Are you leading with why?

Are you leading with your WHY?

When you are creating and sharing your projects, it's vital you emphasize the reason why your project is needed. 

Why? Because if you fail to give a compelling reason, people won't give.

Donors are often presented with lots of facts — logic based information about situations. But, emotions are what cause most people to give.

A meaningful why not only generates emotion, but it also creates urgency and a sense of personal belonging. If you can get someone to agree with your why, the what becomes far simpler. 

As we approach the holidays, donors are looking for places to give. Donors are looking for meaningful stories of why. 

As you craft your why, it should answer these three questions:

1. Why should I care? Try to tap into something the donor already believes or values - and then link it to your project. For example: African Bible Colleges (ABC) is building Malawi's first STEM high school. That's a compelling vision - but doesn't directly state the why. Instead, they are saying: "Malawi needs more doctors." This allows them to focus on the outcome of the project: more lives saved and the health of the nation supported. If people care about this why, they'll work to support the school. 

2. Why you? As an organization, what can you express about your unique positioning? This can sometimes be implied but is helpful in shaping a strong why. In the case of ABC, they already have a university, but need more STEM education in lower grades to help train doctors. 

3. Why now? What is the level of urgency? Doctors take time to train. Building the STEM school now will be the fastest way to alleviate the massive shortage of doctors.  

Once you have your why, share it! 

DonorSee does a great job of making it easy for donors to give to your projects and feel intimately involved. But, you need to help bring people to your page! 

Let us help you convert people on the periphery of your organization. As you get donations to your projects, we amplify them into more donations from people you don't know. It all starts with you sharing your why.

Studies have shown that you should be posting on social media 3-7 times a week. Each share should mention your why and include a call to actions (like a link to your DonorSee profile).