Let's talk about

• Non profit
• Entrepreneurship 
• Business
• Tech
• Life Sciences

What makes people give? It's a question that I've obsessed over for more than a decade. And it's what led me to develop the world's largest digital fundraising research lab. Through the course of performing over 2,500 fundraising experiments, I've learned a few simple yet profound truths: 1. Giving is an irrational decision. It doesn't make sense.

When you donate money to a charity, you give money and someone else receives the benefit. It's unlike any other transaction that people make. And so in order to compel people to give, you need to connect with them on a much more deeper, personal level. This insight has implications for marketers of all kinds-- both nonprofit and for-profit alike. 2. People give to people. They don't give to web sites, to emails, to campaigns-- or even organizations. They give to people. People also buy from people. Understanding that completely unlocks your perspective and frees any marketer to reconnect to the humanity of the value exchange. Instead of focusing on what I want you to do for me, my focus shifts to what I can do for you. What I can help you accomplish. This changes everything. 3. There is no such thing as a fundraising (or marketing) expert. Testing trumps marketing intuition. It trumps conventional wisdom and best practices. When we learn to stop pretending to be the experts and humble ourselves by being willing to test, we can finally learn from the true experts-- the donors (or customers).

__

Tim Kachuriak is the founder and Chief Innovation and Optimization Officer for NextAfter, a fundraising research lab consultancy, and training institute that works with charities, nonprofits and NGOs to help them grow their resource capacity. A nonprofit thought leader, Kachuriak is the author of the book Optimize Your Fundraising, lead researcher and co-author of the Online Fundraising Scorecard, Why Should I Give to You? (The Nonprofit Value Proposition Index Study), and The Midlevel Donor Crisis. Kachuriak has trained organizations in fundraising optimization around the world and is a frequent speaker at international nonprofit conferences.

Kachuriak is also the co-founder and board member for the Human Coalition, a member of the board of directors for Open Doors USA, an Advisory Board Member for the SMU Digital Accelerator, and an Advisory Board Member for the Blackbaud Institute for Philanthropic Impact. Kachuriak lives in Prosper, TX with his wife Rebecca, and their four children: Max (14), Charlie (13), Gracie (11), and Joe (5).