A little bit goes a long way, at first.

Having spent 12 years on the board of a local non-profit organization, I've been involved in "commitment raising" campaigns of various shapes and sizes. Certainly, there is the annual campaign to generate the needed operating funds, or the capital campaign to help build much needed new buildings, or the "special" efforts that support a specific need like technology equipment upgrades.

Each requires a story to be told, and each story searches to find the right motivator that will attract the givers who are moved to open their wallets in support. The approach is key, and much thought is given to how, and who to approach.

An approach we have all seen, and possibly been swayed by, is the use of small commitments to an idea, like saving an animal bound for extinction. Once a willingness to support this cause is shown, then new requests for support are offered at greatly increased frequency and amounts, and are often successful.

This pattern of interest and execution reflects a theory proposed by Robert Cialdini called commitment-consistency. (Cialdini, 2001). It works so well because our society values consistency, and we have a strong desire to behave consistently. (Vaidyanathan & Aggarwal, 2005). However, research has shown that this technique only works if the second and subsequent requests are easy to execute, because we are skeptical of motives and do not want to lose track of our intial commitment to a cause. (Vaidyanathan, et.al).

(I was just interrupted by Boy Scouts looking to sell me popcorn. They were carrying a big box, which I don't need, but I might have gone for the smaller box if they had offered it to me. And they didn't tell me what they were going to use the funds for...summer camp, new canoes, tents. I might have gone for one of these appeals.)

So, when you are working on your next fund raising effort, consider the idea of small commitments at first. Then follow with the larger "ask", but make sure the second request is consistent with the first in terms of use of funds.

And remember the Scouts...show me the little box first. It will likely lead to a bigger box next time.

References:
Cialdini, R. B. (2001) Influence: Science and Practice, 4th edn. (needham Heights, MA: Allyn &
Bacon).
Vaidyanathan, R. & Aggarwal, P. (2005). Using Commitments to drive consistency: Enhancing
the effectiveness of casue-related marketing communications. Journal of Marketing
Communications, 11(4), 231-246.

The MarCom Coach