TV Gives Charity Donations A Boost

Friday 26th February 2010

The science of marketing psychology isn't just reserved for the consumer masses, it can be used to help maximise donations to charities and not for profit organisations. A recent study carried out by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) found that different types of media coverage can have a profound effect on the amount of money donated by the public. Following the Haiti disaster, the foundation found that newspaper coverage of the event was not as effective in encouraging members of the public to donate to the appeal. Advertisements and stories influenced only 6 per cent of those who gave money. This is in stark contrast to 11 per cent of the public who donated to the DEC Asia-Pacific appeal just a year earlier. The shift in trend could be seen as alarming by fundraisers, but in fact it is our use of technology that is affecting the way we empathise with a cause, and our likeliness to donate to an appeal. Television coverage accounted for as much as 75 per cent of donations received for the Haiti Disaster Appeal, a figure that has risen since the Asia-Pacific appeal in 2009, where the figure was less than 70 per cent. It is evident that fundraisers need to maximise the potential of modern technology, and use social media portals to tap into altruistic tendencies. Television may be top of the donation leader board now, but surely it is just a matter of time before social networking sites such as FaceBook and Twitter play just as an important role in raising much needed funds for appeals.