How to Create Equivalency Language

If you go to the Feeding America website right now, the very first thing you will see is $1 = 20 meals. It’s simple and effective. The organization is showing you the actual impact of every dollar contributed to the organization.

This is an example of what we’d call equivalency language, which is taking the program costs and the number of people, animals, areas, etc. that the program reaches, and creating a ratio that you can use to illustrate impact to your donor. Equivalency language allows the donor to have something concrete to wrap their heads around and can help identify their passions.

Direct mail programs have been using equivalency language as a tool to communicate impact and inspire giving for years. What surprises me, though, is how many mid-level and major gifts programs don’t bother to arm their gift officers with equivalency language at higher giving amounts—even though those same organizations are expecting their gift officers to inspire increases for unrestricted gifts without any language to support them.

Studies have shown that giving the option to restrict a charitable gift increases the average gift size, whether or not the donor chooses to exercise that option. Researchers have determined that allowing the donor to restrict a gift increased donors’ sense of control over their gifts’ impact. But the feeling of control was just as high whether or not they actually chose to restrict their gift – even if it went to “where it was most needed.”

Using equivalency language evokes the same sense of control for a donor. It allows the gift officer to communicate the impact of a donor’s gift at any level—to help them truly understand how the amount they give makes a difference, and how they could make an even bigger difference by increasing their giving.

Creating the Right Calculations

Crafting equivalency language for your major gifts and mid-level programs isn’t always easy (though, Veritus does have a white paper you can read to help you get started). It involves calculating the total true cost of each program (including all overhead), then dividing that cost by output numbers available that are specific to that program.

Here’s a very simple example for an out-of-school summer program for students.

Total Program Cost: $278,000

Program Information:

• Three Cohorts (June, July, and August) – 4 weeks each
• 30 students/ cohort

Cost Breakouts for Donor Impact:

• Cost of one cohort (month) for 30 students: $278,000/3 cohorts = $92,000
• Cost of one week of programming for 30 students: $92,000/4 weeks = $23,000
• Cost for one student to complete program: $92,000/ 30 students = $3,100
• Cost for student to complete one week: $3,100/ 4 weeks = $775

With just the total true cost and two pieces of program information, we were able to calculate equivalency language at four different giving ranges. Now, for donors who we know care about our summer program, we can help contextualize the impact of their giving at various levels.

And remember – using equivalency language does not mean you’re asking for restricted gifts! No one believes that when they give $1 to Feeding America, it’s going to go directly to 20 specific meals. Equivalency language at higher levels should be treated the same way. Assuming you used the total true cost when calculating, all equivalency language can be presented as unrestricted.

Phrasing Your Equivalency Language

When using equivalency language, always include in the sentence a variation of the following:

• To help illustrate the impact of your gift(s) this year, in YEAR, $XXXX is the equivalent of...
• The generous gift of $XXXX you gave us in MONTH is roughly the equivalent of…
• Your generous giving of $XXXX equates to changing the lives of…
• On average, it costs ORGANIZATION approximately $XXXX each year to…

Equivalency language can be such an important tool for your fundraising team. It’s worth taking the time to put together. In the second part of this blog series, I’ll share with you ways you can use your equivalency language in your donor communications.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this two-part blog series