The key question for advancement is not, “how do we get more people to give, volunteer, show up, etc.?” Those action-oriented questions are rather simple to answer.
An act – like giving – can emerge when people care. But, we also know that people will give and not care.
They will give because of peer pressure. Or, they will give because its they are told by their boss or family to give. Or, they will give because they get something in return – a pair of socks, a sheet of address labels. They don’t really care, though.
The key question for advancement is, “how do we get more people to care?”
When people care, their actions are animated by something far less transient and far more durable than peer pressure or family expectations. They act because they believe it is the right thing to do. And, this type of deeply motivated action will make your cause sustainable. They will give, volunteer, show up, and even invite others to join your cause. Over and over, again.
But only when they care.
The BEST Strategy to get more people to care looks like this:
- Beliefs – Share with others what we believe about the world today and how tomorrow should be better. What is the problem today and what are we working on to make tomorrow more just, peaceful, educated, welcoming, healthy, etc.?
- Educate – Share with (or remind) them of the impacts and history our organization has of making a meaningful difference for others.
- Stories – Share with them a story that personalizes our work so that they can see how their caring helps someone else. Give one example of who we have served and how their lives were changed, saved, or made better because of our work?
- Trust – Have someone they trust invite them to care. People listen to and will follow others they trust. And, in order to build trust, they must feel known to us.
Galvanizing more people in support of our cause means that we must work to generate more care from others.
And, more people will care when they believe what we believe about the world today and the promise of tomorrow, when they agree that we are the experts in serving others, when they empathize with a story we tell about changed or saved lives, and when they trust whoever is inviting them.
A secondary but interesting and important reality – for some people, only trust is needed for them to care. They will care about (and act in support of) whatever the individual they trust shares with them. That’s not a bug of human socialization, it’s a feature.
We should prioritize our work accordingly.
