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October 1, 2008
Connecting philanthropic behavior to church giving habits
The Univeristy of Pennsylvania's Center for High Impact Philanthropy recently published a report analyzing the habits and implications of high net worth philanthropists. Four conclusions emerged: practices are changing; peers are the most trusted source for information, high net worth philanthroposts often find it difficult to make informed, need-based giving decisions; most find themselves frustrated with a lack of information available regarding the impact of the organizations to whom they donate.
A few of the questions were featured and discussed in the report.
1. How important is it to touch/see/interact with the people or organizations you are giving to?The response rated very important.
2. How important is a role other than check writer?The response rated very important.
3. How important is it to know someone on the Board or from your peer group that recommends the issue or oganization?
The response rated important and slightly behind that was very important.4. How important is impact data for gifts?
The response rated very important. (Note: The response was measured both before initial gift and repeat gift.)
So what relevance does this have for church giving? Here is what jumps out at me:
1. No matter the size of the gift or the wealth of the donor, people don't just write checks. Donors have a deep desire to get involved with the organization they are prepared to financially support.This supports my theory that giving is an outward sign of an inward commitment.
2. Donors pay attention to what other people say and think. As objective and rational people claim or aspire to be, we are emotionally driven beings that make decisions based upon who we know, like and trust. The same is true for donors.
This supports my theory that it's important for church leaders to tell stories. Stories involve people. And people give to people - not organizations.
3. Donors, whether they are giving their last two pennies or out of their vast treasure chest, want results.
This supports my theory that the organizational leader who is best able to make a case as to the impact of the dollar will end up with the most dollars.
Bottom line is this: Get your people involved. Help your people become personally invested in your ministry. Provide measurable results. Then watch your giving increase.
Posted by bstroup at October 1, 2008 4:42 AM
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