Pledge Drives: Telling the Story - But Whose Story?
I’ve listened to and produced scores of radio pledge drives, and oversaw teams that produced TV drives at two stations. Over the years there’s been a lot of rumination in public media about whether pledge campaigns are viable anymore, whether they do more harm than good, and whether disintermediation is going to render those campaigns irrelevant, as audiences learn the myriad ways to avoid them.
My answer has always been that pledge campaigns are, to quote researcher David Giovannoni, a “necessary good” that should stay on our air in some form, because they connect us to our audiences.
The purpose of the pledge drive has changed over the years. Initially they were about raising money from first-time givers. Then they were about raising money and increasing membership rolls. Then they were about raising money, getting new members, renewing current members, and asking for additional gifts from members not in the renewal cycle. Then we discovered the power of Sustainers.
During most of that period we told ourselves that the power of pledge campaigns was in our ability to tell our story, and that campaigns of several days helped us tell those stories so effectively that it caused people to reach the tipping point.
I, myself, promoted that notion. My thinking has evolved.
I realize now that, as hard as I tried to move stations away from being self-aggrandizing (“Look what we do for you every day---you need to step up and pay for it”) and be more cognizant of donor impact (Look what you’ve allowed us to do with your support”), the light bulb really lit up when I went back to the “Us telling the audience our story” concept and thought about it more.
Here’s the secret: it’s not about us.
The story we should tell---the story that other non-profits pivoted to a long time ago---is the donor’s story. SHE is the hero. It’s HER belief in something she can trust and rely upon that caused her to commit to this relationship in a way that’s very personal. So, how do you make your on-air & digital campaigns more donor-focused? By giving credit where credit is due.
How about:
“Look at what you’ve done for the community by supporting something you’re passionate about.”
“Your one action has had a ripple effect on others here in the community - something positive and meaningful.”
“This is another example of how you can use your advocacy to support what you believe in your heart is right and good for yourself and your neighbors.”
When we do that, we make the donor the leading character in the story, which can lead to an action on her part that results in a profound public service that, as an individual, she could not perform on her own---but which the station can do on her behalf because of your team’s devotion and expertise.
It makes fundraising much easier and more pleasurable when the exercise shifts from being a referendum on our on-air performance to a celebration of the power of the individual to prioritize a service and an entity she passionately believes in.
That’s a story worth telling.