The Top 15 Reasons Why People Give to Nonprofits

The Top 15 Reasons Why People Give to Nonprofits

1. They Care

Maybe it’s a cause. Maybe it’s a pressing and ongoing need. Maybe it’s a crisis and they feel compassion for those who are suffering, such as a natural disaster. Despite the cynical prism through which some view the world, hundreds of millions of people across the world actually care, and want to give for no other reason than that.

2. They Want to Help

This is different than just caring. This is about wanting to make a difference, to feel like they “did something,” rather than just standing around. A friend of mine once mused about what he would tell his grandkids one day if they asked him what he did about human trafficking. This was part of his motive for joining a big fundraising campaign.

3. Ego

Lots of people say they don’t care what people think. Most of them are lying. We do care, and some people try to spruce up their image and self-worth by giving. It’s a less altruistic motive, but it’s real. When you communicate with donors, it’s not a bad idea to toss in a few words (or free gifts) that appeal to this particular motive.

4. Their Workplace Supports It

Some companies target their charitable giving to specific causes, or sometimes specific charities. When a new employee shows up, they might have never thought about that cause before. But within a year or two, they’re telling all their friends and family about how much they love it.

5. Faith-Based Reasons 

Some religions urge their followers to give. The Bible even says “God loves a cheerful giver.” For people who base their choices on religious creeds and principles like this, giving is a no-brainer. It’s not a question of if, but to whom they will give.

Are you appealing to religious motives for giving? Your charity doesn’t need to be religious in nature to do this!

6. Their Eyes Were Opened

It could be a news story. Maybe they saw something on TV or in a movie, or read a story about an issue that was new to them. Some people start giving when their eyes are opened to something and their emotions stir them to action.

This is one reason you should be doing content marketing. You can give them that news story.

7. Personal Experience

Some people suffer from new diseases, or even more commonly, have a relative who does. This new disease gets them angry, and they want to fight it. I met a guy whose daughter has a rare form of epilepsy called PCDH19. Now he helps an organization that raises money for research.

8. Celebrity Influence 

This follows well from #6 and #7. Often a celebrity will have a personal experience, or have their eyes opened to a need or a cause, and they decide to get involved. Because they have such a big platform, their influence on large numbers of people can swell entire organizations beyond their imaginations.

9. Family Tradition

Some families have been giving to the same foundations, universities, and nonprofits for generations. Kids grow up with it, so it’s a natural part of their lives. Create contexts for whole families to get involved, and you can reap their support for decades.

10. Making Up for Failures

Some people believe in karma, and feel that doing good things, like giving to charity, makes up for bad things they’ve done.

11. Someone Invited Them to an Event

This is one of many reasons to hold live fundraising events and activities. Get people to show up and invite friends. Some of those friends can turn into your most fervent supporters and can become major donors. You never know who will show up.

12. Principle of Momentum

People do follow a crowd. And they also love reaching goals. It is a fact of goal-based fundraising that the closer you get to a goal, the easier it is to raise money for it. 

Getting to $200,000 was very hard. Getting to $300,000 was even harder. But once we passed $400,000, the rest felt effortless and inevitable. We were still working, but it was a foregone conclusion by that point. The Principle of Momentum motivates people to give, and give big. Use it!

Why does this work? Because there’s a greater confidence the money will actually make a difference. It’s tangible. Matching grants have the same effect. You’re doubling your impact. People want impact. This one combines with Reasons #1 and #2 – people who care and want to help will give big when the finish line is in sight.

13. Taxes

The biggest giving day of the year in the U.S. is December 31^st. So if you don’t think taxes are a motivator for giving, you must be using the Chinese calendar. Though in the U.S., the tax motivation may now be weakened for all but wealthier households, since the 2018 tax law increased the standard deduction so much. We will see how this affects giving over the next few years, and how strong a motivation taxes really are.

14. Legacy

This is one reason people start foundations or put charities in their estate plans. Some of the biggest donations happen in part because of this reason.

Are you asking your biggest supporters to put your nonprofit in their wills? You’ll never know the windfalls you might have received from such a simple request if you don’t ask for it.

15. Top Reason of All: Because Someone Asked Them!

This is the one I could go on about for a long time (but I won’t!).

All the reasons you just read are real, and you want to capitalize on all of them in your fundraising communications and marketing. But we can never forget the first reason people give.

This isn’t the reason they’ll provide when they get asked in a survey why they give to charity. They won’t give this reason because it’s so fundamental that it doesn’t occur to them.

I might care about helping people, but that’s a general feeling. When someone asks me to help a specific person or group of people, now I’ve been given a means of acting on my desire.

I personally have invited people to give as part of Ambassador campaigns and coming to various events. They never would have given to those causes had I not asked. There are other reasons that motivated them to say “yes” to my invitation, surely. But none of those reasons can be activated until you ask.

So ask.

Ask in writing. Ask over email. Ask online. Ask in social media. Ask at live events. Ask in churches. Ask in networking groups. Ask businesses. Ask individuals. Ask friends. Ask volunteers. Ask previous donors. Ask family.

And… tell your supporters and volunteers to go ask all those categories of people too!

Ask, and you will receive. Ask more, and you’ll receive more.

This is why people give to charity.

SOURCE: Direct Response Copywriting and Consulting – ProActive Content