IN YOUR NEXT APPEAL, PREVENTION MAY BE THE CURE
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Right?
Turns out:
When it’s time to write your next fundraising appeal, prevention may be the cure – the secret to grabbing your donors’ attention in a distracting worldand motivating them to take generous action.
New research finds that people are more likely to give when your “ask” focuses on preventing bad outcomes (vs. creating good ones).
AND it suggests that prevention-focused language leads to higher gift amounts.
THE BACK STORY
The psychological theory of regulatory focus says we go after goals by pursuing pleasure/reward/good outcome (“promotion”) OR by avoidingpain/loss/bad outcome (“prevention”).
We’re each wired to favor one path or the other (though we can also adapt, based on circumstances). The two approaches light up different parts of the brain – and lead us to take different kinds of actions.
This was the basis of Dr. Emilie Socash’s PhD research.
Emilie is a former development director and exec director turned scholar and founder of the Nonprofit HelpCenter. She wanted to find out which kinds of language – promotion vs.prevention – most motivates donors to give.
SHORT EXAMPLE
Promotion-Focused —>
“You can feed a hungry child.”
(You can create a great outcome.)
Prevention-Focused —>
“You can keep a child from going hungry.”
(You can prevent a bad outcome.)
LONGER EXAMPLE
Promotion-Focused —>
“In our vision – a vision we know you share – we see a world where homebound seniors have doorstep delivery of the week’s food, where school-age children see weekends as a time of comfort rather than empty bellies, and in which families see the dinner table as a place of abundance.”
Prevention-Focused —>
“As community members, we share an obligation to eliminate the worry homebound seniors have when faced with an empty pantry, that school-age children feel when a weekend without meals approaches, and that families share when dinnertime is a reminder of empty bellies.”
TAKE-AWAYS
In Emilie’s research, both types of messages got strong response and converted gifts.
But the prevention-focused message raised 58% more among prevention-oriented donors than the promotion-focused message did from promotion-focused donors.
Prevention-oriented people seem to be much more sensitive to – and motivated by – prevention messages.
Meanwhile, promotion-oriented people seem to be equally responsive to both types of messaging.
So…
🏆 You can never go wrong with prevention messaging. 🏆
I love how these findings align with our common wisdom: Let your donor know they are needed. Don’t shy away from saying what might happen without the donor’s help.
TIPS FOR YOUR NEXT APPEAL
· Use both promotion and prevention-focused messages. Experiment with layering them together.
· Lean more heavily into prevention-focused messages.
· Try A/B testing a promotion-focused version and a prevention-focused version of the same appeal. See how your audience responds.