Post on 14-Feb-2017
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to knowIn June, we looked to our followers and fans to
tell us about all the damns they give and why.
We wanted to see who is present to win, who is
volunteering, where they are getting involved and in what ways they are activists.
The survey was posted to Black Sheep’s social media channels and website with 79% of total
survey responses occurring within the first 24-hours.
We understand that the high volume of respondents occurring so rapidly was due to a
free t-shirt being up for grabs for the first 50 people. Admittedly, they are very nice shirts.
Here is what we learned:
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For kicks, we took a second to look at what size unisex t-shirt people are
sporting these days:
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
34%
19%
33%
10%
4%
Extra Large
Large
Medium
Small
Extra Small
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Everyone has their own interests,
passion projects and causes they care about. When it comes time to act, these
are the volunteer opportunities our respondents gravitate towards:
10%
11%
2%
28% 29%
21%Working With Children
Local/Community EventsTeaching/Educating
Working With Seniors
Civic Work
Other
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ActivismIt would have been easy to have a few multiple
choice questions to help guide the results—but we aren’t about that. We prefer to go big.
To put the survey onto the right path, our first question was open-ended with no limit as to
how much a person could share. With zero input or suggestions from us, we wanted to know:
WHAT DOES ACTIVISM MEAN TO YOU?
“Getting together and organizing for a
specific cause. Leading the revolution.
Energizing the masses. Inspiring others to
embrace change.”
—Respondant #20
“Working together to make positive
differences for the community and world we
live in.”
—Respondant #37
“Reading. Read everything. Read until you
understand, until you have enough
knowledge to move forward on whatever
issue you're trying to understand—you can't
make a difference if you're not educated.”
—Respondant #58
“It means showing up, giving time, talent,
resources. It means DOING SOMETHING, not
just nodding or thumbs-upping.”
—Respondant #78
“Activism is the verb that elevates people
from couch-sitters and navel gazers to
doers, fixers, collaborators, innovators and
solvers. It's not just thinking about a
problem. It's doing whatever you can,
however you can.”
—Respondant #84
“Taking a stand on what you believe and
putting in an effort to make a positive
change—big or small.”
—Respondant #96
“Activism means doing, not saying. Being,
not pretending. If you care about a cause,
speak up, put up, show up. If you give a
damn, I find it so much more powerful to
express how many damns you give through
actions as opposed to words.”
—Respondant #125
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Each entry was powerful and no two
were alike. We read through every response and tallied the use of
specific words and phrases—allowed us to see the most common
themes that define activism:
34%
19%
33%
10%
4%
Extra Large
Large
Medium
Small
Extra Small
to fight for better
To act
to speak up
to get involved
to take a stand
to be present
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key findingsWe like to understand people. With a good idea
of how each person defines activism, we started to get into the nitty-gritty information.
The remaining portion of the survey was about logistics and emotional connection. How they
take part, why they take part, what are the things and types of causes they gravitate
towards and—of course—their financial giving habits.
The results provide a glimpse into a mixture of personal preferences and both online and
offline behavior.
10%
4%
Small
Extra Small
Being interested in a cause can take many
shapes—including rallying others to join. But how are people getting together? According to
the survey, these are the social media channels most often leveraged when inspiring and
activating others:
7%Instagram
Other
70%
19%7%4%
10%
4%
Small
Extra Small
And to follow-up, these are the social channels where the respondents are most often being
inspired to take action:
19%Twitter
7%Instagram
4% Other
59%
23%12%
6%
But what types of messaging work? What content really starts a fire? Which calls-to-action truly resonate? For this question, we allowed people to choose one, many and all:
Urgentmust-do-something-
about-this-right-now.
44PositiveYou-can-make-a-
difference.
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quickShare because I can
give you two minutes.
30CHEAP
$5 makes THAT big of
a difference.
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People are impacted by messaging differently, so we made a safe assumption that people respond to
messaging in different ways as well. We asked what they do when they see, hear or read about a cause that is deemed worthy of investing time and energy into. The open-ended question resulted in
responses that held four common themes:
LISTEN. Learn. SHARE. ACT.A lot. To those around you and
to those not in your circle.
Research and try to
understand as much as
possible.
Talk about what you’ve learned
and what you’ve heard. Spread
the word.
Donate. Participate. Get off of
the couch and do something.
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Now that people are willing to take real action—we uncovered which resources
our respondents most often give:
30%
20%
50%Time
Money
Resources
$$$With a willingness to donate money, we asked
what dollar amount usually makes them feel like they just can’t say no—specifically when it’s
about a cause they believe in:
$10-$25
38%
Less than $10
23%
Price doesn’t matter
23%
$25-$50
12%
$50+
4%
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Even with positive messaging that resonates and clear ways to act, people will still have to manage their give-life balance. This is why we asked how often people agree to help versus how often do they
actually do it?
When someone asks you to donate or participate to a cause/organization,
how often do you agree to help? How often do you actually do it?
22%Totally agree to help and follow-
through on it almost every time.
70%I’d agree to help more, but
timing and cost get in the way.
6%I prefer to throw money at things
because I’m short on time. 2%I rarely agree to help or actually
do anything.
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People clearly know what motivates them to act—which is why we asked them to share with us the causes and organizations that matter
most to them. These are the campaigns and social causes they have seen that are memorable and speak to their core:
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Ending insightsThe results of the survey gave us a solid picture of all the damns being
given in all of the different ways people prefer to give them.
We have a better understanding that reducing costs and removing
time barriers will result in more people able and willing to get involved. We know that it is best to shy away from asking for more
than $25 of donations in a single transaction and that sharing positive messaging on Facebook and Twitter resonates.
We know that to make an impact, it requires being awake, being present and providing people with the reasons and ways they should
fight for better.