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Improving the Effectiveness of Fundraising Messages: The Impact ofCharity Goal Attainment, Message Framing, and Evidence on Persuasion
This experimental study assessed the effectiveness of fundraising
messages. Effective fundraising messages should combine abstract,
statistical information with a negative message frame and anecdotal
evidence with a positive message frame.
Abstract information was more effective when combined with a negatively
framed message, whereas anecdotal information was more effective when
combined with a positive frame.
The present research proposes a persuasive framework that integrates
several lines of research from communication, consumer and health
domains in order to improve the effectiveness of fundraising messages. It
is proposed that several message factors are critical in order to increase
the perceived value of a charity goal and raise donation intentions.
1. The perceived value of a charity goal depends on message framing,
that is the decision to focus on the positive consequences of
donating or the negative consequences of not donating, and on
message evidence which can be presented in an abstract statistical
way or in a more vivid and anecdotal manner.
2. In order to raise donation intentions effectively, fundraising
messages should also communicate the likelihood of attaining a
charity goal.
Message evidence and message framing
A challenging task is to convey to the public that the charity cause is valid
and urgent. One strategy for influencing the perceived value of certain
problem is to include evidence. Message evidence can be presented in
statistical information, factual statements etc. a different strategy to reach
the same goal may be to include a vivid case history of just one possible
victim. Adding images to make the evidence more vivid enhanced
persuasion, thus indicating a positive effect of vividness.
Cognitive reactions were affected more strongly by statistical evidence,
whereas emotional reactions were affected more strongly by narrative
evidence. These findings suggest that anecdotal evidence enhances
heuristic processing, whereby persuasion is the result of mental shortcuts.
Statistical evidence may be more likely to promote systematic processing,
whereby individuals carefully elaborate on the content of charity message.
The second persuasive strategy important to the communication of value
of a charity fundraising goal is message framing. A message can be
framed in either negative or positive terms, otherwise known as loss vs.
gain frames. The effectiveness of positive and negative frames depends
on processing motivation and capacity on the part of the receiver.
Negative framing is more effective under high processing motivation.
The combination of low motivation with high opportunity to process is
typical of the situation in which most charities find themselves. Message
framing and message evidence are likely to exert interactive effects on
message processing and persuasion. Statistical evidence will enhance
elaborate processing and increase the effectiveness of negatively frames
, fundraising messages. Anecdotal evidence will decrease message
processing and enhance the effectiveness of positively framed fundraising
messages.
Communicating the likelihood of goal attainment
message evidence and framing increase the perceived value of a charity
goal and, accordingly, positively affect persuasion. Charity goals bear
considerable resemblance to a social dilemma. In a social dilemma, an
individual is typically faced with the choice between self-interest and the
interest of the collective. In the case of a social fence, the short-term
rational choice is to do nothing rather than to do something. When
individuals are faced with a social dilemma, two factors a viral in the
decision to contribute to the solution of a social problem.
1. This factor concerns the value the social problem has for that
individual
2. Message evidence and framing can increase the perceived value of
the problem addressed by a charity.
Contributions to charity are more likely when there is evidence that others
contribute as well.
Three expectations are vital to the decision to contribute
1. Expectations about the number of participants
2. Expectations about one’s own contribution to probability of success
3. Expectations about the probability of success if many people
participate.
Communication about the likelihood of goal attainment should be
undertaken with care. If people believe that nobody else will help solve a
problem, they will be unlikely to donate money themselves.
Method
Participants were asked to read one of eight fundraising messages for the
Leprosy Foundation that varied in terms of evidence, framing, and goal
attainment. Other message factors, such as content and length, were held
constant across messages. After reading the message, participants were
asked to fill out a questionnaire that contained our dependent measures.
Results
Anecdotal evidence was perceived to be more vivid and less abstract than
abstract evidence. As effect, a positively framed message was perceived
as more positive than a negatively framed message. Messages that
addressed goal attainment positively affected perceptions that the charity
goal could be reached and that others would contribute too.
Messages that addressed goal attainment evoked more positive attitudes
toward the message than messages that did not address goal attainment.
Attitude toward the message was also affected by the message evidence:
participants reported more positive attitudes toward anecdotal messages
than toward abstract messages. In the anecdotal evidence condition, the
charity’s work was perceived as more relevant when the message was
framed positively. This effect was reversed in the abstract evidence
condition, where the charity’s work was perceives as more relevant when
the message was framed negatively.
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