239. Charities and Nonprofits: Does Behavioral Science Work the Same? with Luke Freeman

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In today's conversation, I am joined by Luke Freeman, who is the executive director of Giving What We Can, an organization dedicated to creating a culture where people are inspired to give to the world’s most effective charities. Giving What We Can was one of the first organizations in the world focused on effective altruism: the project of using evidence and reason to figure out how to best help others, and taking action on that basis.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I specifically asked Luke to be on the show today to discuss behavioral science concepts and how they line up with nonprofits. Sometimes, concepts perform exactly as they would in a traditional customer/company relationship when there is money being exchanged…but in other cases, research has found this isn't the case. When people are volunteering or donating some tactics that would show you are grateful or appreciative of a customer (like giving a gift) may backfire and feel…off.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Knowing this is a time of year when people who work in nonprofits or volunteer on boards are gearing up for year-end asks or doing strategic planning for next year and people may be thinking of their annual donations, it seemed like the perfect time for this episode to help everyone be more effective with their support of others now and into the future.</span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Show Notes:</span></h3> <ul> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">[00:45] In today's conversation, I am joined by Luke Freeman, who is the executive director of Giving What We Can.</span></li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">[03:08] Luke shares his background and the work that he does. His background is in marketing and he has recently moved to the nonprofit sector.</span></li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">[05:14] When Giving What We Can was looking for an executive director, it was a perfect opportunity to do work that was really important to him. </span></li> <li><span styl