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Greetings!
It's considered good manners to give credit where credit is due, but new research indicates donor recognition must be handled just right to have a positive impact on fundraising.
As described in a recent Economist article, test subjects given a repetitive task to perform to raise money for charity exerted themselves much more when they knew that their results were going to be publicly announced.
The researchers link this outcome to image motivation, in other words, the desire to look good to those whose opinions we care about.
Publicizing financial incentives, however, can be a major error. Using the same experimental model, participants who were offered incentives AND were told that their efforts and rewards would be made public, did not perform as well as those told that the information would be kept private.
The researchers believe the first group underperformed because of fear that publicity about the incentives would detract from their image (e.g., they are not doing this to help the cause, they're doing it for the reward). The "private" group was motivated by the incentive and was not concerned about image damage.
Important data to keep in mind when designing your communications and incentive programs!
David Hessekiel
President
Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council
Tel: (914) 921-3914 |
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Man Bites Dog: PR & The Art of Athletic Event Fundraising
Getting press attention for "yet another" walk or run to fight disease can be challenging to say the least.
Much of the "art" of event PR involves developing new angles to capture the attention of reporters who've "heard it all before" and creating images that attract cameras.
CauseForce recently did a masterful job of promoting the Weekend to End Breast Cancer, a 60-km fund-raising walk that takes place annually in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, and Vancouver. 
They arranged for ballet troupes to perform in malls in each city with one in every nine dancers dressed in pink -- symbolizing that breast cancer impacts one in every nine Canadian women.
For more insights into event media strategy, check out our latest audioclass featuring Jennifer Cawley of Barkley PR which has worked with the March of Dimes March for Babies and the Breast Cancer 3-Days. |
Tour du Rouge To Premiere in May
Postponed by Hurricane Ike last October, the Tour du Rouge will challenge cyclists to pedal 512 miles from Houston to New Orleans this May to support the American Red Cross.
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4/16 Teleclass: Dan Pallotta , author of "Uncharitable"
Pallotta Team Works invented long-form AIDS and breast cancer events that attracted 182,000 participants and netted hundreds of millions for charity between 1994 and 2002. The company's work was so groundbreaking that it was the subject of a Harvard Business School case study, but Pallotta Team Works had to shut down in 2002 because of a dispute with the Avon Products Foundation, its main client.
Reflecting on his experience and the entire social sector, Dan Pallotta uses "UnCharitable" to explore norms that he believes seriously hamper the effectiveness of companies and causes fighting disease and other social ills. In this one hour teleconference, Pallotta will lay out his central thesis; revisit the rise and fall of Pallotta Teamworks; and describe reforms he feels are necessary for nonprofits to make major progress in the years ahead.
Join us on April 16 from 1:30 to 2:30 pm ET. The session is $99.00 or FREE to RWR members.
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TIME IS RUNNING OUT! Register now for the
2009 Conference
March 4 & 5 in Dallas
Get all the exciting details and reserve your space at the only conference 100% focused on helping you increase your share of "thon" dollars.
We've got great speakers, new awards programs, networking opportunities and a pre-conference workshop on Local Sponsorship Sales planned for our gathering at the Omni Mandalay Hotel in Dallas.
CHECK OUT
Statistics, advice & more
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