We all need to brag more…science tells us that it’s good for charitable donations
All of Donr’s crowdfunding campaigns offer supporters the chance to share messages of support for the cause they’ve just donated to on their own personal social media channels. We didn’t just decide to include this on a whim — science suggests that telling people you’ve donated means they’re more likely to do the same.
Research from Harvard University suggests that ‘the individual’s participation decision, to give or not to give, is strongly influenced by the participation of peers.’
Simply put, if you donate to a Donr crowdfunding campaign then use our option to post about the campaign on Facebook, to tweet to your followers about it or copy the link and text it to a friend or family member, they’re much more likely to donate too, and that Donr crowdfunding campaign will reach its target more quickly. Win-win, right?
However, we understand that, for some of you, charitable giving is a private thing. You don’t want to brag to your friends about how wonderfully altruistic you are, that would be weird. Well, yes, perhaps if you posted something incredibly boastful and all about you, it would be. Here at Donr, however, we encourage users to include words like ‘support’ and ‘help,’ in their social media posts about our crowdfunding pages so that their followers feel encouraged to discover how they can get involved too.
You’ll actually be doing your social media followers a big favour by encouraging them to get involved with the crowdfunding campaign you just supported. The Mental Health Foundation lists numerous mental and physical health benefits that those who support charities can benefit from. These include: physiological changes in the brain associated with happiness; longer periods of calm; a sense of belonging; and reduced stress and negative emotions such as anger and aggression.
So, there you have it, supporting a charity via a Donr crowdfunding page and posting about it on social media benefits everyone: the charity you support will be grateful for your donation — WIN; the charity is more likely to reach its target quicker as more people will learn about their cause and be more likely to support it — WIN; if your followers do take your advice and support the campaign, their physical and mental health may well improve too — WIN.
Not just win-win, but win-win-win. Tri-winning.
