How to Engage Adults in Charitable Giving

I tracked all fundraising activity for one year so you didn't have to. Here is what I found: - A substantive, in-person visit with a donor resulted in gifts 5x larger than donors who only corresponded via phone calls or emails. - It took roughly 12 touchpoints to secure a visit with a donor. That is a high number, but pretty characteristic of human services. - Each handwritten card sent produced 1,169x more value than it cost. - Response rate increased dramatically with a voicemail + email combination. - Gifts from DAFs, gifts of stock, and gifts from RMDs became more popular only as donors were informed that those were giving options. Here is what this means: - Meet in person with donors as much as humanly possible - Make as many attempts as possible to schedule visits with donors - Write handwritten cards. Like, right now. - Reach out to donors with a multi-channel approach (DM me if you'd like to see a call, email, +handwritten card cadence) - Donors don't always know how to maximize their generosity unless you tell them. Inform them of their options if they give you permission! Ultimately, provide value to your org's donors and watch as generosity unfolds for the benefit of the people your org serves!

Before it was about getting donors to write checks. Now it’s about involving them in your ecosystem. Here’s 5 steps to get started today: You’re not just fundraising anymore. You’re onboarding stakeholders. If you want repeatable, compounding revenue from donors, partners, and decision-makers, you need to stop treating them like check-writers… …and start treating them like collaborators in a living system. Here’s how. 1. Diagnose your “center of gravity” Most orgs center fundraising around the mission. But the real gravitational pull for donors is their identity. → Ask yourself: What is the identity we help our funders step into? Examples: Systems Disruptor. Local Hero. Climate Investor. Opportunity Builder. Build messaging, experiences, and invites around that identity, not just impact stats. 2. Turn every program into a flywheel for new capital Stop separating “program delivery” from “fundraising.” Your programs are your best sales engine → Examples: • Invite donors to shadow frontline staff for one hour • Allow funders to sponsor a real-time decision and see the outcome • Let supporters “unlock” bonus services for beneficiaries through engagement, not just cash People fund what they help shape. 3. Use feedback as a funding mechanism Most orgs treat surveys as box-checking. But used right, feedback is fundraising foreplay. → Ask donors and partners to co-define what “success” looks like before you report back. Then build dashboards, stories, and events around their metrics. You didn’t just show impact. You made them part of the operating model. 4. Make your “thank you” do heavy lifting Thanking donors isn’t the end of a transaction. It’s the first trust test for future collaboration. → Instead of a generic “thank you,” send: • A 1-minute voice memo with a specific insight you gained from their gift • A sneak peek at a challenge you’re tackling and ask for their perspective • A micro-invite: “Can I get your eyes on something next week?” You’re not closing a loop. You’re opening a door. 5. Build a “Donor OS” (Operating System) Every funder should have a journey, not just a transaction history. → Track things like: • What insight made them first say “I’m in”? • Who do they influence (and who influences them)? • What kind of risk are they comfortable taking? • What internal narrative did your mission fulfill for them? Then tailor comms, invitations, and roles accordingly. Not everyone needs another newsletter but someone does want a seat at the strategy table. With purpose and impact, Mario

Stop chasing Boomer dollars. Your fundraising strategy is stuck in 1997 and younger donors can tell. Here's where this gets messy. Nonprofits still host $250/plate galas. Send generic emails to everyone. Ask for $10K from people still paying off student loans. Then complain millennials don't give. They do. Just not like that. When I worked with K9s.Org, we tried something different. We created a Young Professionals Council. Not a token junior board... an actual advisory group with real influence over programs and strategy. These people didn't have wealth yet. But they had networks we couldn't access. Fresh perspectives that challenged our assumptions. Time and energy to put in. Social media reach that blew ours away. We gave them ownership. They gave us growth. What works with donors under 40: Peer-to-peer fundraising works because social proof beats your brand every time. Make it simple for them to fundraise through their own networks. Show them exactly where the money goes. Dashboards, real-time updates, photos from the field. Vague impact statements don't cut it anymore. Monthly giving over big one-time asks. $50/month is manageable. That's $600/year of recurring revenue you can count on. Let them volunteer, advise, and co-create before you ask for money. They want to be part of the work, not just watching from the sidelines. If your donation page requires mailing a check or takes forever to load... you've lost them already. The biggest mistake I see? Treating young donors like they're just "future major donors" instead of partners right now. You're not building a relationship, you're waiting for them to turn into someone else. That doesn't work. When they do have money to give... they'll remember the organizations that valued what they brought to the table today. Not the ones who put them on hold for a decade. You don't get to wait for them to age into your system. Build something they want to be part of now. What's your experience engaging younger donors? Drop a comment. #YoungDonors #NonprofitFundraising #MillennialPhilanthropy #PeerToPeerFundraising #DonorEngagement

No one cares about your organization. They don’t care about your mission statement or your programs. They have no interest in funding a line item on your budget. They care about solving a problem. And they’ll give if they believe you can help them solve it. They’re not funding your organization. They're solving a problem that keeps them up at night. And your org is just the best vehicle to get it done. Your job is to make that problem vivid, make the solution specific, and make their role in it clear. Make sure you name the problem, but also, keep it small. Avoid big abstract problems. One kid on a waiting list. One family choosing between rent and groceries. One diagnosis that came three months too late. Then show exactly what a gift does about it. This is not "support our mission." Be more specific. Your $200 puts a kid in front of a tutor before third grade. Your $500 puts food in a pantry before the shelves go empty. Your $1,000 keeps a family housed through winter. As soon as someone can see a straight line between their gift and a solved problem, the decision makes itself. At that point, you’re no longer convincing or persuading. You’re simply handing them the thing they were already reaching for. So stop asking for support and start showing people how their gift can solve a problem they care about.

Think your donors are tired of hearing from you? Think again. Common belief in the nonprofit world: donors are overwhelmed by too many requests. But what if I told you that donor fatigue isn’t about the number of asks? Instead, it’s about the lack of true engagement and value. Here’s the truth: Donors aren’t worn out from hearing from you —they’re disengaged by generic, one-size-fits-all communications. When we fail to connect on a personal and emotional level, we lose the opportunity to build something meaningful together. So, how to break the mold and keep donors engaged? 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Tailor your messages to reflect each donor's interests, purpose and past interactions. Show them that they’re more than just a name on a list. (note: superficial personalization such as just scraping their name, alma mater, etc. from a database is actually worse than no personalization at all) 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲: Highlight the impact of their donations with compelling stories that immerse them in tangible outcomes. Make sure they see the difference they’re making. Better yet, make sure they feel it. 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘀𝗸: Foster a sense of community by involving donors in events, updates, and volunteer opportunities. Show genuine appreciation and interest in their input. Create opportunities for multi-faceted dialogue. Fatigue doesn't happen when someone is truly invested. Donors aren't tired of outreach. They're tired of bad outreach. So go ahead and challenge the status quo and transform how you engage with your supporters. Because it’s not about asking less—it’s about connecting more. #fundraising #nonprofits #philanthropy

Your donors don't give because they have extra money. They give because you've shown them how their money creates change they care about. Stop waiting for your donors to get richer. Start helping them see impact. Your major donor who gives $25,000 annually isn't writing that check from their surplus funds. They're choosing your organization over a luxury vacation, a kitchen renovation, or a bigger retirement contribution. They're making a trade-off. Your job is to make that trade-off feel worthwhile. But instead of showing them specific impact, you're sending generic updates about "all the good work we're doing." Instead of connecting their gift to measurable outcomes, you're thanking them for "supporting our mission." Your donor doesn't want to support your mission in the abstract. They want to create specific change in the world. The difference between donors who give once and donors who give for decades isn't their bank account balance. It's their emotional connection to the results their money produces. Your $1,000 donor who sees exactly how their gift provided school supplies for 20 children will give $1,000 again. Your $10,000 donor who gets a vague thank-you letter about "making a difference" will start looking for organizations that show clearer impact. Wealthy people get asked for money constantly. They don't give to everyone who asks. They give to organizations that prove their money creates change they care about. Stop assuming your donors have money to spare. Start proving their money creates impact they value. Because in fundraising, donors don't fund your budget. They fund your results.

If I needed to turn a small donor into a major gift prospect, here's exactly what I'd do (no wealth screening tool required): Most nonprofits think LinkedIn is just for job hunting. Meanwhile, your next $50k donor is scrolling their feed right now. Step 1: Deep research (15 minutes) Look at their LinkedIn profile for capacity indicators - job title, company, board memberships, volunteer work. Check if they're engaging with similar causes. This tells me if there's capacity beyond their current $500 gift. Step 2: Map their interests (not yours) Go back through your donor database. What did they give to specifically? The building fund? Scholarship program? Youth services? This becomes your entire relationship strategy - only talk about what they care about. Step 3: Personalized impact updates (monthly) Send them a quick message or email with a story about the specific program they support. Not a newsletter. Not a mass update. A real story. "Thought you'd want to know - that scholarship you funded just helped Maria graduate. Here's what she said..." Step 4: Engage on their terms If they're active on LinkedIn, comment on their posts. If they attend events, show up. If they respond to texts, text them. Meet them where they already are, don't force them into your donor cultivation process. Step 5: The natural progression ask (6-12 months in) After consistent engagement around their interests, schedule a real conversation. "I'd love to hear your thoughts on where you see our [program] going. Would you have 20 minutes for coffee?" In that meeting, you're listening - not pitching. You're learning about their vision. The major gift ask comes naturally when you understand what they want to accomplish through your organization. Most fundraisers skip steps 2-4 and wonder why the ask fails. The best major gift officers I know spend 80% of their time on relationship building and 20% on asking. P.S. - Wealth screening tools are nice, but authentic relationship intelligence beats data any day.

Why do millions like and share a cause… but only a few actually give? That attention-action gap is the black hole of digital fundraising. But behavioural science offers some answers. Here are 7 proven insights from research and campaigns that can help turn clicks into commitment: 1. Make it good to show off People share things that boost their image (Social Currency, Berger 2013). Example: Movember worked because growing a moustache wasn’t just fundraising – it was a public, identity-boosting act. That visibility made people want to share. 2. Time your ask to daily habits Sharing isn’t just about emotion – it’s about timing. Example: UNICEF UK’s Currency Appeal spiked donations by asking travellers to give leftover foreign coins right after summer holidays. Simple, relevant trigger = higher engagement. 3. Emotion spreads – but only the right kind High-arousal emotions like anger or awe drive sharing. Sadness alone often shuts people down (Berger & Milkman, 2012). Blend urgency with hope. People act when they feel both moved and effective. 4. One face beats a thousand stats People give more to one named person than to large-scale need. Study: The “Rokia” experiment (Small, Loewenstein & Slovic, 2007) found donations dropped when numbers increased. Empathy doesn’t scale – keep it human. 5. Make the impact crystal clear Donors need to know their gift works. Example: Charity: Water links donations to specific outcomes, down to GPS-tracked wells. That clarity boosted donor retention by 30% in a year. 6. Private actions lead to real commitment Study: Kristofferson et al. (2014) found that public token actions (like profile pics) make people feel they've done enough. But private actions (like email sign-ups) reinforce identity – and make donations more likely. 7. Strip out friction Tiny tweaks matter: Making mailing address optional = 3.4% lift in donations Highlighting a “Most Popular” gift = 94% more revenue Showing “Alex just donated” = 3.5% higher conversion (Results from A/B tests across nonprofit platforms. Grounded in behavioural science principles including friction reduction (Shah & Oppenheimer, 2008), anchoring (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974), and social proof (Cialdini, 1984; Goldstein et al., 2008).) The lesson? Emotion grabs attention. But clarity, identity, and simplicity drive action.

Here's how I would raise $5,000 a month, every month, if I were a small charity: No galas. No grants. No huge donor base required. Just a simple, repeatable system that actually works. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭: 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁. 50 donors at $25/month = $1,250 in predictable revenue. That's your foundation. Name it something meaningful. Make joining feel like belonging to something bigger. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸. Yes, every week. Not a newsletter—an ask tied to a specific need or a story that connects them to your organization. Most small nonprofits under-ask and under communicate by a mile. Your donors WANT to help. Let them. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟯: 𝗧𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝟱𝟬 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵. A simple "thank you" or quick impact update. No ask. Just connection. These texts take 30 minutes and keep your best supporters feeling seen. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟰: 𝗥𝘂𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶-𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿. A 3-day push with a clear goal and deadline. "Help us raise $2,000 by Friday to fund summer camp scholarships." Urgency + specificity = action. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟱: 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗹𝘆. Within 48 hours of their first gift. The conversion rate will surprise you. This isn't complicated. It's consistent. The charities hitting their goals month after month aren't doing anything fancy. They're just showing up in the inbox, telling great stories, and making it easy to give. What would you add to this list?

An appeal isn't just a request for donations—it's about creating experiences that donors treasure. It's crucial to understand that we're not asking donors to support our mission; instead, we're aiding them in fulfilling their vision of a better world. Here’s how we make donating a joyful and meaningful act: 1. 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞: Shift the focus from needs to highlighting opportunities for donors to make significant changes in the world. 2. 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Provide donors with intimate insights and special access to see the impact of their contributions firsthand, making them feel like integral parts of our journey. 3. 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Move beyond standard acknowledgments. Customize your gratitude to reflect the unique impact of each donor’s contribution. 4. 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: Share powerful stories that illustrate the direct results of their generosity, portraying donors as the heroes of these narratives. We have the power to transform giving into an enriching experience, elevating our donors from mere supporters to valued partners in a shared mission. By engaging donors meaningfully, we celebrate and support their aspirations to improve the world.