What Really Motivates Donors to Give? Understanding the Drivers of Philanthropic Engagement

Building a deeper understanding of what donors want at various stages of the donor journey led to the development of our GIVE methodology. GIVE, purposely designed to help organizations unlock giving intent, value & engagement, explores more than 100 rational and emotional attributes to answer three critical questions: what motivates donors to give, where in the journey do these motivations matter most, and how well are organizations meeting these expectations at these most meaningful moments. Recent research we conducted with over 1,300 donors focuses on the first question, exploring donor motivations at the sector level and providing a foundation for understanding the rational and emotional drivers that matter most to today’s donors.

The Rational Side: What Donors Want to Get

Today’s donors prioritize clarity and accountability. In our recent research, two rational “gets” stood out far above the rest as most important to donors:

• Clarity on how their gift is used (72%)
• Seeing measurable impact (70%)

Beyond these top two priorities, individual preferences diverge considerably, highlighting why personalized donor engagement strategies matter more than one-size-fits-all approaches. Interestingly, in this market-level research, this benefit emerged as desirable to 1 in 3 Gen Z donors, underscoring the importance of generational segmentation.

The Emotional Side: How Donors Want to Feel

While rational motivators are relatively concentrated, emotional motivators are much more varied. The top three emotions donors said they want to feel when giving are:

• Valued (35%)
• Hopeful (34%)
• Appreciated (33%)

Other important emotions included feeling Proud, Connected, Respected, and Trusting, each resonating with roughly one in four donors. Unlike rational drivers, where expectations converge around two key drivers, the emotional landscape reveals significant individual variation, making targeted engagement strategies essential.

Linking the Two: Rational “Gets” Drive Emotional “Feels”

A key takeaway from this work is that rational drivers often set the stage for emotional fulfillment. For example:

• When donors get clarity, they are more likely to feel valued.
• When they see measurable impact, they are more likely to feel hopeful about the future.
• When communication is responsive, they are more likely to feel appreciated and connected.

This isn’t coincidental – when organizations deliver on practical expectations, they create the conditions for emotional fulfillment. The reverse is also true: emotional connection without rational substance quickly erodes trust. This connection between what donors get and how they want to feel is critical. Advancement professionals who purposefully design donor journeys that deliver on both will foster deeper, longer-lasting engagement.

Segment Specific Nuances: One Size Doesn’t Fit All

Our findings also showed important differences across age groups:

• Gen Z donors prioritize feeling Valued and Connected and are especially interested in engaging directly with beneficiaries.
• Boomers, on the other hand, want to feel Appreciated. They are more likely to emphasize seeking clarity on how their donations are used and measurable impact as most important.

These nuances highlight the importance of understanding what matters most to different segments of donors, and where those priority motivators appear in the donor journey.

Why This Matters

The risks are clear – when organizations fail to meet donor expectations, trust erodes, and connections weaken. We heard from donors that after financial hardship, the top reasons they stopped giving to an organization were lack of trust in how donations were used and lack of connection to the cause.

While the sector-level research we’ve conducted offers a helpful benchmark, leveraging the comprehensive GIVE methodology within an organization provides nonprofits with a powerful approach to uncover the unique rational and emotional drivers that matter to their donors, where they need to deliver on these motivations across the donor journey, and where critical gaps exist between current performance and donor expectations. This enables organizations to develop tailored strategies that increase engagement, strengthen commitment, and drive donations.

Organizations that understand and act on these insights – delivering on both rational expectations and emotional needs – are positioned to build stronger relationships with their donors. By meeting donors where they are with what matters most to them, nonprofits can create more meaningful connections that benefit both their mission and their supporters.

Interested in how your organization compares to others in its understanding and application of donor motivations along the donor journey? Take this 3-minute diagnostic to receive tailored insights into your organization’s donor experience capabilities.

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