2013 Christmas fundraising campaigns… How much do you want people to give?

 

 

The tried and tested mechanic used to be an odd number of monthly giving points, say £3, £5 and £10 with tangible benefits aligned to each.  The lead ask featured on the letter, flyer or envelope would be the middle one.  This appeals to human psychology in that ‘baby bear’ way where we don’t feel that we’re being mean but can comfortably acknowledge that we want to give more than the minimum but the maximum might be a bit much.

The ‘lead’ ask in at least three of the campaigns we’ve received is right at the bottom – £2 per month.  I know times are tough and that there are several fundraising agencies out there encouraging charities to drop the ask levels to boost response rates but I can’t help but wonder what the success rates are.

Anyone happy to share their experience or thoughts to add to the discussion?  I know that different charities will target slightly different audiences and consequently the experiences and results will vary but… if the recipient says ‘no’ to £2, where do we go from there?

One answer might be telephone follow up but for £2 a month the payback period could be unacceptable.