What Motivates Giving?

What motivates giving? | Motivated asking!

Giving is but one half of the equation. I work with a number of different causes and all sorts of fundraising events and methods. It would be hard, no impossible to make a case for one cause over another they are all worthy and passionate in their quests. So what is a giver to do? How do you differentiate? Give a little to each? a donation to juvenile diabetes Research this year & Susan Komen the next? And just how does one choose Susan Komen over Avon over American cancer Society over Lance?

So how do charitable organizations breakthrough? What motivates giving, to you? [That's the real question right?]

The answer is stories, you have to help people tell their stories. Make their stories part of your cause!

Here is a story from a young women Nicole Kenney who participated in her first Heart Walk in Charlotte NC September 2007 on the Bank of America team...her story in part

I thought it was a great idea to make [photo] buttons to wear on the day of the walk.  I knew just which picture I wanted to use. And you took the time out to find out exactly why I was walking and why I wanted to get the buttons made, which made me excited that people actually cared about my story.  It was a nightmare that my family went through in losing my brother, but I finally felt like something good was coming from it: being able to educate others on the dangers of heart disease. The walk was a big piece of that, but so were the buttons. My mom even cried when she found out that I was getting buttons made. Both my mom and I wore two buttons each – one on the front, and one on the back, holding our sign in place (see the pictures for a better idea). Now, my mom wears her button almost everywhere with her, and I wear mine pretty frequently too.

Nicole had a story to tell. The photo buttons of her brother Bill were a powerful tool, a tangible expression of emotion. Nicole's and her team raised I think over $6000 because she had a story to tell and we helped her tell it. Motivated asking, it is the answer. 

Comments

[Roger Carr]

Hi Michael,
You are right. Inspiring stories can be a terrific motivator. Great use of a story to show the importance of stories.

[Michael Gibbons]

Thanks Roger. It's all about the Story!