Imagine this happy scenario:

You enter a luxurious 5-star hotel, walking on the plush carpet .. you enter your room and lie down on the comfortable bed, and your eyes are drawn to a handwritten sign welcoming you by name and thanking you for choosing the hotel.

This place gives you the impression from the very first moment that you are at home and that you are welcome.

But what is the thing that greatly influenced your first impression of this hotel?

What is it, exactly?

You expect high-quality furnishings and a beautiful room with excellent services, but when someone takes the time to personally welcome you, it leaves a lasting impact deep within you.

This attention to meticulous details, among other successful qualities like harmony, simplicity, and excellence, as well as relevance and having purposeful content, should be present in nonprofit organizations, which together can create a great establishment.

However, making some simple changes to how you narrate your experience for impact, or to the simplified donation forms you have, or the comprehensive communication plans you set up, encourages more donors to give more.

In this article, we will do the following:

  1. We provide you with a package of 5 phrases that raise the bar for your donations with examples of contexts for their use.
  2. We reveal the secret of their success.
  3. We inform you on how to integrate them into your marketing project, in your direct appeals, on your website, and in your donation form.

The first word: Simple!

This phrase is used in two ways:

1- Encouraging donors to perceive their donation as a simple gift, rather than a major sacrifice:

Consider this example: some say "a fee of 5 riyals", while others say "a simple fee of 5 riyals". Intellectually, we know that the fee amounts are the same, but the second phrase adds "reasonableness" to the proposed amount.

In this regard, Carnegie Mellon University conducted a study which concluded that adding the word "simple" when referring to shipping fees increased the response rate by 20%.

2- Proving that even small amounts make a difference:

Nonprofit experts often refer to the importance of every halala, debunking fundraising efforts, but an ordinary donor may have the belief that a few riyals do not make an impact.

What you don't know and should not overlook is that potential donors know very well how much your organization appreciates every donation, regardless of the amount given.

Examples of this:

"Are you ready to give us a simple gift of 5 riyals?"

"A simple donation of 10 riyals supports an orphan child for seven days."

Important Advice:

The famous saying goes: "Gifts are according to the giver"

So before you speak and explain the matter, it is very important to ensure that the amount you are requesting is simple in the eyes of the target audience or the opposite; for example, do not go to a destitute and poor person and say to them contribute with a simple gift of 25 riyals, that is not simple for them, or go to a large institution and ask them for a donation of 100 riyals!

It is essential to specify the value of the contribution based on the donor's size!

The second word: Immediately!

The phrase "immediately", or "now", or its sisters, is one of the smart verbal keys that savvy marketers have noticed, which allows for increased revenue. Therefore, we notice that campaigns limited to specific hours are more successful than those open for days, weeks, or months.

However, the only difference between the nonprofit and profit sectors is that when you go to a store and make a purchase, they give you the product you bought in your hands, thus providing you with immediate psychological gratification. However, when you submit a grant request or donation to support a charitable cause, the return is less responsive and not tangible.

This difference between the processes of giving and buying explains that understanding the behavior of e-commerce among some individuals can help organizations begin to bridge this satisfaction gap.

In his book "10 Ways to Convert More Customers Using Psychology", Gregory Ciotti wrote:

"Our brains are naturally programmed to love instant gratification, and we are more likely to buy from a party if we are reminded of the possibility of quickly solving our problems through the service or product offered. Similarly, all consumers, when you inform them that they will be rewarded immediately, become eager to purchase your products."

And even though nonprofits do not sell a product, they sell the same feeling of satisfaction that anyone feels when completing a purchase/donation. A series of studies from Oregon University found that the neurons in a part of the brain responsible for the feeling of reward and satisfaction fire a neural signal when someone thinks about making a donation.

Therefore, affirm to donors that they can take immediate action, and ensure to fulfill their need for instant gratification through the phrase "Thank you for your donation", along with proof of the impact their donation made. In this way, the donor will not only receive a special message of praise but will also receive assurance that their donation will provide immediate help in supporting your cause.

Examples of this:

"If you make a donation, you will receive an email immediately with a profile of a family whose life has changed thanks to your grant."

"If you give us a donation, we will send you an instant message containing a clip made by our staff in the field, so you can see the impact of what you have provided."

The third word: Expert!

Profit-targeted advertising has a long history of calling on trusted professionals to promote a product. For instance, since the 1930s and 1950s to today, doctors have endorsed the dangers of cigarettes to health on brands, and it is almost impossible to find an advertisement for a toothpaste product that does not include a dentist's recommendation, and this tradition still persists today, although with a little accuracy.

The endorsement of experts for a product has stood the test of time because regardless of the quality of the product, when a potential buyer sees a symbol of expertise praising it, their confidence in it increases regardless of whether they have tried it or not.

This may not be suitable for every activity or every organization, but if your programs include trained professionals such as doctors, scientists, engineers, etc., within their expertise in your call to action.

Examples of this:

"Help us by making a gift to support the research of the oncology expert in our organization"

"Support our team of experts in post-traumatic disorders in our organization, as they work day and night to counsel survivors of war tragedies".

Building donor trust is the first step to securing a sustainable relationship rather than a one-time donation, so why not focus our work on that initial interaction?

Even if your organization does not work with experts in the traditional sense, like doctors or lawyers, you can highlight the specialists running your programs in other fields to lend credibility to the work you are doing.

A recent study conducted by the American platform Classy, titled "Why America Gives", stated that more than half of Millennials and Generation Z perceive that their trust in how well the organization uses their funds is shaken if that organization does not provide networking means for donations or through mobile applications.

The fourth word: You!

Let’s go back to the first example we talked about earlier, imagine how much less impactful the notice would be if you read the following phrase: "Dear valued customer, thank you for staying at our hotel!"

You would think to yourself: nothing special! Every customer would receive the same message, this phrase was not personalized for "me".

But in the marketing world, it’s a bit different; on the contrary, including your name in an advertising message becomes bothersome to you, and the message may end up being deleted or blocked.

"You" is more appropriate in this context!

Examples of this:

"We need your help"

"You are the one who can make a change by creating a fundraising page"

The fifth word: Because!

The word "because" reflects a form of justification. Do you want someone to fulfill a request of yours?

Give them a reason to do so, even if that person knows your request beforehand. Consider the amusing example below:

In 1978, researcher Ellen Langer conducted an experiment where she asked a group of people waiting for their turn at a public copying machine if she could step ahead. Initially, the researcher simply said: "Excuse me, I want to copy 5 pages, can I use the copier?" Since she did not provide a reason, only 60% of people complied.

Then the researcher rephrased the question: "Can I use the copier because I’m in a hurry?" With this phrasing, 94% of the waiters complied.

Finally, the researcher tried a new phrasing: "Can I use the copier "because I have to copy some documents?" You may see it as an insufficient reason, but it did the trick as 93% of the people responded to her.

Try to include the phrase "because" with a simple explanation of the reason in your appeal to remind your donor that their gift serves a great purpose.

Examples of this:

"Donate to early education programs, because learning cannot wait".

"Donate to protect wildlife, because their lives are in our hands".

Make your appeal as natural and simple as possible, and use the powerful effect of these five phrases, and you will delight your donor, not to mention their effective role in doubling the number of engagements or conversions.

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