(Guest blog) Donor Love Series: Part Two - Instead of “donor as hero”, why not “donor as fellow human being”?

Part 2. Instead of “donor as hero”, why not “donor as fellow human being”?

4-Part Donor Love Series – Interview with Professor Jen Shang

By June Steward

This is the second in a series of four posts reflecting on a conversation about donor-centred fundraising and growing donor love with Professor Jen Shang PhD, Philanthropic Psychologist, and Co-Founder and Co-Director at the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy in the UK.

For each blog, I have edited the relevant excerpt from the interview as a starting point then expanded on it with my own thoughts before offering some questions for review and application within your own organisations. Here is the outline of the 4 posts:

Part 1 - Moving beyond donor-centred vs community-centric fundraising

Part 2 – Instead of “donor as hero”, why not “donor as fellow human being”?

Part 3 – Isn’t loving your donors just fancy personalisation and segmentation?

Part 4 – Is AI capable of growing love?

Advocates of donor-centred fundraising and the community-centric fundraising movement have butted heads over the last few years. But what if we could invite donors to be part of something where the essence of who they are allows them to forge deeper connections than “donor as hero”? I asked Jen her thoughts on this.

INTERVIEW EXCERPT 2

June: I’m interested in alternatives to “donor as hero” fundraising messaging. But even if we use different donor identities (see the list below) to connect with our donors, isn’t this still donor-centred fundraising, and therefore bound to create conflict with community-centric fundraising?

Prof Jen: For me, I simply love community.

I spent the last three days listening to the radio show of a homeless shelter in Los Angeles. They have around 400 episodes of radio shows talking about the friends and the families who they host in that homeless shelter. It's all people whose lives are devastated by addiction, mental health issues, generational problems, poverty, all these horrifying conditions.

I listened to those stories – stories after stories after stories. I felt like I was cleansed, I was inspired, I was in awe, my faith was strengthened.

I felt like, “Wow, I am rubbing on the shoulders of these giants here who have battled things that I can't even imagine battling.’ And the way that they're describing their life, for me, someone with faith, I was like, Wow, their faith is real in comparison to mine” .

Well, did I go in thinking, “Oh, I need to be community-centred and that's why I come in and listen to them”?

No, I am just interested in people, I'm interested in them in the same way I'm interested in donors. And when I get to know them, really get to know them – like 100-episodes-later getting to know them – the inspiration that I experience from them, the way they become part of me, they're just me. They're the better me, the me I wanted to become. That's how I think about communities.

I don't think about them as heroes. I don't think about them as people who need help. I get to know them as people who are strong, who have a shoulder I can rely on, whose lives have the power to change my life.

And that is the kind of connection that I would like to help organisations build with their donors.

I find Jen’s example of the connection she felt through these stories really powerful.

Her example makes it so clear to me what we’re trying to create.

It’s the difference between positioning the donor as the hero and simply allowing the stories to speak for themselves.

Rather than only telling the donor “YOU made this possible”, stories well-told go further and allow the donor to feel part of this community. Rather than the donor swooping in to rescue someone who desperately needs their help, the donor feels connection and empathy for another human being. If you can cultivate this, it’s from this place of connection and wanting to be a part of this community that donors give.

Rather than a single identity of “hero”, there are so many other identities our donors have! They’re mums, dads, animal-lovers, Christians, Muslims, artists, teachers, Australians, Melburnians, Collingwood supporters, nature-lovers, feminists, kick-boxers, French-speakers … you get the idea.

Because of this, it’s helpful for us to think about who the donor is when they’re listening to the stories we share. And who is the donor when they give to your charity? Are they the mum who’s imagining how hard it would be to be homeless with young kids? Are they the guy who’s been unemployed and knows how close he came to being homeless? Or are they someone who simply wants to be a part of the warmth, the life, the stories of these people’s lives?

When we know what other identities our donors have, we can better connect with them and link them into a community that cares about the same thing.

As a direct mail fundraiser, I learnt to write from the perspective of “donor as hero”. I believe it helps donors feel inspired and encouraged to do something to help others, rather than giving them power over others. I believe the majority of donors are kind, caring and loving people who simply want to care for others and make the world a better place.

If I didn’t believe this, fundraising wouldn’t be the place for me!

Yet I also see how “donor as hero” is problematic, as charities work towards decolonising fundraising. Considering different identities our donors have and moving away from donor as hero is a natural position to take if we’re also looking for alternatives to saviourism. And if your organisation as a whole leans into creating connection and community and love, then there’s inevitably less conflict within the organisation around differing approaches.

An organisation devoted to growing love and connection? That’s a community that’s going to thrive. That’s a community I want to be part of.

What now?

How well do you know your donors?

Instead of approaching your next appeal with the mindset that it has to be written from the perspective of donor as hero, what other identities could you replace this with? Consider this list:

Personal Identity, such as being a smart, caring, compassionate and loving person.

Relational Identity such as a father, mother, son daughter, husband, wife.

Group Identity which develops when someone becomes part of a group, such as a member of a congregation, a church choir, a soccer club, a baseball team, etc.

Organisational Identity which develops as someone joins or associates with a focal organisation. So we might see ourselves as a member of the National Trust, or a supporter of Goodwill Industries or a donor to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

Religious identity describes our identity in the context of religious beliefs, affiliations, or origins. Examples here are in abundance. Many solicitations speak to a Christian, Jewish or Muslim identity. For example, in the Christian tradition, the identity may be tied to a specific set of beliefs and hence one can be a Catholic, Methodist or Lutheran.

Social Identity, so we can see ourselves as female. We can also see ourselves as a certain race, ethnicity or socio-economic status.

Regional, National, International Identity describes our identity in the context of one’s geographic, national or international location or origin. We can see ourselves as Asian, Indian, Chinese, etc.

From: https://www.philanthropy-institute.org.uk/phil-psych

Of course, this needs to be based on what you know about your donors, not pulled from thin air. If you haven’t met your donors or don’t know what other identities they may have, it’s time for you to get to know them. Talk to them, survey them and ask them.

Who are your donors when they give to your charity? Do they think of themselves as heroes? Or as Lutherans who give to the Lutheran mission? Or as animal lovers who hate animal cruelty? Or something else? Find out and write to them in a voice which speaks to that identity and invite them to connect with your beneficiaries as part of a community where they are equals not saviours.

This blog post was written by June Steward of June’s Fundraising Letter. It is the first part of a four-part series which will be shared both here on our blog and on June’s own blog.