September 30, 2009 by Antonio Garcia
I've blogged about this before. But a new working paper by HBS doctoral candidate Lalin Anik, Professor Michael I. Norton, and coauthors explores the cyclical relationship of self-interested charitable behavior. In other words, they're testing the economic feasibility of the notion that happier people give more and that giving increases happiness. It's nice to hear Harvard thinks there's truth and economic promise to this way of thinking....
Having just wrapped up another successful gallery show/fundraiser for Reason To Give, I thought I'd look at how we promote our own nonprofit. From the beginning, we've always advertised the "mood benefits" of giving—feelings the HBS paper describes as "empowerment, joy and inspiration". Early on, my approach to Reason To Give's messaging capitalized on the self-interest of givers. Because we're offering something innovative, direct and transparent, it made sense to speak to people about more than tax-deductable donations. Supporting our organization offers an alternative to gift giving and a cool way to tag team a problem and see real results. Headlines like "Go On A Giving Spree" and "Connecting People Who Give Damn With People Who Need A Hand" emphasized feeling good rather than feeling guilty.
This works well for an organization founded on helping others, but what about "cause marketing" and for-profit companies looking for ways to connect their brands to charitable groups? Landor's Allen Adamson wrote a great article for AdAge's CMO Strategy advising marketers to clear connections between brand benefit and social purpose because if it's not part of the part of a brand's DNA, it will never be sustainable. Both articles are great reads. Check them out and let me know what you think!
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