142: Authentic Giving - Removing the Guilt from Generosity

"...Always be on the lookout for ways to turn a problem into an opportunity for success. Always be on the lookout for ways to nurture your dream...”

This week, I am reading a quote from Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu and a quote from A Theory of Guilt Appeals: A Review Showing the Importance of Investigating Cognitive Processes as Mediators between Emotion and Behavior, by Graton and Mailliez, published in 2019.

Reflection question:

• With what are you watering the messages to donors? With guilt? Or, authentic giving?

Reflection on quote:

Today is our fourth episode in our series on authentic giving and avoiding transactional approaches. We’ve discussed different approaches, donor demanding transactional approaches, and the root of loneliness in transactional donations. Another root for transactional approaches is guilt. Capital campaign donors can be guilted into a donation either by the campaign messages or through the donor’s inner values. What happens when a campaign rely too heavily on guilt?

As we are building our case for support for the capital campaign, we are making intentional choices in the framing message and the images we use. We can choose overtly guilt inducing messages and images to pressure donors to give; such as crying clients or a building falling down. These images and messages coupled with an urgent call to action, such as “you must give now,” will provoke a backlash. Instead, when we choose messages and images that show need, empower agency, and provide the opportunity to give as part of the solution, the donor can take any guilt they may feel and channel it into positive gift. That is, we are watering authentic generosity.

To read: A Theory of Guilt Appeals: A Review Showing the Importance of Investigating Cognitive Processes as Mediators between Emotion and Behavior

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution.

The quote from Lao Tzu is in the public domain.

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Music credit: Woeisuhmebop