article thumbnail

Dr. James explains why identifying with others is so powerful in a donor’s hero story

iMarketSmart

When the donor identifies with its characters and values. Natural origins of giving: I am like them Altruism means I give away something valuable to help another. Most altruism in animals matches this model. How could natural selection lead to altruism? It helps you, but it costs me. This approach is simple.

article thumbnail

Dr. James explains how to harness friendship reciprocity to unlock heroic donations

iMarketSmart

The simple game has an unbreakable law: Giving must be seen by partners who are able and willing to reciprocate. In the extreme game, the law still applies. Only friendship reciprocity can help. 6] A donor can be seen to sacrificially protect his people or values. Good at reading your mind”] Value the donor personally?

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Dr. James explains why sustainable giving starts by answering, “Do we have a shared future?”

iMarketSmart

The game has an unbreakable law. Without this, reciprocal altruism fails. In that case, giving would break the first law. Again, giving would break the first law. Giving would break the first law. Without this shared future, reciprocal helping disappears. Two unrelated players both face these same payoffs.

article thumbnail

The importance of expressing impact and gratitude in fundraising

iMarketSmart

Biologists model reciprocal altruism with a game.[1] But it helps the other player more than it costs. Let’s go back to the first law. In the primal game, giving has an unbreakable law: Giving must be seen by partners who are able and willing to reciprocate. Do these signal a social, helpful-reciprocity relationship?

article thumbnail

Dr. James explains the power of giving: why leading with a gift always wins

iMarketSmart

1] This primal-giving game models reciprocal altruism.[2] A good gift signals a “helpful reciprocity” relationship. The gift value is identical. If there was a seminar at the Law School, we would invite them to that. The charity signals that the donor is valued. (We 2] What’s the best strategy in this game?

article thumbnail

3 Big Reasons Why An ‘Ask’ Is Mostly About Your Donor’s Hero Story (Not Your Organization’s)

iMarketSmart

The effective ask presents: A crisis (threat or opportunity) for the donor’s people or values. For a human rights charity, it increased donations to mention that it “works in countries that have recently passed laws that harshly restrict nonprofit organizations.”[9]. But this must be a crisis for the donor’s people or values.

article thumbnail

Dr. James explains what happens when fundraising metrics go bad

iMarketSmart

Focusing on short-term financial numbers rather than customer need and value creation. But they aren’t helpful as a short-term metric to guide behavior. Metrics can help, but only a little. When metrics reflect a top-down distrust of fundraisers, they don’t help.[16] They’re about creating long-term value.