133: Neuroscience and Giving - Maintaining Trust

"...Donors don’t just invest their money, they invest their trust. Admitting uncertainty or limitations can actually boost credibility...."

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

Reflection question:

• How are you consistently updating donors, even when the capital campaign or construction is facing challenges?

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 trust as it relates to capital campaigns. One challenge during capital campaigns is maintaining and growing trust after the donor give a pledge or donation. From the time the donor gives to capital campaign, it can be months and sometimes years before the construction actually starts or the building project is completed. It’s easy to fall into the trap of waiting to give an update. However, admitting uncertainty or limitation boosts credibility. This is especially essential in small towns where a vacuum of information can be filled with false speculation about the viability of the building project. We build, maintain, and grow trust by giving ongoing updates to donors. In turn, those authentic updates give confidence to the donors in sharing their excitement about the project with others.

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

Quote used by permission.

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