Stories of strangers: Writing donor acquisition letters in the human services

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nml.21414
• Author: Ruth K. Hansen
• Date: 01 September 2020
• Published date: 01 September 2020

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Stories of strangers: Writing donor acquisition

letters in the human services

Ruth K. Hansen

Department of Management, University

of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Whitewater,

Wisconsin

Correspondence

Ruth K. Hansen, Department of

Management, Hyland Hall, Room 4517,

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater,

800 W. Main Street, Whitewater, WI

53190-1790.

Email: hansenru@uww.edu

Funding information

Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

Research Fund

Abstract

This study explores the choices fundraisers make in

crafting letters to acquire new donors for a human ser-

vices organization, and whether the type of client served

affects those choices. We use an experiment to control

for organizational differences, and code the resulting let-

ters written for elements identified in theory and prac-

tice, then perform an exploratory factor analysis to find

patterns of co-occurring variables. Writers tended to

focus either on the quality of the organization or the

unmet need in the community, but not both. Two of the

factors, Universalism and Security, describe distinct per-

sonal value constructs that may reflect the preferences

of the writer or the presumed preferences of the reader.

Compared to participants writing for an older adult cli-

ent base, participants writing for clients with mental ill-

ness were less likely to use a negative frame, more likely

to use statistical evidence, and used lower expectations

in describing successful client outcomes. Within letters,

clients were described using three patterns: by describ-

ing a stranger who is worth helping because of intrinsic

attributes; by describing a stranger who is worth helping

because of their relationships within the social order; by

describing the client group using facts and statistics,

rather than an emotionally compelling story narrative.

KEYWORDS

communications, experimental research, fundraising, nonprofit

management, social service

Received: 20 November 2018 Revised: 4 April 2020 Accepted: 6 April 2020

DOI: 10.1002/nml.21414

Nonprofit Management and Leadership. 2020;31:153–173. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/nml © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 153

1|INTRODUCTION

Fundraising researchers have tended to be interested in how and why people give to charities.

While these studies (e.g., Das, Kerkhof, & Kuiper, 2008; De Bruyn & Prokopec, 2013; Dickert,

Sagara, & Slovic, 2011) suggest what choices fundraisers might make, they typically do not

examine what choices fundraisers do make. In fact, while we have a great deal of evidence as to

what prompts giving, we have little research into how fundraisers actually craft messages to

attract new donors.

A small body of recent research heeds Kelly's advice (1998) to look to the professional dis-

cretion of fundraisers themselves in understanding how the practice works. Analyzing

fundraising at a micro-level—focusing on fundraisers' understanding of stakeholder interests

and their attendant behavior, rather than analyzing organizations or subsectors—allows us to

observe how fundraisers are encouraging support for and cooperation with their organizations

(Fligstein, 2001). Recent qualitative analysis supports the idea that fundraisers shape their nar-

ratives according to both the needs of the organization for which they are raising funds, and

their understanding of donors' interests (Alborough, 2017; Breeze, 2017). The first question this

paper addresses is: What tactics do fundraisers use, in practice, to attract new donors?

One thing we do know about giving is that people give differently to others who they see as

being like themselves—members of an “in-group”—than they do to people who they do not see

as being like themselves, or see as being unlike themselves—members of an “out-group”(Ben-

Ner, McCall, Stephane, & Wang, 2009; Duclos & Barasch, 2014; Turner, Brown, & Tajfel, 1979).

But we have not asked whether people ask differently when they perceive greater or lesser dif-

ferences between those asked (donors) and those who will benefit (clients). Prevailing social

norms may lead fundraisers to construct different messages around clients in different circum-

stances (Lewis, 2005). The second question this paper addresses is: How does fundraising for cli-

ents with different levels of perceived social stigma affect the tactics used in an appeal for new

donors?

The questions are of practical importance, especially within the human services area. Non-

profit human services organizations account for 27% of US charities, and their services support

one in every five Americans. Yet the financial health of many human services nonprofits is at

risk: nearly half reported negative operating results over a 3-year period, and 30% have insuffi-

cient cash reserves to cover 1 month's worth of expenses (Oliver Wyman, Sea Change Capital

Partners, Alliance for Strong Families and Communities, & American Public Human Services

Association, 2018). Donated income is necessary to the financial viability of human services

organizations, even those for which government funds are the largest source of revenue (Oliver

Wyman et al., 2018). And while overall charitable giving has grown in recent years, giving to

human services has lagged behind that of the sector as a whole (Giving USA, 2019). An esti-

mated 70% of charitable human services organizations met their 2018 fundraising goals, a lower

percentage than organizations in most other subsectors (Nonprofit Research

Collaborative, 2019).

1

In order to understand how fundraising can better serve the needs of

human services organizations, we need to better understand fundraising practices, and how

they are embedded within social norms (Burlingame, 1997). This study contributes to that

exploration by examining how fundraisers craft appeal letters for human service organizations

serving different clients.

This article begins by reviewing the research and literature on fundraising appeal letters,

with attention to how social norms interact with giving and fundraising techniques. It describes

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