Your job description: Happiness delivery
- Fri, July 01 2011
- Filed under: Fundraising essentials
The science is pretty clear: People are inherently generous. They are hard wired for empathy. They want to help others—and when they help, it makes them happy.
There is no shortage of good causes that need help. So why aren’t the dollars rolling into your cause? Because to get people to act on their natural impulses, you have to ask them to help in a compelling way. Throwing data, guilt and need at them isn’t enough.
Here’s your job description: to unleash the generosity inherent in others. Your work is to make it easy and irresistible to help. Then make people happy by telling them the difference they made. It’s that simple, and that hard.
Today, Charity: Water showed that job of happiness delivery being done very well (pun intended):
Hi Friend,
A year and a half ago, you donated onmycharitywater.org
You probably knew then that 100% of the money you gave would go directly to water projects in developing countries.
But did you know you’d see exactly where each of your dollars ended up?
When we started charity: water in 2006, the first thing we did was fund six wells in Uganda. When they were finished, we visited the communities and sent photos and GPS back to the people who made the projects possible. Ever since then, we’ve been dedicated to finding new ways to connect you to the people you’re helping around the world.
In few weeks, we’ll launch a brand new feature on mycharity: water called Dollars to Projects, which ties every dollar raised to a completed water project in the field.
It’s been 18 months since you gave, and in that time our local partners have finished the projects you funded. Soon, you’ll find out the name, location and population size of the community you helped. You’ll see photos, GPS coordinates and other details of exactly where your money went.
“18 months…why so long?”
We get asked this question a lot, so we thought we’d address it here. In the last 18 months, our partners on the ground purchased supplies, trained water committees and finished construction of the water projects. We don’t consider a project finished until we’re sure that the community has complete ownership and knows how to take care of it going forward. It’s a long journey, but a necessary one for water projects to have a lasting impact.
Learn more about exactly what happens in 18 months: visit the Dollars to Projects homepage.
“What do I need to do next?”
You don’t need to do anything! We’ll send you an email in a few weeks as soon as Dollars to Projects launches. We’re so excited to show you the lives you’ve transformed.
—the charity: water team