Messaging for the right donation

Funding appeals during an emergency require nuanced messaging, a challenge which was tackled in a workshop on the final day of Forum 2012.

The Ad Council’s Tony Foleno and Jamie Corder of the Boulder-based research company Egg Strategy, presented results from several months of research into the best messaging tactics in an emergency.

The research was done after a coalition of humanitarian and aid organizations, including InterAction, as well as the private sector met to discuss messaging strategies to encourage the public to donate cash rather than goods during emergencies.

What was clear from the research was that the act of giving is an emotional as well as a rational decision for donors. Soliciting cash offers the most flexibility for many NGOs but how to ask for that monetary donation rather than material items is vital.  Talking about the negative impact of goods doesn’t inspire people to switch to cash and can be counter-productive. People feel emotionally attached to the items they are giving away and want to feel appreciated for their efforts.

So don’t tell people their goods’ donation is hurting more than helping. Also, express your gratitude and appreciation to donors, and not only during emergencies. “If every time you called your aunt you asked for money, that is not an appreciative relationship,” said Corder from Egg Strategy.

Another tip that emerged from the research was not to make very specific financial requests – say for $100 or $20. This puts too much pressure on a donor. What is more effective is to point out what a dollar or five dollars will buy in an emergency.

Also, don’t message with “hot words” such as cash or imply that you are the expert who should be trusted with someone else’s money. The term “monetary or financial donation” was less crass than a “send cash” message.

The message that seemed to resonate best was that even a small financial donation towards disaster relief made a big difference. The bottom line is that people don’t want to feel guilty about their good intentions. The tone needs to be positive and appreciative.

The ultimate goal of the research is to come up with a messaging “tool kit” for communications experts. When this toolkit is ready – probably soon after the hurricane season begins in the United States – InterAction will be distributing it to members. We’ll keep you posted.

Contributed by Sue Pleming