Picture this: A youth organization is in the middle of a capital campaign — raising money to expand its summer camp facilities. A few of us meet with the executive director, as she gets ready to take a supporter to visit one of the camps.
She says, half-jokingly, “I hope it’s dark and rainy, so the place doesn’t look too good.”
(Ah, many a truth is spoken in jest!)
Even smart, sophisticated folks — like our friend in this little story — often assume that the best way to get people to support an organization or cause is to play on “negative” emotions. Make people feel guilty, sad, angry, fearful. Paint a picture of tragedy, crisis, threat.
This does work, at least in the short term and for small actions, like texting a donation to disaster relief … or maybe voting in an election.
But if you’re thinking long-term — and especially if you want people to make larger commitments, whether dollars or deeds — you’ll want to take a different approach.
The thing is, people already have plenty of sadness, guilt, and fear in their lives. (And few wake up in the morning looking for more.) Pile on more and you’re likely to get only a token response — or even push people away.
Instead, you can offer a great gift: a chance to feel more confident, more hopeful, more connected with others. And that’s what leads to truly inspired acts that change the world around us.
How are you nurturing that kind of emotional connection with your cause?
