What Motivates Donors to Give?

DENNIS HOFFMAN, CEO
ENGAGE USA

Over on the Future Fundraising Now blog, Jeff Brooks takes a look at the differences between what motivates people over 50 years old and what motivates those younger than 50.

He says people under 50 tend to be “success-motivated.” They care about achievements and want data to back it up.

This makes perfect sense.

Younger people often want to prove themselves. Success and seeing the fruits of one’s labor can improve a person’s sense of self-worth.

On the other hand, people over 50 are “significance-motivated.” They’re often more settled and comfortable with their positions in life – so they’re past feeling the need to prove themselves to anyone. Instead, they want to make a difference in the world. They favor emotional appeals and seeing the impact of the things they do.

Donating to a cause is more likely to satisfy someone who is “significance-motived” rather than “success-motivated.” As Brooks stresses, when fundraising, keeping an organization’s target audience – and their motivation – in mind is crucial. 

People understand when donating that there’s very rarely permanent “success.” There’s always someone else who’s hungry, another disease to cure, or piece of legislation to pass. 

A person’s satisfaction instead comes from simply trusting their donation provided someone a hot meal on a chilly night, covered a tiny sliver of the cost of research, or helped collect just a few more signatures on a petition to Congress.

These things have an impact. Their significance is clear but it’s nearly impossible to measure them in terms of clear success or failure. It’s no wonder the average age of a donor is 64 years old in the United States.