When it comes to the field of philanthropy, there probably isn’t a more ubiquitous research question than, “why do people give?”
This question (or a variation of it) has fueled dissertation topics, been the focus of sponsored research, and has generated talking points for countless articles and presentations for decades.
To their credit, many advancement leaders are interested in this question because they view it as a pathway to better understanding their own donors and engaging them more effectively.
But, I’m not certain this question is the most helpful one we could be asking.
Sure, as advancement professionals there are benefits to understanding the basic motivations behind human gift-giving. Much like there are benefits for teachers to understand the basics of preparing a student for a test.
But the very best teachers know that too much focus on any individual test actually misses the bigger, more important question – namely, how can we nurture within each student a growing sense of devotion to learning?
Similarly, when advancement folk focus on “why people give?” we could be missing the bigger, more important question for our work – namely, how can we nurture within each giver a growing sense of devotion to our mission?
Better understanding why someone makes a gift is fine. But we should be much more interested in why people invest themselves in causes, why people become devoted to a mission, and how we can facilitate more of those longer-term behaviors.
Better understanding how durable relationships with devoted givers are formed over time is far more important for your mission and the needs you are meeting in the world.
