The limited budget for caring

It's no surprise to you, I'm sure, that your supporters have finite resources for giving.

Naturally no potential supporter has unlimited funds, or time, or social influence.

But have you thought about their other budget? The one that says, "I've helped enough people today."?

Because that budget does exist.

The desire to help others is a limited, if renewable, resource that ebbs and flows.

When it's high, many people feel a need to give, to someone.
When it's low, the same people will feel reluctant to give, to anyone.

Let's call it a budget of caring. Everyone's budget is different, but even the kindest among us can only care so much.

Why this matters:

I myself have received three appeals for giving already today, and it's barely past Noon here.

I agreed to help one of them. Then, I was somehow less motivated to help the others.

At least one factor there, I must admit, was that I was nearing my budget for caring. Not by some logical process, but by emotional impulse.

So it's worth asking:

• How likely is it that your call to action is the only appeal your people are receiving today?

• Among all the competition for their budget of caring, what makes your call to action stand out?

Let's talk tomorrow about what can make an appeal stand out, and be worthy of your people's limited budget for caring.

All the best,
A.