"(S)torytelling needs to focus on an individual, not a group. A classic experiment involved asking people to donate to help hungry children in West Africa.

"One group was asked to help a seven-year-old girl named Rokia, in the country of Mali. A second was asked to donate to help millions of hungry children. A third was asked to help Rokia but was provided with statistical information that gave them a larger context for her hunger. Not surprisingly, people donated more than twice as much to help Rokia as to help millions of children. But it turned out that even providing background information on African hun­ger diminished empathy, so people were much less willing to help Rokia when she represented a broader problem."

Since Save The Children pioneered child sponsorship in the 1940s, numerous nonprofits have found ways to frame their work as person-to-person giving.  

Anyone attempting to leverage the power of person-to-person appeals faces a creative/strategic/ethical challenge.   The most powerful promotional headlines describe a straightforward "you give x and a specific person receives y" arrangement.  The reality is that delivering assistance to large numbers of people is far more complex than that.  

When you dig into the details, few groups literally link individual givers with individual recipients.   There are usually intermediaries, pooling of funds and time lags involved.  Over the years this has generated controversy.  (See this very thoughtful piece by Kiva cofounder Matt Flannery on how his group wrestles with the issue.)

Key Takeaway:  Don't be afraid to use stories focused on individuals to engage consumers in your cause marketing efforts.   Just be sure that you fight the temptation to mislead and make the details of how your programs really work readily available.

David Hessekiel