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How to get a lot by asking a little
Improving fundraising
How do you get a lot by asking a little? That’s what they did in an experiment to raise money for charities. That sounds very contradictory. You fear you will also get less money when you ask for a small amount. Yet this works slightly differently.
The size of the donation should be taken into account, as well as how many people give to a charity. At the American Cancer Society, they did an experiment. In this, they went door to door with two alternating questions.
- I raise money for the American Cancer Society. Would you like to help by giving a donation?
- I raise money for the American Cancer Society. Would you like to help by giving a donation? Even a penny would help.
It had a significant effect to highlight that even a small donation can help. The number of people who donated something went from 20% to 50%. In addition, adding this sentence did not affect the donation size. So more people donated, and they did not give a lower amount than before.
This is also known as the legitimising effect: making it okay to give only a small amount. So don’t be afraid to ask for something small. It can work out great.
Our tip: By making it okay to give a little, people are more likely to give something. Often even more than you had asked for.