Appeal to the Heart -- Not the HeadAppeal to the Heart -- Not the Head
What do Samaritan's Purse (a disaster relief agency), Gospel for Asia (a mission agency) and Father's Heart Africa (chld sponsorship organization) have in common? They all do an outstanding job telling the story of the individual--not spouting general statistics--as their primary means for fundraising.
The Wharton business school recently released a study showing why it is important to highlight an "identifiable victem." While it's not surprising that funds flow easier when donors can attach a face to the need they are giving toward, they also found:
"If people are presented with a personal case of an identifiable victim along with statistical data about similar victims caught up in a larger pattern of illness, hunger or neglect, overall donations actually decline."
They recommend:
"It's all about putting together a simple, emotionally compelling message," Small says. "The best way to do that is in the form of a picture or a story, something that purely engages the emotional system. The mistake that many charities make is trying to appeal both to emotion and to reason. They assume this would be more effective than appealing to only one or the other, but it isn't."
Here are some of the best ways I've seen that done:
- Samaritan's Purse's Gifts of Hope has taken larger projects and have broken them into individual stories and smaller donation amounts.
- Gospel For Asia Native Missionary Sponsorship gives donors a way to support individual missionaries in India
- Father's Heart Africa's Child Sponsorship offers sponsorships for individual children in Africa.
What if your organization isn't centered around the sponsorship concept? You can still tell your story.
- Revive Our Hearts uses video to tell the story about how their ministry made a difference in the life of one of their listeners.
How does your organization "Tell it's story"? We'd love to hear your experience with organizations that do a great job of telling their story.
Disclaimer: Revive Our Hearts is a 5Q client
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