The recent Humber Initiative on Philanthropy conference at the college’s Lakeshore Campus was an intensive day filled with informative sessions and thought-provoking speakers. The brainchild of the sector’s prolific enthusiast, Ken Wyman, the annual event was launched two years ago and is run entirely by Humber Fundraising and Volunteer Management students.

Continuing where it left off in 2009, the one-day conference brought together experienced industry leaders, up-and-coming Humber grads and current students all in the name of education.

Look back, move forward

Creative thinking got a kick-start with an amusing and musical-inspired keynote by fundraising veteran Denny Young. Likening the three generations of fundraisers in the sector today to respective characters in Fiddler on the Roof, Young argued for an approach that encompasses both tradition and change. The takeaway message was to embrace knowledge borne of years of experience, while keeping an open mind to the ever-evolving landscape of fundraising. Never forget Tevye’s common refrain, “on the other hand”, beseeched Young, but remember that with too much flexibility “at at some point you may break”. The point at which experience meets innovation will help fundraisers move forward with success.

What moves us?

Theo Koffler‘s lunchtime address was no less inspirational. Enchanting the audience with her heartfelt life-story, imbued by struggle and success — including her journey in overcoming the challenges of lupus — Koffler spoke about the personal motivation behind her organization, Mindfulness Without Borders. Dedicated to bringing best practices in social-emotional and mindful awareness-based education to conflict and post-conflict communities, Koffler is currently introducing the organization to North America.

A businesswoman, educator and humanitarian, Theo Koffler’s passion for philanthropy doesn’t fall far from the tree, with her parents, the esteemed Murray and Marvelle Koffler (seated in the audience) having led the way on that front for many years. Personal insight aside, the address was a testament to the notion that one’s personal life experience is often the strongest motivator to set our philanthropic behaviour in motion.

That subject was explored more fully at the Decoding Donor Behaviour session in the afternoon. In a most engaging presentation, students spoke about ways in which we can better understand the oft-curious and head-scratching actions of donors.

Heather Jewell and Margaux Smith launched the session with a plea: charities, take heed of the successful outcomes inherent in monthly giving. They furnished research and statistics to back up this claim.

They pointed out that although organizations such as Amnesty International have confirmed direct-response television is indeed “dead”, direct mail is still working — and working really well.

Astoundingly, despite the positive results of those efforts, most charities are not developing these programs to the extent they should. In fact, 10% of charities interviewed said they don’t even offer monthly giving options in their direct mail reply forms.

Organizations need to subscribe to the notion of, “if you don’t ask you won’t get”, advised Jewell. To wit: 13% of charities who did put more effort on that end saw more than a 100% increase in monthly giving.

Be creative

Not surprisingly, the most successful of these programs espouse a form of sponsorship, as it denotes something tangible at the heart of giving. The most popular of these campaigns are child sponsorships. But what if you don’t have that option?

Be creative, said Smith. Programs can allow donors to adopt a tiger, a rainforest…even a cat scan machine, if you’re a health provider. “Have fun with it,” she added.

Take your cue from the successful UK charity, I CAN. Focused on helping children with communication difficulties, the organization began a creative initiative whereby donors can adopt a word for just £15, with money going to support the cause. You can then flaunt your adopted word by getting it stamped on various merchandise like t-shirts and mugs. An adoption package also arrives at your doorstep, with the suggestion to adopt another word to “keep your word company.”

Focus on stewardship

Fundraising professionals are undoubtedly aware that time and effort must be invested in stewardship techniques. The students reminded conference delegates that it tends to be easier to keep a donor than to get a new one.

“To engage monthly donors, you need to do something different,” said Smith. “You need to make them feel special.” There’s no better way to curb donor attrition. Try to make it easy for supporters to communicate, to connect.

Some of the tips the students offered included: take the time to ask donors what they want and need; find out why they stopped giving; make sure they know they can decrease their gift, if need be, and set up reminders for payments.

Though digital communication is important to reach donors — vital, actually — avoid overwhelming them with online solicitations. Be reasonable with your methodology and remember to engage with folks creatively for the best results.

A psychological approach

With that in mind, would we have a better chance at engagement if we better understood the way our brains work? Well, as the next two Humber students demonstrated, the answer is a strong maybe.

They cited research whereby two groups were provided with instructions on how to make a kite, with one set written in more complex typeface. The study found that members of the group whose directives used the more challenging Brush font were 66% less likely to submit results. And those who did respond assumed the kite-making would take twice as long.

What does that prove aside from the fact that we tend to get lazy in the face of seemingly difficult challenges?

It demonstrates that readability is more impactful than the instructions themselves, explained Erin Cook. So the next time you’re deliberating on typeface, ask yourself: do you want to make things easy to read? Then stick with serif fonts. But if you want to imply a greater challenge — a valuable approach, depending on your intended outcome — use more complex typeface.

The students also suggested that fundraisers could learn a lot from marketing professionals on how to influence donor behaviour.

This goes beyond appealing to a potential donor’s emotions. Throwing in a few images of cute babies or puppies may get people’s attention but they don’t automatically lead to opening one’s wallet.

To prove this point, Stefanie Katotakis recounted a “neuromarketing” study done with 106 subjects that looked at people’s eye movements when viewing ads with babies in them.

The study found that when the baby was looking directly toward the subject, a person’s eyes would remain on the baby (with a quick flash to the message). But when the babies were positioned toward the message, the subjects’ eyes followed their gaze.

Prospective donors need to be engaged effectively when it comes to the use of advertisements, concluded Katotakis.

The takeaway message from the student-led session was clear: fundraisers might benefit by keeping an eye on and utilizing some of the latest research in applied neuroscience.

Recalling the keynote that kicked off the event: perhaps this is one of those sweet spots where tradition meets innovation.

Elisa Birnbaum is a freelance journalist, producer and communications consultant living in Toronto. She is also president of Elle Communications and can be reached at: info@ellecommunications.ca.

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