WHAT THE FUNDRAISING
EPISODE 5: Fundraising and Funder Behavior: The Tiny Habits That Will Change Your Life with BJ Fogg, PhD
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“Change the size of the ask, according to how motivated the person is in that moment, not in general, but in that moment.”-
– BJ FOGG, PhD
Episode #5
Overview
In this episode of What the Fundraising Podcast…
I talked to behavior scientist and author BJ Fogg, PhD. BJ is one of my biggest teachers and superheroes, he has run a lab at Stanford University for 20 years now, and for the last 10, he’s dedicated his work to behavior design.
His book Tiny Habits is a wonderful explanation of how our brains work and what small but effective techniques we can use to create habits and beat fears. His Fogg Behavior Model is perfect for fundraisers out there, it goes from allowing yourself to feel success over small victories, to taking action by tracking down your prompts and abilities.
In this conversation BJ shares SO many useful and simple hacks, I felt like I had to write them down. Plus, his approach to people is immensely human, compassionate, and positive, (just like fundraising!) You really don’t want to miss this conversation.
BJ Fogg, PhD is a Stanford behavior scientist, author of the book Tiny Habits, and one of my absolute teachers and heroes. In this conversation, BJ shares his Fogg Behavior Model plus many useful and simple hacks to defeat fear and create habits for anything we want to achieve. His approach to people is immensely human, compassionate, and positive. (Just like fundraising!) You really don’t want to miss this conversation.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
- (01:39) - Behaviour Design & the Tiny Habits Method: Who is BJ Fogg, PhD, and his work as a behavior scientist at Stanford.
- (03:36) - What is the Fogg Behavior Model? A 3-step easy-to-learn model to understand and influence all of your behaviors.
- (08:56) - Applying behavior science to fundraising and ow to calculate the ideal size of the ask?
- (12:50) - The key moments of celebration and giving people positive feelings of success
- (20:55) - Do you feel like you can’t do something? Check for these 5 factors of ability and take a tiny step towards action.
- (30:15) - Allow yourself to feel successful: Learn how to feel shine on demand for even the tiniest of successes!
- (34:56) - How to really beat fear with compassion and get to the action.
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Top takeaways & resources
- Fogg Behavior Model: Behavior is a system. When we can't seem to bring ourselves to do something, there are 3 questions that we should ask ourselves:
- Do I have a prompt for the activity? You need some kind of reminder or urge to do the activity at a certain moment. Ex: An alarm, a schedule, commitment to someone.
- Do I have the ability to complete this task? If you don't feel capable enough of doing something, instead of quitting altogether, try shortening the length or shortening the effort. Ex: Maybe I can’t stand an hour of exercise but I can do 15 minutes.
- Are you motivated?: If you have the first two elements, prompt and ability, then you are facing a motivation challenge. What is your main reason to do this activity? Are you fully convinced? Does it align with your values and goals? What fears are holding you back?
- Asking for money: There is a lot that we can learn about behavior science when asking for money. For one, you can go through the questions on the Foggs Behavior Model about your strategy: Am I prompting my donors? Is it within their ability to make the donation? Are my donors motivated by my cause?
- The ideal size for your ask: How big should your ask be? The answer is simple, you want to ask for the highest amount that the current motivation allows.
- Check for your donor’s motivation: Are they going through a rough or a great time? What is their energy level?
- Time you're asking: Find out about your donor’s interests and catch a time when they are feeling good. Ex. Are they excited about an event/ prize/ achievement?
- The key elements of celebration: BJ Fogg describes celebration as a way to create positive feelings of success on demand. Feeling success while accomplishing something will encourage you to continue with the action, thus making it easier to form a habit.
- How to apply this in fundraising? Help your donors feel a positive emotion right after giving or contributing in any other way. This will increase their motivation, help wire the habit of giving in their brains, and open them up to be more risk-taking.
Favorite quotes
- “Change the size of the ask, according to how motivated the person is in that moment, not in general, but in that moment.”- BJ Fogg, PhD
- “One of my policies is I tell people the most positive, true thing I can tell them. I don't just make something up. I'd find something true and positive and it's just become a habit and why not? It's fun to do, it uplifts people, and then that comes back to me.”
- “It motivates them. It helps wire in the habits. It opens them up to being more risk-taking, more exploratory, more creative... all these positive things happen when people feel shine.”. - BJ Fogg, PhD
- “Allow yourself to feel successful for even the tiniest of successes. Now that doesn't come naturally to everybody, but the more you can let yourself feel successful for even the tiniest of successes, the more you will have these transformative, pivot moments where you do something tiny and it opens you up to doing much bigger things.” - BJ Fogg, PhD
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BJ's tips on asking for money
episode transcript
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