Last week was my dad’s birthday. I had gone up and down the aisles at Target to try to get ideas, wracked my brain, and still could not figure out what to buy for the man who has everything. There was nothing he needed, and anything he might want and didn’t already have was probably out of my price range anyways.

So I decided to make a donation in his honor. But to which of the many worthy causes out there? I wanted to pick an organization I hadn’t donated to before, and one that would make a real difference in someone’s life. I had a vague memory of having seen Beth Kanter riding a cow in a virtual representation of a gift catalog that I thought was for Heifer International (but now that I look at it, it’s actually for World Vision). I liked the idea of donating toward something tangible like an animal, so I went to Heifer International’s website, where they have a selection of animals you can choose to go to a family who will raise them and earn a livelihood from them. I selected a flock of chicks and a flock of geese for him, downloaded a card, and was pleased with myself for the original idea.

A couple of nights after I had given my dad the card that explained the gift, which he seemed to like, we had dinner at his house. I overheard my stepsister say something to him about the flock of chicks and flock of ducks.

“It was geese,” I called from the next room.

“No, it was ducks,” Michelle said.

“No, we gave him a flock of chicks and a flock of geese,” I said. Why would she be so insistent about it, when I knew perfectly well what we had given him?

Michelle hesitated, with a strange look on her face. “WE gave him a flock of chicks and a flock of ducks.”

We looked at each other as the realization dawned on us that we had given him almost exactly the same gift. “Heifer International?” I asked, a smile growing on my face. Hilarity ensued, and we both laughed so hard we couldn’t breathe.

My dad hadn’t said anything to either of us about the gifts that he had received, because he figured one of us must have mentioned it to the other, who made the faux pas of using the same gift idea, and didn’t want to embarrass us. Michelle had read about Heifer in Rachael Ray’s magazine and liked the idea. We had never talked about it until that night.

If the two of us independently came up with this gift, I have a feeling that Heifer International did quite well this holiday season. The reason I think their gift catalog is so appealing is because the results of the donations are made so concrete. Rather than giving money that goes to an organization’s very intangible general fund, no matter how good a cause it is, people like to be able to picture what they are funding.

This does not just apply to nonprofit fundraising. In social marketing programs, in which we are trying to persuade people to take action to improve their health (a vague notion until you don’t have it) or to “save the world,” we need to think about how to make the product concrete. So, for example, a program to prevent osteoporosis needs to go beyond selling “healthy bones.” Of course, that’s something everyone would want. But the idea of healthy bones doesn’t connect with most people’s lives. But talk to a senior about maintaining her independence by avoiding the dreaded hip fracture, and that will resonate.

“Save energy” is a vague generality, but talking about turning off the light in a room as you leave it, or about buying and installing compact fluorescent lightbulbs to replace your regular bulbs, provides a concrete, easy to understand action.

Try to create a picture in people’s minds of what the action or product will look like in their lives. Ground your descriptions in the senses to make the product come alive. Whether you are “selling” a flock of chicks or trying to get chicks to use your Flock, keep it real and concrete to be successful.

Oh, and a belated blog-borne happy birthday, Daddy. 🙂

Technorati Tags: marketing, nonprofit, heifer international, social marketing, fundraising

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