Culture Donor Motivation Psychology 
iMarketSmart
APRIL 9, 2025
Russell James (the foremost researcher in our field) often speaks about the primal motivations for giving , emphasizing that donors give because of deep psychological and identity-driven motivations not just because they were asked. They see themselves as a certain type of person, and generosity is a big part of that.
Bloomerang
MAY 4, 2023
Are your donors also your customers? Or, at least, American culture has put an indelible stamp on both. Innovative fundraising researcher Adrian Sargeant, co-director of the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy, says, “Nonprofits are a means to an end for the donor. Are they the same, similar, or unrelated?
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iMarketSmart
OCTOBER 4, 2024
The less energy an organization devotes to creating the conditions that will motivate donors, the more it wastes on fundraising, predisposing itself to high rates of donor attrition and handcuffing its advancement team. Donor motivations are the philanthropic horse that all too often get put behind the fundraising cart.
iMarketSmart
OCTOBER 1, 2022
For someone who was practicing then, it seems largely true though a bit simplistic about donors’ motivations and the labels applied to them. The fact that donors are animated by different purposes does explain why theories of fundraising abound. Dynasts: Those that inherit wealth and are expected to support nonprofits.
iMarketSmart
APRIL 29, 2022
Yet even the most curious must learn to ask questions that yield the most insight into donor motivation and to link those propensities to institutional mission. Curiosity is a fundraisers greatest asset. Below is the advice I give myself when preparing for each. im Langley is the president of Langley Innovations.
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