Why Words (Not Numbers) Inspire Donors to Give

Your nonprofit can often live and die by the numbers. Numbers can cause you to smile with glee when you hit a milestone (Yay, that’s the 100th person we’ve helped - let’s celebrate!) Or cause serious frown lines (We didn’t get that $2,500 grant from the community foundation?)

Increases in supporters, dollars, volunteer hours all mean you can do more to achieve your mission. A drop in any of those numbers can adversely impact - maybe even imperil - your organization.

It is good and wise and responsible for you to always have a pulse on the numbers. As executive directors, board members, development directors and marketing and communication professionals, those figures are vital to survival and success.

Donors, however, don’t really care about the numbers. 

It doesn’t matter if those numbers are impressive or horrifying; figures just don’t draw you in the way words do. Numbers are precise and important, but it’s words that are warm and inspiring. They are the path to your donor’s imagination. And when your donor can picture the people you help and the situation you are trying to alleviate, they become emotionally involved in your nonprofit’s journey and much more likely to give.

But what words should you use?

First off, your nonprofit should develop a series of narratives, stories that illustrate what you do and why you do it without worrying about numbers. Here are a few examples of stories you should share - about your past, your present and your future - and that you should ensure everyone in your organization knows, so they can share them too.

• Your origin story (the past). The reason your nonprofit was founded in the first place is a powerful tale and if you are the founder, one you are intimately familiar with. Talk about that moment when you first understood how your organization could uniquely address a situation that needed to be changed. (If you are not the founder, talk to that person or to people who knew him or her.) It is likely the very things that motivated the founding of your group will motivate others to give - allowing your donors to continue the story.
• Powerful client stories (the present). These stories should epitomize the reason why your nonprofit was founded. By telling the narrative arc of clients' lives - going from what they were like prior to receiving help from your group to what you were able to do for them to what their lives are now - you let your donor relate to an individual and see the connection between a gift to your organization and a person whose life is improved. (This works just as well for nonprofits focused on animals or the environment - the circus animal freed or the polluted lake restored to a pristine state are also emotionally compelling tales).
• Your vision (the future). What kind of world does your nonprofit envision? When you get past the immediate needs you are addressing, what will be the next step. Let your donor share that dream with you - and come to the conclusion that they can help. 

You’ll notice a common theme in these stories - they have to speak to donors and ultimately make the donors part of the story.

In looking at people’s reasons for supporting a non-profit, several studies have focused specifically on the language of communications with potential donors. What words serve as a psychological trigger to generosity?

The big takeaway - it’s about them, not about you.

Each tale you tell, each word you use, should be designed to make sure your donors know they are irreplaceable characters in your saga. They are the hero, making it possible to house the homeless, educate children, give people the second chance they desperately need, protect the forest, and make the world a better place. Your organization is just the conduit they use to do good.

Numbers have their place in your nonprofit and you need to pay attention to them. But it is words that will move people to join you in your cause. And, ironically, if you do that, those supporters will, in turn, make your numbers even better.