What makes donors tick?
United Way/Environics research maps social, cultural values of donors and non-donors
May 21, 1997; Canadian FundRaiser
As part of its R&D 2000 initiative, United Way of Canada/Centraide Canada has identified the need to "rebrand" itself in the eyes of current and prospective donors across Canada. This involves developing a "brand print" for United Way which represents an imaginative articulation of the unique relationship between United Way and its current and prospective donors.
Articulating the "brand print", as the United Way sees it, involves understanding two aspects of United Way's relationship with donors: the "harder" performance side - i.e., what people expect of United Way in terms of how it promotes, manages and monitors donations, and the "softer"/emotional side - i.e., the degree to which United Way reflects the values of its donors. United Way understands the performance side of what it offers to donors, but it has had little information to date about the values and emotions donors link with it. The objective of becoming involved in this study was to supply that information to help the organization tailor its new brand print to better resonate with its current and future donors.
As a result, UW became part of the Environics West 3SC Study, which has been monitoring over 74 different social trends and values since 1983. A survey of 2,600 Canadians over 15, the 1995 Study asked people which charities they had ever given to and which ones they had given to in the past year. United Way was included in this list of charities.
Environics then studied different groups from the sample:
- those who have never given to any charity (13% of Canadians)
- those who have ever given to any charity (86% of Canadians)
- those who have never given to United Way (57% of Canadians)
- those who have ever given to United Way (43% of Canadians)
- those who gave to United Way in the past year (26% of Canadians)
- those who gave to United Way previously but not in the past year (17% of Canadians)
Socio-Cultural Map
A series of "social values maps" were prepared for these people, identifying which of the 74 social values each group shared that distinguished them from other Canadians. Environics based the 3SC analyses on a study of the position of the population and certain segments on a socio-cultural map it established by dispersing the population in such a way that each respondent in the 3SC Survey is positioned on the map's vertical and horizontal axes (See below).
| CONFORMITY |
Social Status and Success
recognition and social identity |
Traditional Values
security and stability |
Personal Experience
new mental frontiers |
Me Generation
fulfillment and autonomy |
| INDIVIDUALITY |
On the vertical axis (conformity/individuality) are found:
- toward the top: conformists who value order, authority, morality, discipline (people who `conform' to the models decreed by society); and
- toward the bottom: individuals who tend to be more non-conformist, modern and individualistic (people who reject society's models in exchange for a greater respect for individual needs and rights).
On the horizontal axis (outer-directed/inner directed) are found:
- toward the left: individuals who wish to affirm themselves within a community, improve their social position and acquire the respect of their peers; and
- toward the right: individuals who accept themselves as they are, and who are more inner-directed.
Increasing focus on personal fulfillment
The Environics studies have shown that over the past fifteen years Canadians have moved away from holding more traditional and status conscious values, and have embraced values that focus more on personal fulfillment and autonomy. These (and people who give to the United Way fall into this group) are reflected by values such as the following:
- A desire for more control over their destiny - i.e., they want more say and involvement in decisions that affect their work and community life.
- An increased desire to personalize and customize products and services to match their own personal interests, styles and preferences.
- Making more of an effort to be "smart" consumers - i.e., looking at options, getting information and seeking the best value.
- Reduced loyalty to traditional institutions and organizations which in the past tried to dictate the way they lived, worked or behaved.
- A desire to become "adaptive navigators" in an increasingly complex and insecure environment - i.e., searching for "road maps" as to how to survive and prosper in a hostile and competitive environment.
- A search for a renewed meaning in life and to connect with others who share the new meaning. This also involves a renewed interest in reducing stress in their lives, simplifying their lives, and looking for ways just to "have some fun".
Four main groups
Dividing the Environics map into quadrants reveals four main types of individuals:
- Top right: Traditional Values (29% of Canadians)
individuals whose principal values are fundamentally based on their need for security (material, economic, psychological, etc.), who are motivated primarily by ideology and reason (religion, etc.), and whose behaviour is dictated by pre-established moral codes rather than by their emotions;
- Top left: Social Status and Success (19% of Canadians)
individuals who are highly motivated by success, who like to flaunt their social status or the status they dream of attaining, those who can be aptly described by the phrase "keeping up with the Joneses";
- Lower right: Personal Autonomy (31% of Canadians)
individuals whose values are modern and individualistic, whose lifestyle is that of the "Me Generation" (in the form to which it has evolved today), whose values are oriented toward personal autonomy and fulfillment, with an emphasis on respect for individual right and needs;
- Lower left: Experience-seeking (21% of Canadians)
individuals who place a great deal of importance on exploring life and exploring their personal potential, who want to live life to the fullest, to expand their mental frontiers, constantly discover new things and make new connections.
Who gives to charity?
Environics analyzed people who give to various charities/organizations to see where they fit on the socio-cultural map, and concluded that:
- Different charities do in fact appeal to people who share different social values. The most extreme differences emerge between those who give to a university (people who share values that reflect a desire for personal autonomy and personal experience) vs. those who give to churches (people who have a desire to feel secure but also are concerned about their personal status).
- People who give to more "traditional" charities (Cancer Society, Heart and Stroke, Canadian Red Cross) tend to be clustered together and tend to share values centered around security and stability, as well as a need for social status and recognition.
- People who give to the YMCA and universities have the most individualistic and experience-seeking values. These values in fact reflect the most "youthful" and "modern" values in Canada.
- People who give to United Way are relatively unique compared to those who give to other charities. Their values reflect a mixture of both "traditional" (a concern for security and stability) and "modern" (a desire for personal fulfillment and autonomy) values.
Core Values: Canadians who have ever donated to any charity
People who give to charities make up 86% of the Canadian population, and thus match Environics's overall Canadian demographic profile. They share social values that reflect concerns both for security and stability in society as well as ensuring/reinforcing their own personal status and standing:
- Socially Connected and Duty Bound
This group, say Environics, places importance on family, community and religion. They see these institutions as giving them some status, structure and meaning in their life. Part of their focus is to keep up-to-date on what's happening in their community and to find ways to help resolve issues or problems that exist. Overall, they try to do the "right" things in life and have a desire to leave a legacy for future generations.
- Cautious and Conservative in Lifestyle
These people avoid taking risks. Environics sees them as believing in a fairly disciplined lifestyle, and feel that obligation to others should take precedence over one's personal pleasure. This reflects a "duty first, pleasure second" approach to life.
- Fulfilled Through Work
People in this group, Environics found, have great personal investment in their careers. However, they also find there are "never enough hours in the day" to get everything done. In a quest to resolve this time crunch, they may look to technological solutions to help manage their time.
- Concern for the Global Village
While members of this group identified by Environics are "duty bound" in their personal and community life, these same concerns overflow into a broader societal view: for the environment and ecological balance; for their own and other peoples' health and mortality; for their financial future; and for the deteriorating state of the "dog-eat-dog" world we're a part of. Overall, they try to see the "big picture" - realizing that security and stability can only occur if everyone obeys the same rules.
- Empathetic With Others
Part of their concern for seeing the big picture, says Environics, means seeing it through the eyes of other people as well as their own.
- Discriminating Consumers
Overall, Environics concludes, they tend to be cautious in spending money, and are skeptical of advertising. They also like to be assured of the ethical practices of the organizations they do business with. Overall, they are trying to be smart consumers who gather information and weigh the options before making decisions.
Core Values: Canadians who have never donated to any charity
Overall, Environics says, this group shares social values that are highly autonomous and experience seeking. It is somewhat more male than female, and is concentrated in the 15 to 24 age range, with few over 45. Many (28%) are students and semi-skilled workers (22%). They tend to have lower incomes, 28% earning less than $25,000., and to be living in larger cities, with 38% of them in communities of more than one million people. Most of them are single (60%), and they are over-represented in Quebec (31%).
- Living on The Edge
Environics sees this as a group of fun-lovers and thrill seekers who approve of youthful freedom. They seek out personal pleasure, bypassing the dictates of duty or morality. They enjoy dabbling in things dangerous or forbidden and tend to be sexually permissive. They live by the Nike "just do it" philosophy.
- Aimless but Adaptable
These people, Environics says, are not bothered by the constant change and complexity of modern life. They are the nomads of modern society. They have little desire for security and stability and, indeed, may appear to be quite aimless in leading their life. They place little importance on family or religion and think little about what they will leave behind when they die.
- Connected and Clicking
Despite their nomadic urges, Environics points out, they like to move in tribes rather than on their own. They seek to break out of their own personal isolation by talking with others who share the same feelings and experiences as they do.
- Looking out for Number One
While members of this group enjoy emotional and interpersonal exchange very much, they also believe that each person has to look after their own needs in today's society, and that violence in life is inevitable and, to some degree, normal. Overall this jungle mentality, says Environics, means that they are looking out for Number One.
- Ostentatious and Non-Discriminating Consumers
In the Environics view, this group expresses their social status and personality through products and services and brand names that make a statement both in style and function. They enjoy advertising messages without particular concern for the facts. They have little interest in the ethical standards of the companies they deal with. In marketing terms they are part of the look good/feel good generation.
Source: Environics West - Final Report to the United Way.
