Remove Altruism and Helping Remove Marketing Remove Psychology
article thumbnail

Why you are so motivated in your work

Nonprofit Marketing Blog

But as someone working for a mission you know it’s something else—altruism. Grant focuses on workplace psychology and the effects of altruism in your career. Helping others, it seems, helps ourselves. (As But what may surprise you is this isn’t just a truism in the nonprofit sector.

article thumbnail

Should you thank your donors with a gift?

Nonprofit Marketing Blog

As you know, I believe giving is best approached through social rather than market norms. Social norms are governed by values of community selflessness and altruism. When we are primed to give based on social norms, we donate because we want to make a difference and help others. What do I mean by that?

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Dr. James explains why the feeling “People like me make gifts like this” is so powerful in major gifts fundraising

iMarketSmart

Some gifts may help reputation, while others won’t. This helps link the challenge to a victory. The gift helps my group. And it helps my standing within the group. Both of these help link the victory to an enhanced identity. Showing that “people like me make gifts like this” helps. It’s complicated.

article thumbnail

Acquisition: More On Counterintuitive Effects Of Premiums

The Agitator

Just to keep the pot boiling here’s a follow-up on my Premiums, Crack Cocaine and Nonprofit Suicide post that spawned some helpful comments. In essence, the prospect of receiving a gift activated a feeling of selfishness which, in turn, reduced altruism and consequently cut the average donation.

article thumbnail

Your mission is the gift. Really.

Nonprofit Marketing Blog

As Dooley details, fundraising gifts work based on a psychological principle of “reciprocity” – the innate human obligation to return a favor bestowed with a favor given. They’ll help you, but they’ll resent you for it. Often we turn them into mechanisms to help us avoid the ask: “We have a budget shortfall – let’s hold a dinner!”.

article thumbnail

How fundraisers can help their cause resonate with donors

iMarketSmart

4] Giving doesn’t help the donor. But it can help the donor’s genes. Giving is genetically helpful when, My Cost < (Their Benefit X Our Similarity). If a donor identifies with the factor, emphasizing it will help. Sharing similarities can help. It can help specific people. Natural origins In 1964, W.

article thumbnail

How many ways can you say “thank you” to a donor?

iMarketSmart

According to an article in the Journal of Economic Psychology saying thank you can actually have a negative effect on your relationship with a supporter. The researcher notes that gifts, in particular, “reduce feelings of altruism ” causing your expression of gratitude to backfire in your face. A letter from you.