Inspiring Charity in Others: How To Encourage People To Give

Inspiring Charity in Others: How To Encourage People To Give

The most important part of planning a charity drive and collecting donations is encouraging others to participate. As more people get involved, it becomes easier to ask for a wider variety of items and fill more donation boxes that can go to people in need. This giving guide will provide tips on encouraging people to give as you strive to inspire charity in others. 

Decide Who You’ll Help

Before you can start asking people to join your charity project, you need to devise a plan and decide who you’ll help and what you’ll need to collect. By having a targeted group of individuals who will benefit, it becomes easier to encourage others to help because you can:

  • Talk about the community in need
  • Why every donation makes a difference
  • Decide what items you need to collect

This sounds like marketing, and in some ways, it is. The difference is that you need to convince people to help your cause over another rather than sell a product.

Think about current events in the world or your community. Are their children living in poverty in your community? Has a major earthquake hit another country? Narrowing your scope helps you decide on the definitive cause, and once you’ve done this, it’s time to market your requests for donations.

Appeal to Emotions

We all want to help, but we don’t always know how we can. Likewise, many of us want to give to a charity with a clear cause. In fact, people are more likely to donate when there’s an identifiable individual or group of people living with the struggles the charity hopes to help alleviate.

So, how do you do this? Imagery is incredibly impactful. Consider posting photos of these individuals, with their permission, on posters and flyers. And if you personally know of someone living in the community you’ll be helping, ask them if they would feel comfortable sharing their story. People often rally around a cause when there’s a specific individual involved rather than an imaginary, overarching figure.

Strive to appeal to our natural senses of compassion, empathy, and connection. After all, the art of giving helps us form relationships with one another; which can help us learn how to work as a team to solve a problem.

Another Example

Let’s say you want to hold a toy drive for children living in poverty. Rather than constantly saying, “children living in poverty,” if your organization works with children and their families, you can inquire if the parent or guardian would feel comfortable sharing their story and photo. Potential donors can then see the effects of poverty and learn how their donation can make a difference.

Think About Your Language

When you ask people to give, don’t use ambiguous words like “one can help by donating” when talking to your potential donors. This can make them feel detached, and they may assume their help doesn’t make much difference. This is incorrect. A single item can make an impact because you know that you’re collecting from as many people as possible.

Instead of using broad language, be direct. If you know the person, call them by name; if not, use the word “you.” There’s a huge difference between, “one can help by donating,” and, “you can help by donating.” The first sentence sounds vague as if you can get help from anyone. But the second option makes it seem like you need the donors’ support, making people feel important; their single donation can help change someone else’s life. Language is a tool, and each word we use is impactful.

Pro Tip

In addition to using more direct language, you’ll need to create a sense of urgency in donors so they don’t feel like they can put off their assistance. Take our example: “you can help by donating” becomes more urgent by saying, “you can help by donating now.”

Use Various Outreach Methods

There are many ways to reach out, and you shouldn’t rely on a single method since it may not work best for everyone. Try to ask for donations in a variety of formats, including:

  • Emails: Send out emails to possible donors with details about your charity drive.
  • Social media posts: Post about your charity online to reach out to your inner circle.
  • Physical letters: Type and print letters asking for help.
  • Flyers: Hang flyers around the community to enlist assistance and donations.
  • In-Person: Go door-to-door or hold a community event to start the conversation.

Each of these gets people involved and helps appeal to a wider variety of individuals. Often, in-person is the best way to connect with others and talk about the cause, but it’s also more time-consuming.

On the other hand, social media can help you get in touch with a targeted group of donors plus reach a wide range of people quickly. The most successful charity drives use several or all these options to appeal to as many people as possible.

Thank All Donors

The final tip to encourage people to give as you inspire charity in others is to thank your donors. Why do this if they’ve already helped? Thanking people drives home the fact that they made a difference, which didn’t go unnoticed.

By showing this fact to all donors, they’ll feel more inclined to give again in the future. If you hold another charity drive, you’ll already have a list of people to start with that had a positive experience with you.

Make a Difference

Charity is about helping others and building a community of supportive individuals. By working together, achieving your shared goals becomes easier. As you inspire a love for giving, remember to have a charity in mind so it becomes easier to appeal to people’s emotions.

Project B Green

We are a for-profit organization that partners with our area’s charities as we strive to improve the community for everyone. We accept clothing charity donations and household items and monetize your donations for our partnered local charities. These charities can use that money to fund their incredible programs and continue helping those who need it most. Project B Green accepts in-kind donations and strives to help the community be a better place for everyone.

Inspiring Charity in Others: How To Encourage People To Give

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