – something many of us feel at the moment with regard to climate change. We know it's a massive issue, but it's just too big for us to tackle as individuals.
Everyone knows that stories tug the heartstrings and make people donate, not stats. The oldest fundraising cliché in the book is that "people give to people" – another example of irrational, emotional behaviour driving donations.
This raises a really important conflict for fundraisers – we know that we need emotional stories to demonstrate the need for funding, but we also know that we need to be clearly accountable (which in most people's eyes means stats, spreadsheets and piecharts).
Sometimes we don't get the balance right. So, we end up blurring the two together whilst we're asking for money, or we end up overloading people with dry stats. Or, at the other end of the spectrum, we think that stories, rather than stats, will suffice when it comes to being accountable.
I think this may be the root of some of the discomfort fundraiser's feel about being transparent and accountable. We're used to telling emotional stories, and donors want to hear them – but, as Joe said, no one wants to feel like a charity has made a mug out of them.
So what's the solution? I guess being completely clear about what we're doing. If we're asking for money to tackle a clear need, be emotive, but if we're trying to demonstrate the impact, maybe cold, hard stats are the way forward.
By the way, here's our "elevator pitch" – what do you think?
"YouthNet exists to support 16-24 year olds in every aspect of their lives. Whether it's emergency help in times of crisis, support with everyday issues, or getting involved in their local communities, YouthNet is always there for them. Twelve years ago, we were the first charity to recognise the potential of the internet and today we are still known for our pioneering approach."Posted by Sam Thomas ( 9:48 AM ) Link to this post Comments[2]
