Do Donors Feel Joy When Donating to Your Organization?

Picture this: A woman sits in front of her computer and reads a fundraising message that you wrote about your organization. She opens up her wallet, takes out her credit card, and donates. She has officially become a donor to your organization. 

Maybe she gave to your latest online crowdfunding campaign. Maybe this is a response to an annual appeal. Maybe she gave because it’s the end-of-the-year and she wants the charity tax deduction. 

Have you ever stopped to think: What does she get in return? What does she want in return? And what needs to happen in order for her to give a second time?

Fundraisers have the responsibility, privilege, and opportunity to elate donors. To put the joy back in giving to charity. Doing so improves their (your!) ability to retain donors year after year, campaign after campaign. 

Too often, fundraisers feel bad about asking for money. Too often, donors feel guilty when asked to donate. Or worse, they feel encroached upon as if someone has violated their personal space. Whatever it is, they are not feeling happy.

But there is a way to flip the whole mindset. You absolutely can bring joy to your donors. 

When you fundraise, you’re not asking for money. You’re giving people an opportunity to make the world a better place. You’re giving them so much more than just a charity tax deduction. 

When donors donate, they’re not giving you money. They’re expressing their own personal values. 

Think of it this way: they’re not giving TO you; they’re giving THROUGH you. And that makes all the difference in the world. 

Aside from being the “right” approach in terms of morals and ethics, this paradigm shift will raise you more money. 

When our friend from the beginning of this blog post donated to your organization, she wanted to feel something. She wanted a positive emotion that rewarded her for solving a problem in the world. She wanted to know that she had done her part.  

So tell her! 

Pepper your communications with language that makes her feel ecstatic about being part of the solution. Because when you do, she’s going to want to feel that feeling again and again and again.

The only thing donors get in return… the only thing they want in return… the thing that you can give them that will make them come back for more is an emotion. 

Make them feel joy. Elate them. And make those feelings contagious. 

You are a fundraiser and salesperson… and you have implicitly told donors they will feel better about themselves after they donate. Now, it’s your time to deliver.