Sterling Terrell

recovering economist

How To Get People To Give More To Charity

How To Get People To Give More To Charity

One way to get people to give more to charity is to encourage them.

You tell them how giving they are.

My idea would be that instead of having a fundraising dinner, giving a keynote, and asking for a donation, you would first thank everyone for what they are about to do.

Maybe the speaker sets the table by thanking everyone from the podium to start.

Thank you for being here tonight. Thank you all for your generosity. Thank you for being such a giving and charitable group. This would not be possible without you.

And then maybe later, over dinner, the head of the charity would stop by each table to thank everyone individually.

You are so kind and so giving. Thank you again for being a generous person.

Now ask for the donation back at the podium.

See, people often fit the expectations that we make for them. People told they are brave – tend to act braver. People told they are smart – tend to act smarter.

And people told they are generous usually give more.

And, as we will see in Chapter 4, what those around us think is true of us is enormously important in determining what we ourselves think is true. For example, one study found that after hearing that they were considered charitable people, New Haven, Connecticut, housewives gave much more money to a canvasser from the Multiple Sclerosis Association. Apparently the mere knowledge that someone viewed them as charitable caused these women to make their actions consistent with another’s perception of them.

-Robert Cialdini, Influence

Door To Door Donations Are Increased Like This

Door To Door Donations Are Increased Like This

Door to door donations are increased by allowing people to remain consistent.

I mean, if you ask someone to workout with you tomorrow, they are likely to say no.

But the trick is to get them to agree first: “Why, yes I would like to be in better shape and start going to the gym.”

“Cool! Me too. I’ll pick you up at six and we can go workout together.”

Now you have a person squirming to justify themselves, instead of renege on a publicly stated value. This same principle is also how you sell more toys.

I would fall for this in a second, probably intent on displaying an unwavering ethic. Of course, good luck trying to get me to commit in the first place.

What funny games we play.

For instance, suppose you wanted to increase the number of people in your area who would agree to go door-to-door collecting donations for your favorite charity. You would be wise to study the approach taken by social psychologist Steven J. Sherman. He simply called a sample of Bloomington, Indiana, residents as part of a survey he was taking and asked them to predict what they would say if asked to spend three hours collecting money for the American Cancer Society. Of course, not wanting to seem uncharitable to the survey taker or to themselves, many of these people said that they would volunteer. The consequence of this sly commitment procedure was a 700 percent increase in volunteers when, a few days later, a representative of the American Cancer Society did call and ask for neighborhood canvassers. Using the same strategy, but this time asking Columbus, Ohio, residents to predict whether they would vote on Election Day, a team of researchers led by Anthony Greenwald were able to increase significantly the turnout in a U.S. presidential election among those called.

-Robert Cialdini, Influence

Sterling Terrell