Presentation at German Fundraising Kongress dfk15 in Berling, May 2015.

1. MYTHBUSTERS!
Damian O’Broin
Ask Direct
#dfk15
@damianobroin

3. MYTH #1
Germany is the best
football team in the
World
Deutschland ist der beste Fußballmannschaft der Welt

5. MYTH #1
Germany is the best
football team in the
World
Deutschland ist der beste Fußballmannschaft der Welt
BUSTED

6. You can’t replicate the
ice-bucket challenge
so you shouldn’t
bother trying.
MYTH #2
Sie können die Eiskübel challengeso sollten Sie nicht
die Mühe, nicht replizieren.

7. 7
Summer 2014: €1.4m raised
@ €4 per text = ~350,000 participants
Almost 1 in 10 people in Ireland took part

8. #icebucketchallenge

10. 47% of Rovio’s revenue come from licensing

12. 2013 Profit: $568 million

15. How to replicate the ice bucket challenge
Guaranteed!
1. Invest very heavily in idea development - properly resource innovation teams and
buy in outside expertise if necessary
2. Develop a ruthless culture of fail-fast and be prepared to fail repeatedly.
3. Practice Zen-like levels of patience. This could take 10 years.
4. (Buy a couple of lottery tickets, just in case.)
5. Implement robust online and mobile tools to be ready for when it takes off.
6. Develop top-of-the class social media strategies and tactics so that you can amplify
the message when it goes viral.
7. Cross your fingers.
8. Sit back and wait for the money to roll in.

16. Sie können die Eiskübel challengeso sollten Sie nicht
die Mühe, nicht replizieren.
You can’t replicate the
ice-bucket challenge
so you shouldn’t
bother trying.
MYTH #2
BUSTED

17. Sending thank you
letters to all your donors
for every donation is a
waste of time
MYTH #3
Senden Dankesbriefe an alle Ihre Spender für jede
Spende ist eine Verschwendung von Zeit,

18. “It appears no one has any empirical evidence
that thanking donors, promptly or otherwise,
makes the slightest difference...”

19. “On average, we get more than one
fifth of our net income from direct
mail from our thank you letters...”
- Angel Aloma, Food for the Poor
(No ask, but envelope & reply device)

20. Test Group A Test Group B
Q = 25,000 Q = 25,000
Control
Additional thank you piece
at start of year
(no ask, envelope or reply device)
– + $450,000 in gifts

21. “The closest I've come to testing that was when a client of mine accidentally turned
off their acknowledgement program.
It stayed off for about three months — donors not getting any thanks for their gifts —
because nobody noticed.
We saw retention drop during that time, and we had no idea why, until we learned
about the missing acknowledgements.
Of course, it wasn't a test with a control group, so we couldn't say for sure that not
sending the receipts is what caused the drop in renewal.”
- Jeff Brooks, TrueSense Marketing

22. The 7 Key Drivers of Donor Commitment
1. Donor perceives your organisation to be effective in trying to achieve its mission.
2. Donor knows what to expect from your organisation with each interaction.
3. Donor receives timely thank yous.
4. Donor receives opportunities to make his or her views known.
5. Donor is given the feeling that he or she is part of an important cause.
6. Donor feels his or her involvement is appreciated
7. Donor receives information showing who is being helped

23. ASK
THANK
REPORT

25. Who’s saying thank you?

29. 






























“When people ask me what
difference a donation can make, I
reply that donations to Starship
transform lives. “Parents have told
me with tears in their eyes what it
means to know their child is
receiving the best possible care at
Starship.
And behind every one of those
children there are compassionate
people like you dedicated to
helping. Thank you.
Your donation will help Starship
support children and their families
at their moment of greatest need. It
is at these moments, when a child’s
life can hang in the balance, that
your donation becomes truly
transformational.”

30. THE BIG QUESTION:
Why don’t we test
thank-yous more?

31. Sending thank you
letters to all your donors
for every donation is a
waste of time
MYTH #3
BUSTED
Senden Dankesbriefe an alle Ihre Spender für jede
Spende ist eine Verschwendung von Zeit,

32. If you mail your donors
too often you’ll drive
them away
MYTH #4
Wenn Sie Ihre Spender zu oft mailen Sie sie zu
vertreiben

34. “There is absolutely no evidence that frequency of
solicitation negatively impacts retention and
lifetime value. Period.”

35. This is at least 24
mailings per year
Lots of charities
are here

36. Typical response rates

41. Mailing arrives from your
favourite charity
Take out your cheque book
and make a donation
Receive warm glow from
beautifully penned thank
you letter and satisfaction
that charity has explained
exactly how they’ve spent
your money
Mailing arrives
from a
DIFFERENT
charity
Write cheque toYOURCOMPETITOR

42. If you mail your donors
too often you’ll drive
them away
MYTH #4
BUSTED
Wenn Sie Ihre Spender zu oft mailen Sie sie zu
vertreiben

43. You need to give
people concrete facts
and figures to persuade
them to give
MYTH #5
Sie müssen sich die Menschen konkrete Zahlen und
Fakten, um sie davon zu überzeugen, geben

44. The Rokia
Experiment

45. Food shortages in Malawi are affecting more than 3 million children.
In Zambia, severe rainfall deficits have resulted in a 42% drop in the
maize production from 2000. As a result, an estimated 3 million
Zambians face hunger.
4 million Angolans – one third of the population – have been forced to
flee their homes.
More than 11 million people in Ethiopia need immediate food assistance.
23% of earnings donated

46. Her life would be changed for the better as a result of your financial gift.
With your support, and the support of other caring sponsors, Save the
Children will work with Rokia’s family and other members of the
community to help feed her, provide her with education, as well as
basic medical care and hygiene education.
48% of earnings donated

47. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Emotional
Rational
Combination
Small,
Loewenstein
&
Slovic
Proportion of Earnings Donated

48. The Mother Teresa Principle
If I look at the mass,
I will never act.
If I look at the one, I will.

49. The Joe Stalin Principle
One man’s death is a tragedy,
but a million deaths is a statistic.

50. You need to give
people concrete facts
and figures to persuade
them to give
MYTH #5
BUSTED
Sie müssen sich die Menschen konkrete Zahlen und
Fakten, um sie davon zu überzeugen, geben

51. You need to invest in
brand awareness to
drive up fundraising
income
MYTH #6
Sie müssen sich in die Markenbekanntheit zu
investieren, um bis Spendeneinkommen

53. Fundraising Spend €500,000 €300,000
Awareness Spend – €200,000
Cost per Response €125 €100
# Responses 4,000 3,000
Awareness campaign would need to improve
performance by 40% to justify spend

54. Jeff Brooks isn’t as optimistic as me...
“...for the awareness campaign to be worthwhile it
would have to improve fundraising by 67%...”

55. You can’t compete with these people

56. “The consumer approaches impulse items, like
Coca Cola, as a PULL .i.e., they go and buy a
soft drink, and Coke is (or is not) their choice of
beverage. They get a new car and choose
between a Ford and a Toyota.
These brands spend millions on ‘Top of Mind’
marketing, which makes sense.
However, charity fundraising is different.
Statistically speaking, people don’t give without
being asked. The only exception is a media
disaster story such as an earthquake, or,
bizarrely, Princess Diana dying.
Outside of emergencies, fundraising is a pure
PUSH exercise. Being top of mind definitely
makes asking easier, but a charity that asks
effectively and is not top of mind, beats the
charity that is top of mind, but doesn’t ask
effectively.”
- Sean Triner (101Fundraising.org)

58. Cash
Acquisi,on
Results
December
2010
–
May
2012
When Number
Mailed Response
Rate Average
GiD Number
of
new
donors
December
2010 77,000 1.8% $58 1,474
April
2011 85,000 1.9% $55 1,675
September
2011 43,500 5.8% $46 2,608
March
2012 150,000 2.7% $46 4,328
May
2012 156,000 3.9% $48 6,298
TOTAL 511,500 3.2% $51 16,383

60. You need to invest in
brand awareness to
drive up fundraising
income
MYTH #6
BUSTED
Sie müssen sich in die Markenbekanntheit zu
investieren, um bis Spendeneinkommen

61. Take major donors out
of your direct mail
programme
MYTH #7
Nehmen Sie den wichtigsten Gebern aus Ihrer
Direct-Mail-Programm

62. The Black Hole of
Almost Major Donors

66. 1% of the response - just 21 people - generated over
35% of the total income from the appeal.

67. 20% of
donors
80% of
income
20% of
donors
4%
80% of 80%
= 64% of
income
Pareto Pareto2

69. Take major donors out
of your direct mail
programme
MYTH #7
BUSTED
Nehmen Sie den wichtigsten Gebern aus Ihrer
Direct-Mail-Programm

70. There’s no point
investing in direct mail
unless you’re a large
charity with a big
database of donors
MYTH #8
Es hat keinen Sinn Investitionen in Direct-Mail, wenn Sie eine
große Charity mit einer großen Datenbank von Spendern sind

72. $3,900 million
€40 million

73. 4.4million 4.9million 5.4million
Ireland
Barcelona

74. There are advantages to being small...

75. Use the
Pareto principle
Personalise
Make it feel
homemade

76. Ask for REALLY big gifts

77. €0
€200,000
€400,000
€600,000
€800,000
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Annual Direct Marketing Income

78. There’s no point
investing in direct mail
unless you’re a large
charity with a big
database of donors
MYTH #8
BUSTED
Es hat keinen Sinn Investitionen in Direct-Mail, wenn Sie eine
große Charity mit einer großen Datenbank von Spendern sind

79. Women are from Venus
and Men are from Mars
MYTH #9
Frauen von der Venus und Männer sind vom Mars

80. Control No priming men outperformed women
Male Primed
“men perform better than women in this test,
probably for genetic reasons”
men outperformed women
Female Primed
“women perform better than men in this test,
probably for genetic reasons”
no gender difference
Delusions Of Gender: The Real Science Behind Sex Differences
– Cordelia Fine (2010)

81. Women students in business trying to
organize a humanitarian action in Togo.
We are relying on your support
DONATING = HELPING

82. Women students in business trying to
organize a humanitarian action in Togo.
We are relying on your support
DONATING = LOVING

83. CONTROL €0.54
HELPING €0.62
LOVING €1.04

84. “One possible explanation is... the loving concept acts as a
prime that leads to activation of further concepts associated
with compassion, support, or solidarity that, in turn, lead
participants to offer donations more favorably”
The effect of the word “love”on compliance to a request
for humanitarian aid: An evaluation in a field setting
– Dr. Nicolas Guéguen & Lubomir Lamy (2011)

85. Control Time-ask Prime Money-ask Prime
–
“How interested are you in
volunteering for HopeLab?”
“How interested are you in
making a donation to HopeLab?”
$4.42 $5.85 $3.07
Activates emotional mindset
Activates value-maximization
mindset
Asking for time vs asking for money

86. Women are from Venus
and Men are from Mars
MYTH #9
BUSTED
Frauen von der Venus und Männer sind vom Mars

87. I’m buying free drink for
everyone in the bar in...
oh, about 5 minutes
time
MYTH #10
BUSTED
Ich kaufe Freigetränk für jeden in der Bar in ...
oh, ca. 5 Minuten Zeit

88. DANKE
@damianobroin damian@askdirect.ie