A New Way of Thinking About Donor Motivations

    Not to confuse things, but maybe age and gender don’t matter at all when it comes to understanding how and why people give. The Money for Good Project recently completed a comprehensive study of 4,000 high net worth individuals and their reasons for giving. The report offers an entirely new framework for segmenting donors by behavior rather than demographics. This is in sharp contrast to how we have traditionally thought about targeting donor populations.

    In the Money for Good study, similarities in age and income did not point to similarities in how donors give or what they want out of their donations. Instead, donors aligned within six behavioral segments that were mixed equally across age, gender and income:

    Repayer

    “I give to my alma mater.”

    “I support organizations that have had an impact on me or a loved one.”

    Casual Giver

    “I primarily give to well known nonprofits through a payroll deduction at work.”

    “I donated $1,000 so I could host a table at the event.”

    High Impact

    “I give to the nonprofits that I feel are generating the greatest social good.”

    “I support causes that seem overlooked by others.”

    Faith Based

    “We give to our church.”

    “We only give to organizations that fit with our religious beliefs.”

    See the Difference

    “I think it’s important to support local charities.”

    “I only give to small organizations where I feel like I can make a difference.”

    Personal Ties

    “I only give when I am familiar with the people who run an organization.”

    “A lot of my giving is in response to friends who ask me to support their causes.”

    Interestingly, the Repayers represent more individual donors, but the Personal Ties give away more money overall.

    These findings are important for major gifts fundraisers. After all, 74% of charitable donations come from individuals and most of that money comes from the wealthiest households.

    But, the study also has broad implications for communicating with all donors. Understanding what drives donor behavior and crafting messages and approaches accordingly is the holy grail of fundraising. The Money for Good team has offered some great new clues as to where to find that elusive grail! Click here to download the report (approximately 2MB).

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