Fundraising? Think about car sales, Florence Nightingale, and anchors!

I'd done the sums. I knew what my budget was. I'd done the filtered searches on the website. So why did I leave the car showroom having blown that budget? Let me tell you what happened. I told the salesman our maximum, but the first thing the salesman did in response was start at a higher price. These were all the shiny features I could get at that level. Too expensive for us, we all agreed, but still... no harm in looking, right? Then we hit upon a slightly cheaper car, still above my stated price range, but much better value. I was all in. I was spending more money but thinking about how much I'd saved. I was delighted. OK. Now think about these two statements: It's amazing how much Florence Nightingale achieved considering she died aged 21. and Florence Nightingale died aged 121, and was able to look back on a lifetime of amazing achievement. Both statements are patently false. But what happens if you do this? Tell one group of people she died at 21, then tell them that it's not true, and ask them to guess her actual age of death Tell another group that she died at 121, tell them that's not true, but ask them to guess. I think you know. The first group will guess a lower average age than the second group. We’re influenced by the previous information we've been given, even when they're told it's not true. This is called anchoring (the car salesman was doing it too) and charities need to know about it. Not that I'm suggesting we don't tell the tr