Donation Matching

Very interesting social experiment....

I mentioned in earlier post how little donation I was physically receiving for the typhoon. A colleague mentioned people (mostly) never donate willingly. It is all about marketing. So for my donation box we:

• used a clear plastic jar and removed the opaque lid so people could see what's inside
• placed a $5 note inside to encourage people to give paper money
• left some coins to remind/entice people to get rid of their loose change in it (no one likes to carry heavy coins in their pockets anymore)

From this little experiment, I observed that:

• read earlier blog
• I did not get any loose coins, except for the ones placed in it by colleagues whom were helping me market-up the jar, and my own coins for similar reasons. We emptied the jar at the end of the day for security but showed calculations of takings, so we had to keep putting new coins into it every morning. Then I realised the self-service store for chocolates and small treats was 10-15 steps away from the donation jar. It couldn't compete... not even for 10cents.
• When I left the jar empty, it stayed empty (for three quarter of the day).
• I placed a $5 in it, within an hour, another $5 was left.

I'm not going to conclude anything, it was an uncontrolled experiment so one could argue circumstances, location, timing, etc etc.

....Yesterday, I tried a drastic marketing strategy. To see if people really always (unconsciously) want something in return for their good deed. I said I will match the donations, $2 for every dollar donation. One donation to a religious agency, and an equal amount to a secular organisation.

Voila! In one day I collected more than the amount I collected for 4 days. From less than $30 collected on Thursday to $68.10 in 4 hours.

So this morning, I deposited:

• $70 matching donation to Red Cross (kinda secular, was the religious agency I chose initially)
• $70 donated by others to Samaritan's Purse, as advertised early in the week.
• $70 matching donation to Samaritan's Purse (religious) again ack. It was meant to go to Plan Australia (secular), so I could also show 3 different receipts, but my computer did not confirm the donation above so I thought it did not go through and did it again.

It all goes to the same place. *tense smile*

.... Someone told me I only have to match the takings on Friday. But I'll match the whole week's.... I got a little bit of fun and play from the curious experimentation. A good return for the good deed. Worth the donation. ;-)

If you want to donate, but prefer tax deductibility in Australia, you can do it through agencies such as these (link for Plan Australia below).

Plan Australia