Nonprofits: Hold creative events to engage prospective donors and unlock more giving

Researchers from University of North Texas, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and University of British Columbia published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that examines how engaging potential donors in creative activities at fundraising events can increase charitable giving.

How to organize the perfect fundraising event? Charitable organizations currently use a variety of strategies and tactics to engage potential donors, all with the goal of enhancing donation behaviors. It is not surprising to see that golf tournament, ice-cream social, or sip and paint events are organized by different charities representing different causes. One question that arises is what types of activities are more efficient and are more likely to help the organizations collect more donations. This new study finds that engaging potential donors by increasing their participation in creative activities helps!  

Using different types of creative activities, such as designing a creative t-shirt or decorating cookies, the researchers find that those who participate in such activities are more likely to donate than those who participate in similar, but non-creative, versions of the activities. For example, those who are asked to decorate a cookie as creatively as possible are more likely to donate to the charitable organization than those who are simply asked to copy a given cookie design. 

As Xu explains, "Our findings show that incorporating creative activities in fundraising campaigns and charity events can be a viable marketing strategy for non-profit organizations to enhance donation behavior."

Charitable organizations can organize such events in person or use their social media platforms. For example, they can invite potential donors to attend a painting event, organize a cookie decoration event, or participate in other activities that engage them, physically or mentally, to produce something novel and creative. While offering potential donors creative outlets does not always yield creative outcomes, that does not matter.

"As long as donors participate in an activity to create something novel and creative, they demonstrate higher donation behavior. It is engaging in the creative process that matters! When the potential donors participate in creative activities, they feel a sense of freedom and autonomy, which makes them feel happier and more charitable," says Mehta. 

Dahl adds that "One tip for charitable organizations is to encourage participants to be as creative as possible, but not to emphasize outcomes or provide instructions for how they should complete the activity. For example, when organizing a painting event, some charities mention that step-by-step instructions will be provided and everyone will paint the same picture. We suggest that allowing the freedom to paint anything and to be creative in the process might be a better strategy." 

Using these findings, managers can think outside the box to come up with different types of creative activities to engage potential donors. While inviting potential donors to participate in any type of activity that requires creative engagement might make the potential donors feel more engaged, not all activities are created equal and some might be better than others. For example, organizing a fundraising gala or event can be costly, but using this type of activity may be more budget friendly.

As an instance, one interesting idea we found online was a "tie-dye party" where organizations provide white T-shirts and tie-dye materials so that participants can create their own tie-dye T-shirts. These T-shirts can then be used for live auctions. In addition, participating in this activity makes an individual more likely to donate to the charity, creating multiple streams of donation contributions.