Philanthropic Psychology
The Institute is the home of the new field of philanthropic psychology. Prof Jen Shang is the world’s first and only, Professor of Philanthropic Psychology.
In our work we have been using three core scientific theories, the theory of identity, human well-being, and love.
The science of identity studies who we are. Over the past 40 years there has been a significant amount of interest on the part of fundraisers and researchers in why people give and thus the motives that underpin support. But in our experience “why” people give is much less powerful than “who” people are when they give. Communications can be designed to make them feel great about being that kind of person. Providing them with information that that kind of person would enjoy and thanking them for being that kind of person can both be powerful strategies in building relationships.
It’s a complex field as there are many different potential identities that someone might be articulating when they give. The key to successful fundraising is working out which ones are the most powerful combinations of identities that can grow love, human wellbeing and consequentially money.
Categories of identities
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.
Who are your donors?
Any combination of these identities can be in play when we give and there may be different identities articulated when we give, upgrade our giving, give to the emergency appeal, leave a legacy, etc.
Identity is only part of the picture. To raise significantly more money we need to focus on the needs these different kinds of people may need to fulfill through their association with a nonprofit. So we also draw heavily on the science of wellbeing.
As human beings we thrive when we experience a high degree of wellbeing. And from our research we know that there are 3 key elements of wellbeing that can be satisfied from annual giving. Legacies gifts are more complicated.
Connection
We experience higher levels of wellbeing when we feel connected with others that we love or that we care about. So heightening the level of connection someone feels will deliver a higher level of wellbeing. But although that sounds rather easy, in practice it isn’t. To deliver connection you have first to understand what or whom someone would enjoy being connected to. It may be beneficiaries, but it could equally be a certain kind of beneficiary, or other supporters, volunteers, an outstanding leader or even the organization itself or its brand. In the faith-based context it might even be a God figure.
Competence
We also experience higher levels of wellbeing when we feel as though we are good at completing certain tasks or behaving in certain ways. In the context of philanthropy, we view competence as competence in articulating our love for others. And the better we feel we are at articulating that love, the higher the level of wellbeing we attain.
Autonomy
Finally, we can experience higher levels of wellbeing when we feel as though we are in control or powerful in a given situation. Giving donors a voice so they can articulate how they feel about key issues, giving them meaningful choices in how to have their impact and allowing them to feel as though they had a hand in making something magical happen today, will all build wellbeing.
Our secret sauce is an amalgam of identity and wellbeing. We leverage it to make people feel great about who they are when they give. When we do that we routinely double giving for clients and build more meaningful and fulfilling supporter relationships.
Love is the primary motivation that we use to help people fulfil different needs when their giving expresses different part of their identities.
Psychologists have known for a long time that different types of love are experienced by people differently depending on their identities, the nature of the relationships and the situation at hand. For example, how a grieving mother expresses her mother identity through her giving to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is different from how a husband expresses his love for his wife killed by cancer. Differentiating love meaningfully in different contexts of giving is where we start.
Growing the right love for the right people in the right giving relationship, is how we seek to fulfill donors well-being and consequentially an organization’s long-term sustainability.
There are of course one million and one different ways that giving can be increased, but doing it in a way that builds love is what we specialise in.
Grow in Love better together, no matter how different we are.
What next?
If you’re ready to boost your donor’s wellbeing and fundraising income, you might wish to take the Certificate in Philanthropic Psychology class. It’s an eight-week, online class, led by Prof. Jen Shang.
Or, explore one of our other classes which integrate the science of Philanthropic Psychology whilst focussing on specific disciplines, e.g. Legacy/Bequest fundraising. Find out about all of our classes here.