With the world currently experiencing a global recession, many people are losing their jobs and are less willing to donate money to charities and various other causes. This has had an adverse impact on these causes and they must now try different methods and campaigns to attract donations. With less people to attract, it is now more important than ever that the right approach is used to encourage donations.
The very first point should be to make it clear what your cause is and its objectives. This way the target audience will know exactly what they will be supporting and where their money will go. Through the use of statistics, it is possible to show where money goes and who benefits from the donations. It is also a good idea to show images of the people who benefit and examples of what the money has been spent on, e.g. classrooms, computers and so on. The images also help to create a direct link from the money donated to the effects. By showing this information, the donator will feel more informed and in control of the situation and the decision. ?However at the same time, they should not be bombarded with too much information, as they may feel that they are being dictated to and may switch off as a result.
This leads on to another very important point, which is allowing the donator to make their own decision. No one enjoys being forced to do something even if it is a good deed. People always feel better when they’ve made their own decision and are in control of the entire situation. This stems from the pleasure that is generated by taking action from your own impetus. This is a vital psychological factor with all people and must be remembered throughout any appeal for donations. Language used should be suggestive, whilst always leaving the decision in the hands of the donator.
It is also important to evoke positive emotions as well as negative emotions. A cause may wish to show images of people who may be suffering or in need of help, but these should be used to create feelings of empathy, a strong human emotion instead of guilt, which is a largely negative emotion. To counteract the negative emotions, images of the work that is carried out by the organisation should help, including the benefits of donating.
Using this advice will help with encouraging people to donate, however it is important to remember to target the right audience for the advice to work effectively. This will depend largely on the organisation in question and the type of people that will relate to the specific cause.
