Giving Compass' Take:

• The author explains the term "giving fatigue" and how it set in for many donors after the string of natural disasters last year. He discusses next steps to move forward and recommends staying mindful of philanthropic efforts that still need to happen. 

• How can businesses' CSR programs help mitigate the challenges of giving fatigue? 

• Read about a collaborative model for disaster relief funding. 

As the seemingly endless string of disasters piled up last summer, some programs flourished, but few reached the levels experienced in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

While discussing potential next steps in the disaster relief effort, one client summed it up perfectly.

“We’re experiencing giving fatigue,” he said. “Employees have been so generous — they’ve given and given and given — but they’ve hit their limits.”

Giving Fatigue has been a topic in several of my conversations with people throughout the Corporate Social Responsibility community, as well as non-profit partners. Most of us are trying to figure out how to finish the year strong, and avoid similar issues in the future.

Passion drives action. If you want to get people to push through the giving fatigue of the past few months and invest in your programs, develop goals around the impact your employees crave.

YourCause has a “Share Your Story” function that our clients use to allow their employees to share stories and images about the causes and organizations they are closely involved with. This goes a long way to inspire fellow employees into action.

In addition, reporting is more than a way to collect data – it’s a story gold mine. Find employees whose support for particular organizations jump off the page and reach out to those employees to learn about their connection to the organization. Their stories often inspire co-workers to join in the cause, and that’s how organic campaigns are formed.

Read the full article about giving fatigue by Blake Friis at Your Cause.