Why do your donors give to you?

This is an important question every fundraising analytics professional should consider. It is not sufficient to determine who will give to you. We should understand why. I have found that this is rarely one simple answer. Often times, there is a combination of a few predominant types of donors. For example:

• They love you
• They love what you do
• What you do helps them or their business
• They have confidence you will succeed at something they find valuable
• They want to give back (most common self-reported reason--but not always the actual motivator)

The following article provides one example of a giving motivation:

DR. BILL VAN DYK is straightforward about why he serves on the Contra Costa College Foundation board of directors and is now in his second term as its president.
He supports CCC because his San Pablo dental practice is dependent upon graduates from the college's dental assisting program. His personal donations to the CCC Foundation are designated for the dental assisting program, and he urges other West County dentists to follow his lead.

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Why do your donors give to you?