Leap Up Donations Using Legacy Potential

People are more likely to donate their time and money when they desire to create a legacy through helping others. Many researchers call this desire “generativity,” using the name given to it by psychologist Erik Erickson.
     Prof. Erikson also coined the term “identity crisis,” which refers to a drive to determine who each of us truly is during our times of developmental change over the lifespan. Generativity eases the identity crisis by helping us maintain a stable identity and then extend that into the future. For this reason, an appeal to generativity could be influential with elderly adults, who think about what legacy they’ll leave after they’ve died.
     But a study at City University of New York and University of California-Irvine concludes that the peak in generativity occurs at about age 56 on average, a point well before the average age of death. The evidence recommends using generativity appeals for persuasion targets who are at middle age on up.
     Still, the same study found that the peak for more general prosociality—the desire to take actions which will benefit others outside one’s family—occurs more than a decade earlier, at about 45 years of age on average. It seems that the attractiveness of leaving a legacy does increase as we approach becoming senior citizens.
     The study carries more weight because it was longitudinal, tracking the degree of generativity in the same people as they aged. Longitudinal studies of human development generally produce more trustworthy results than cross-sectional studies, which compare groups of people of different ages at the same point in time.
     Because the study consisted of self-assessment measures, it seems that your target audiences will be aware of their degree of generativity. This facilitates their motivation by your appeals. The assessment scale asked people degree of agreement with items like “I try to pass along the knowledge I have gained through my experiences,” “I have important skills that I try to teach others,” and, “People come to me for advice.” This is the spirit to address in drawing donations using legacy potential.
     An appeal to generativity also influences the timing of monetary donations. Over all, people donate higher amounts if asked to pledge a charitable donation in the future than if asked to give now. But Ryerson University researchers found that senior citizens show fewer differences. As we age, our generativity results in greater willingness to donate now.

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