Giving Compass' Take:

• This post at Great Nonprofits explores the impact that donors can have by sharing their giving experience — and how it may motivate others to take action. 

• What this group found is that videos seemed to be the most impactful form of media, and short-form videos prompted an uptick in giving substantially more than long-form clips.

• Want more motivation to give? Check out our free personal donations manager: Giving Planner.

Many of us have been inspired to give after hearing about a colleague, friend, or family member’s transformative experience giving to a cause. A donor sharing their giving experience has a powerful emotional impact on a 1-on-1 level, which can be multiplied through stories shared through social media or on other platforms.

Research (learn more in our blog post) in brain science by Uri Hasson at Princeton University provided evidence about why stories are such effective transmitters of feelings and ideas.

This prompted our question: Can we show that donor stories actually lead to other donors getting motivated and inspired to give, in a way that can be measured?

There’s a lack of data-driven research measuring how donors telling their stories impact giving, what types of stories most motivate donors, and the best way for donors to tell their stories. With support from the Gates Foundation, we tested the impact of donors’ stories in video format on users of the GreatNonprofits website.

While the general inclusion of video produced positive results, the most impactful videos were short-form, snappy videos designed to match common formats that users experience on other social networking websites. These videos are designed to bring the emotional impact of a donor’s giving to the viewer as quickly and simply as possible.

Read the full article about the power of donor stories at GreatNonprofits.org.