132: Personal Identity and Giving

"...If a donor donates regularly – even small amounts –they gather evidence from their own behavior that “I am a generous person.” Once someone embraces a donor identity, they naturally want to act consistently with it..."

I am reading from Neurogiving. The Science of Donor Decision-Making by Cherian Koshy, published in 2025.

Reflection questions:

• When you are talking with long-term donors, are you entering into conversations of curiosity to find out why they give?
• Are you aligning your capital campaign ask with the donor’s stated identity and motivation for giving?

Reflection on quote:

We are continuing exploring how generosity is deeply embedded into what it means to be human and how that impacts capital campaigns, using insights from a book recently released by my friend and colleague Cherian Koshy.  This week, we are looking at donor identity as it relates to capital campaigns. 

As we prepare for a capital campaign, one of the necessary reports that we pull from our donor database is a list of long-term givers and some of these long-term donors are donors who are able to give more significantly during the quiet phase of the campaign. As we schedule times to meet with these donors, it’s important to understand how the donor’s self-identification as a generous person to this cause affects their motivation to potentially give to the campaign.  In small towns, we can assume we know why they are giving to our cause, but until we have entered into conversations of curiosity, we won’t know.  Once we have a better idea of how their identity is driving them to give, we can frame the capital campaign ask as being in alignment with their generous identity.

Here's how to purchase Neurogiving from Wiley or Amazon.

Quote used by permission.

To explore small town capital campaign coaching deeper and to schedule an free explore coaching call, visit ServingNonprofits.com.

Music credit: Woeisuhmebop

Transcript

Welcome back. This podcast explores the wisdom of generosity, from ancient to modern, and the beautiful space where generosity occurs during small town capital campaigns. If you like this podcast, please rate or review in your favorite podcast app.

We are continuing exploring how generosity is deeply embedded into what it means to be human and how that impacts capital campaigns, using insights from a book recently released by my friend and colleague Cherian Koshy.  You can purchase his book using the link in the show notes.  This week, we are looking at donor identity as it relates to capital campaigns.  So, this week, I am reading from Neurogiving. The Science of Donor Decision-Making by Cherian Koshy, published in 2025.

Quote

Long-term giving relies on a donor sense of self, their trust in the organization, and the habits that make generosity a regular part of life. In essence, emotion might fan the fire of generosity, but identity, trust, and habit keep it burning for the long haul. 

Why do some donors stick around year after year, turning one time gifts into a lifelong commitment? A big part of the answer lies in donor identity. Donor identity formation is the process by which a person internalizes the role of supporter as a part of who they are. In other words, being a donor becomes not just some thing they do, but something they are. According to self perception theory, people infer their attitudes and traits by observing their own behavior. In the fundraising context, this means that when someone gives to charity, they start to view themselves as the kind of person who would give. If a donor donates regularly – even small amounts –they gather evidence from their own behavior that “I am a generous person.” Once someone embraces a donor identity, they naturally want to act consistently with it. Humans have a strong drive for consistency between their self image and their actions. If a person thinks of themselves as an advocate or helper, failing to support a cause they care about can create internal conflict or dissonance. 

For example, a donor who proudly identifies as an environmental advocate will feel a pain of inconsistency if they consider not renewing a gift to an environmental charity. Our brains dislike this kind of self mismatch. It literally feels uncomfortable. In fact, psychological research shows people are motivated to take actions that affirm important identities. Continuing to give provides relief from the discomfort of inconsistency and reinforces the valued identity. By appealing to a donors’ cherished identity (for example, you have always been someone who stands up for others), fundraisers can encourage giving as a means for donors to become true to themselves. 

Unquote

As we prepare for a capital campaign, one of the necessary reports that we pull from our donor database is a list of long-term givers and some of these long-term donors are donors who are able to give more significantly during the quiet phase of the campaign. As we schedule times to meet with these donors, it’s important to understand how the donor’s self-identification as a generous person to this cause affects their motivation to potentially give to the campaign.  In small towns, we can assume we know why they are giving to our cause, but until we have entered into conversations of curiosity, we won’t know.  Once we have a better idea of how their identity is driving them to give, we can frame the capital campaign ask as being in alignment with their generous identity.

Let’s reflect on two questions this week:

When you are talking with long-term donors, are you entering into conversations of curiosity to find out why they give?

Are you aligning your capital campaign ask with the donor’s stated identity and motivation for giving?

Share this podcast if you enjoy these five-minute reflections and subscribe to receive these reflections released every Monday. To explore small town capital campaign coaching deeper, visit Serving Nonprofits dot com. See you next week.