Does 'tax deductible' kill radio fundraising appealsLast night my flight home to Maine was cancelled, presumably due to the manhunt in Boston. So I got to spend more time in NJ. While there, I turned on WDHA, a rock station in New Jersey.

In the midst of a commercial break, I heard an add about an organization that helped people get employment. It was a compelling story and when they said, “Your generousity makes this possible”, I realized the organization was a nonprofit.

But I think they blew it. Here’s why.

  • They started strong
    The story was great. They started with how hard it is to get a job in this economy and even harder in NJ. But because of this organization, people were putting their lives back together.
  • They made it clear they were donation funded
    I loved the phrase “Your generousity makes this possible.” They had me. “Wow. I make such a difference in people’s lives just by giving?! Tell me more!”
  • Then it fell apart in 1 sentence
    The last sentence must’ve been written by committee. It said something like “To make your tax-deductible donation and to learn more about The XYZ Nonprofit, go to www.ourwebsite.org.”

    I felt jilted.

Don’t stop the emotions

I was on a journey and all of a sudden they through the 5 syllable phrase “tax deductible” at me. That one phrase got me out of my emotional brain into my analytical. I started realizing why it was impractical for me to make a gift.

Then they added the “or to learn more.” What? Did they not really want my gift? It was a little confusing but I started to feel I was off the hook.

Finally they just gave their website. This is bad for two reasons.

  1. If they really want my donation, don’t make me work to give. Tell me what page to go to. It would’ve been far better for them to say, “Go to www.ournonprofit.org/donate.” That would reiterate the message and make it easier to give.
  2. They’ll have no clue if that radio ad is working. They could’ve said, “Go to www.ournonprofit.org/WDHA.” The radio station was saying their call letters incessantly. It felt like they repeated them multiple times every minute. Since listeners are used to that, why not use that to your advantage? Then you can track whether that ad is driving traffic and donations.

    You could also use a page like “donate1” or use “donate” for the WDHA ad and “give” for another ad.

Tax Deductions are not a fundraising appeal

Survey after survey shows that people don’t primarily give for a tax deduction. So why lead with that as an appeal?

More importantly, if you’re taking your donor prospects on an emotional journey designed to make them act, keep them on the journey through making the donation. Don’t jilt them. Just make it ridiculously easy to give.

Now my flight is about to board so I’ll end there. Do you agree?

21 Ways for Board Members to Engage with their Nonprofit's Fundraising book image

You'll discover the 21 ways each board member can help their nonprofit's fundraising - even if they don't like to ask for money!

As a bonus, you'll get free fundraising tips every other week too!

Help your board fundraise for nonprofit with this FREE ebook

We take your privacy very seriously and will never sell, rent, or share your email address.