One of this study's findings has puzzled me over the last month. It's this: the speed in thanking and receipting a donor's gift ranked low among the factors encouraging the donor to give a second gift.
I always thought a prompt thank you was important. My mother told me growing up to always say thank you. Always write a thank you note for gifts. And do it right away. Don't these things matter to the recipient?
It seems to go against a fundamental fact of direct response -- the recency curve. The curve tells us that the donor who last gave is the donor most likely to give again. Don't you want to fill the space under the high part of the curve with the good will that results from a thank you?
So, is the Heart of the Donor study is a bunch of hot air? Not at all. I've worked with the researcher behind this work, and I can vouch for him and his work. It merely points to the challenge of self reported data. We sometimes say one thing in a focus group or survey and then do another.
That's why is good to confirm this stuff with testing in the market. If your organization is slow to thank donors, don't use this study to let yourself off the hook. Rather, test a more prompt receipt/thank you package.
What about the study was conducted among single gift donors (not unusual with medical charities) who would not give again no matter how quickly you receipt their first and probably only gifts.
ReplyDeleteGeorge
Kids from rich family usually do not think money is as important. That is because people tend to ignore what they already have and believe what they do not have to be important.
ReplyDeleteIf the study was conducted among donors who gave more than once, then one possibility is that these donor were generally receipted promptly.
Following this logic, they believe reporting back is important probably because they did not get enough of it. I think this is likely because proper reporting is far more difficult and expensive to do than receipting.
George Zhang
Good points, George.
ReplyDeleteEveryone understands the importance of thanking those who help you. And doing it promptly, when it matters most. However, it's just not natural to talk about wanting these things for yourself, especially from the nonprofit.