I’ve long been interested in the psychology of giving; what motivates people to give and how can this information be used to make stronger grant applications. The following slides are based on information, tips and examples from a selection of books and reports to produce a checklist of actions/ideas to include in grant applications to make them more attractive to the funder.

 

The checklist has been based on MINDSCAPE, a report pioneered by Members of the Institute for Government.  The goal of the report was to explore the application of behavioral theory to public policy, for use by senior public sector leaders and policymakers.

 

MINDSCAPE is a mnemonic for the nine effects on human behavior, used to explain and intervene in a variety of subject areas: messenger, incentives, norms, defaults, salience, priming, affect, commitments, and ego

 

Reading list

• Inside the Nudge Unit – David Halpern
• Get anyone to do anything – David J Lieberman
• Predictable irrational – Dan Ariely
• Thinking, fast and slow – Daniel Kahneman
• Behavioural Economics for Dummies – Morris Altman
• MINDSCAPE report – https://www.bi.team/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/MINDSPACE.pdf

 

Messenger – we are heavily influenced by who communicates a message to us; therefore, we want to be liked and trusted by the reader

• Can you associate with any ‘named’ people who the giver will know/ see as peers or respect?
• Have you been able to make any key points rhyme
• When introducing the charity have you explained at an individual level why you are involved?
• Are you clear about the organisation/ charities purpose and aims?
• Have you included awards/ quality marks to demonstrate trustworthiness?
• Include specific statistics to back up any claims

 

Incentives – we respond to how questions are posed; what will be gained and what will be lost

 

• We are loss averse; therefore, have you framed your benefits in a positive way – e.g. numbers saved rather than numbers lost if no action?
• Think about how you frame your information; how do you present it to the reader to show your maximum impact? – for example does the project have a 90% chance of success or a 10% chance of failure
• Can you make anything FREE?
• What added value do you bring? – we value what we have more than others will
• Does your application create a sense of urgency? If there is no urgency you may not be seen as a priority to fund

 

Norms – we seek guidance from the behaviour of others and want to fit in

• Tell the reader that ‘People like you’ have also funded us -which other trusts/foundations have supported your work
• Show match funding to demonstrate others also support what you are doing
• Be very careful with averages! Those giving more than the average may then give less – Children in Need always ask for what you can afford
• How are you connecting with the donor/funder – what do you have in common; tell them

Defaults – we like things to be easy – both making decisions and taking action

• How have you made it easy for the person to take action – prefilled forms, easy to find webpage, who they need to ask about more information
• Have you made it easy for information to be understood? (no acronyms or technical information. Is text subdivided and easy to digest)
• Have you given a reason for the reader to believe you? (Power of ‘because’)
• Remember our brain will fill in information based upon the little information it is provided with what it expects to see

Because: Psychological studies have shown that people are more likely to comply with a request if you simply give them a reason why… even if that reason makes no sense. An American study of people using a photocopying machine found that someone who wanted to queue jump for the simple reason of because “I want to go first”  was successful 93% of the time, compared to 64% when no reason was given.

 

 

 

Salience – we like things that are novel and relevant to us

• Have you spoken to the reader – ‘you’ and made it personal to them
• Include a photo – beneficiaries or of the writer (make eye contact in photos)
• What have you done to put reader in a good mood? – be upbeat in your letter – happy people respond more positively
• We respond best to easy to remember and say words – it your project title easy to remember

 

 

Priming – we are heavily influenced by sub conscious cues, these can be irrelevant to the decision being made

• Aim high; but also reasonable
• Include high amounts at the start of sponsorship forms
• Try increasing the minimum donation rate box to see if it increases donations (but also include ‘other amount’)
• Let people know what you expect to raise – use words that encourage giving larger amounts such as generous
• We can be put off by asking for money (or thinking about money) too early; get people on board with the project first

Affect – Emotions shape our actions

• Does the application engage with people’s emotions? For instance, ask the reader to imagine how the ‘victim’ would feel
• Beware of making the reader feel guilty!
• Do you use descriptive language to really help reader visualise your work?

            Commitments – we like to be consistent with public commitments

• Include an opening statement that the reader will agree with
• Don’t forget to remind the person / funder if they have supported you in the past
• If you want to get people to turn up at an event; make them give a commitment, even if it to let you know they can’t make it. Or say ‘ so we can count on your support on the day’ and wait for them to answer.

 

Ego – We like to feel good about ourselves

 

• How will supporting your cause make the donor feel good?
• Have you identified the victim and used named people in case studies?
• Is your solution going to make a real impact? Is the scale of the request proportional to the problem?