Understanding Donor Behavior: Insights for Increasing Engagement and Charitable Giving

As inflation and other economic concerns weigh heavily upon potential donors, resulting in a 3.4% decline in charitable giving over the last year, a deep understanding of donor motivations and potential nudges is more critical than ever. New research from the Yale Center for Customer Insights (YCCI) reveals insights into what drives charitable giving, offering strategies for non-profit organizations to better connect with supporters.

The research team conducted a comprehensive study combining online ethnography, in-depth interviews, and A/B testing with a nationwide panel of over 2,900 individuals to reveal a complex picture of donor behavior and engagement strategies.

Research Findings for Non-Profits
YCCI uncovered insights that suggest non-profit organizations can better meet donor needs and increase engagement with minor adjustments to messaging. While this study focused on environmental non-governmental organizations, these findings could apply to various causes, like medical research, animal welfare organizations, educational foundations, and more.

Framing non-profit organizations as a source of solutions drives intent to donate. Researchers discovered that when people see how a non-profit’s work can contribute to solving an issue, they are more likely to engage with or donate to the organization. In the study, when the environmental non-profit was framed as a source of climate solutions, donors’ intent to donate increased significantly. This result highlights the importance of communicating impact. Highlighting the organization’s role in addressing broader challenges, such as ocean pollution or climate change, also boosted donors’ willingness to donate.

Make it tangible. Personally witnessing problems in the world can spur peoples’ sense of duty to contribute to a cause. In this study, the team found that encountering environmental damage, like seeing plastic waste washed up on a beach, can be a powerful trigger for giving to an environmental organization. Simple messaging changes evoking people’s sense of responsibility and urgency can help organizations tap into donors’ desire to be part of a solution. The research also showed that messaging about an organization’s impact in mitigating damage significantly increases donation intent, illustrating the effectiveness of connecting donations to tangible ecological outcomes. When the connection might not seem obvious or direct, making it explicit to the audience how a non-profit’s work contributes positively to a critical aspect of the issue can help establish the link. People are more likely to act when the problem is clear and apparent, and they believe it requires immediate attention.

Lead with trust. Donors are drawn to organizations that share research-based findings and appear to make data-driven decisions. Highlighting an organization as a science-based institution, evidenced by historical impact and scientific strength, can build donor confidence and drive intent to give. Some strategies to build trust include sharing engaging, research-based material through newsletters and social media posts and highlighting the role of scientists or researchers in the organization.

Create a community. Identifying and emphasizing underlying personal connections to a cause allows donors to feel a closer connection to the things they care about, driving donation intent. The research team found that a sense of community can be a significant motivator to donate to a cause, and one compelling way to make donors feel more invested is through encouraging donations to mark special occasions, like holidays or anniversaries. Our findings suggest that focusing on community-building and celebrating special occasions through donations can be effective ways to increase donation intent. These opportunities allow donors to engage more deeply with the cause and foster a strong connection and commitment to the organization. Donors feel they are joining a collective effort, fostering a sense of belonging and camaraderie, which can be as rewarding as the impacts of donation.

There are questions about the impact of small donations. Small donations are often a key element of non-profit fundraising strategies, but some donors worry that giving small amounts isn’t impactful to the organization or cause. Addressing the effectiveness of small contributions increases donation intent, especially when donors believe they are not the only ones contributing to the cause. Primary research indicated that people who believe small donations drive collective impact are likelier to give. The team tested messaging that highlights the cumulative effect of many small contributions and found such framing to significantly increase likelihood of donation.

Optimizing the Donation Experience
Beyond changes to messaging and communications, the research team found that non-profit organizations can make a big impact through subtle changes in the donation experience choice architecture.

Reflect donor aspirations in calls-to-action. Aligning the call-to-action on an organization’s website with donors' underlying motivations for giving can be an effective way to increase donor conversion. Using language that connected with the motivation to learn more about environmental causes like “GIVE & LEARN” was significantly more effective at converting donations than the more generic “GIVE NOW” control messaging.

Simplify donor choices. Decreasing the number of pre-set donation amount options from five to three drove an increase in the number of individuals donating. However, the researchers noted that the options must be carefully balanced to encourage more aggregate donations without reducing the average gift amount. Further research is needed to find the ‘sweet spot’, and the ideal option-set will likely be different for various organizations.

This study indicates that while donors are keen to support a good cause, their decisions are influenced by a combination of beliefs about the organization, personal goals, and how choices are presented to them. Understanding these nuances is crucial for non-profits in crafting more effective engagement strategies. Organizations in this space should consider aligning their messaging with these insights, focusing on enhancing emotional connection and trust through strategic communication and donor experience design. Testing these strategies in real-world contexts is essential to ensure that they resonate with the underlying motivations of donors.

For more insights on utilizing behavioral science in non-profit donor engagement, contact us at ycci@som.yale.edu or subscribe to our newsletter on LinkedIn or email.