Behavioral scientist Christopher Bryan has said, “We’re often so focused on getting people to do the right thing for what we think is the right reason, we forget we just need them to do the right thing.”  How do we engage our wealthy prospects whom are only peripherally involved with our organization? Two points to consider: Wealth does not equal charitable giving.  One appeal does not fit all.

What if we changed the way we talked about charity, so that it better resonated with how wealthy people think of themselves?  Would they donate more?  These are the questions posed in a series of studies, the results of which were published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.  Researchers suggest that wealth should define the types of appeals that are most likely to be effective at motivating giving behaviors based on the differences in people’s self-concepts.

By tailoring messages based on people’s self-concepts by either emphasizing common goals or individual achievement, it’s possible to not only have a better opportunity of connecting with our pool of peripheral wealthy prospects but to catalyze giving across the socioeconomic spectrum and build our pipeline.

Highlights

•Social class is associated with differences in people’s self-concepts.

•These self-concepts should define effective appeals for encouraging generosity.

•Charitable appeals emphasizing agency encourage donations for more affluent.

•Charitable appeals emphasizing communion encourage donations for less affluent.

•Tailoring messages to fit wealth-based self-concepts enhances charitable giving.