Motivating Generosity

  

“Generosity: The habit of giving freely without expecting anything in return.” Anonymous

In public media, we always talk about generous support (Thank you for your generous support), but what motivates people to be generous? 

Reaching back to an article from 2016 published in Greater Good Magazine, I found motivators behind giving to help people who are suffering. The article by SHARON BEGLEY, "What Motivates You to Be Generous?" focused on a 2016 study on compassion meditation and generosity by researchers at the University of Colorado, Boulder. 

Here are some of the key points highlighted by Begley

• In general, in compassion meditation, you focus on suffering individuals, then groups of suffering people, then all of suffering humanity. In each case, you express the wish that they be free from suffering. 
• Researchers found that greater distress predicted greater generosity. But so did these factors: thinking the person was blameless, believing a donation would actually help, and feeling warmth toward the sufferer. 
• Generosity does not seem to be an instinctive, default behavior. It is a learned behavior. 
• Generosity wanes if people perceive the world as full of threats and looming scarcity rather than of abundance and security—one of the individual traits most predictive of individual generosity.
• Perhaps the strongest message from the science of generosity is that the more adversity someone has experienced, the more compassion she feels and the more generous she’s likely to be. 

The application here is for the consequence of famine, fire and other catastrophes.  Then, what could be applied to public media fundraising? Nothing we do comes even close to the tragedies and suffering after an earthquake or hurricane.  

 

Try This

After convincing potential donors of  your unique value proposition:

• Convince them the donation will actually help.
• Appeal to their loyalty toward your institution and your content.
• Stay away from messages of doom and scarcity.

Notice the quote. There's nothing in there that implies the donor wants a coffee mug, tote bag or t-shirt.

(The tote bag and t-shirt, on the other hand, are great advertising, increasing awareness of your brand.)