Guilt is one of the most powerful of human motivators; it can move people to incredible acts of self-transformation and prompts all kinds of good deeds.
But it’s tough to use effectively in fundraising, because there are hardly any meaningful ways to evoke guilt.
A common attempt at guilt goes something like this: Only one in a hundred Americans cares enough about the tragedy in Darfur to give even a small donation to ease the suffering!
Problem is, your donors and prospects are not the ones who should feel guilty. They’re already giving. They’re already involved and doing the right thing. When you aim that attempt at guilt at them, you’re like the professor who scolds the students in a sparsely attended class: Notice that the ones you’re berating are the ones who showed up.
There are plenty of others who may have something to feel guilty about. They aren’t doing their share. They aren’t paying attention. But your messages don’t reach them. They aren’t on the lists. And chances are, they have defensive mechanisms against feeling guilty; otherwise they’d feel rotten about themselves.
So can you reach those who aren’t doing their share and shame them into becoming better people? It’s tough. All you have are websites, PSAs, direct mail, and other semi-targeted message platforms. These are not too likely to break through a hardened conscience.
That’s why guilt is a messy motivator.
Jeff Brooks has been serving the nonprofit community for more than 35 years and blogging about it since 2005. He considers fundraising the most noble of pursuits and hopes you’ll join him in that opinion. You can reach him at jeff [at] jeff-brooks [dot] com.
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