Can you relate to this?
Your nonprofit (or nonprofit client) works toward solving one of the world’s most pressing and serious problems. The cause is vital, and you need your audience to act as quickly as possible. You’ve got plenty of images and stories that convey the urgent, even dire, need. So why aren’t your campaigns getting the response they should?
As you’re developing the program plan and campaign creative, it’s worth pausing to remember—high levels of negativity and urgency in describing a problem may actually cause avoidance and inhibit giving, or trigger initial gifts but poor retention in the long run.
What’s more, emphasizing how pervasive, overwhelming, or complex an issue is can make your audience feel powerless—leading them to block out the message rather than engage with it.
Here lies an opportunity to present the problem as something individuals can influence. An approach that balances the urgency of need with the positive and lasting impact someone can make, can not only motivate donors to give, but also set up a long-term relationship with the nonprofit:
Avoid or use only sparingly: Climate change is an emergency like we’ve never seen. If we don’t act immediately, the results will be devastating and irreversible.
Try for: Climate change is an urgent problem we cannot ignore, but it’s one we know how to address. With your support, we can work toward solutions like clean energy, sustainable agriculture, and more—creating a brighter future for ourselves and our planet.
Validate for prospects why taking the first step is the right choice with some urgency, but also begin to explain how their dollars will be used and what impact they can help make possible through positive framing carried throughout the appeal.
So what does this look like in practice? Try narrowing the focus to a single [person/animal/place] to represent the larger problem. Incorporating stories or leading with recent successes can provide the evidence needed to make a stronger case for support, before talking about the overarching issues.
If you’re looking for further advice about how to strengthen your fundraising program through compelling, effective campaigns, let’s talk! Get in touch with us today.
