“This is my only request” – using the ‘Omega’ strategy to boost the success of charity drives

Tomasz Grzyb , Dariusz Doliński

Abstract

Introduction The Omega strategy described by Knowles is comprised of techniques applied with the goal of breaking down an individual's resistance to taking decisions (involving the purchase of a product, donations to charity, support for an idea, etc.). Objective The article describes two experiments designed to test a hypothesis on the usefulness of applying the Omega strategy in seeking donations for charitable organizations. The studies examines how adding the phrase “this is my only request” after announcing the primary request impacts the tendency to fulfil it. We tested both the willingness to help (experiment 1 and 2) as well as its declared size (experiment 2). Method In first experiment, 106 participants were asked in control and experimental conditions to make a donation to a children's hospice. In a second experiment, randomly assigned pedestrians (n = 80) were asked to help in writing and sending Christmas postcards to prisoners. Results The results of both experiments demonstrate that the formula “this is my only request” is effective in increasing the chances that people will give donations. Conclusion We may suspect that adding this phrase softens resistance among those who fear a more difficult request will come after the first one is fulfilled (and thus are wary of the mechanism applied in the foot-in-the-door technique).