Working Paper: NBER ID: w20047
Authors: Dean Karlan; Daniel H. Wood
Abstract: We test how donors respond to new information about a charity's effectiveness. Freedom from Hunger implemented a test of its direct marketing solicitations, varying letters by whether they include a discussion of their program's impact as measured by scientific research. The base script, used for both treatment and control, included a standard qualitative story about an individual beneficiary. Adding scientific impact information has no effect on whether someone donates, or how much, in the full sample. However, we find that amongst recent prior donors (those we posit more likely to open the mail and thus notice the treatment), large prior donors increase the likelihood of giving in response to information on aid effectiveness, whereas small prior donors decrease their giving. We motivate the analysis and experiment with a theoretical model that highlights two predictions. First, larger gift amounts, holding education and income constant, is a proxy for altruism giving (as it is associated with giving more to fewer charities) versus warm glow giving (giving less to more charities). Second, those motivated by altruism will respond positively to appeals based on evidence, whereas those motivated by warm glow may respond negatively to appeals based on evidence as it turns off the emotional trigger for giving, or highlights uncertainty in aid effectiveness.
Keywords: donor behavior; charity effectiveness; fundraising; altruism; warm glow
JEL Codes: D64; H41; L31; O12
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| scientific evidence about a charity's effectiveness (L31) | overall donation behavior among prior donors (D64) |
| scientific evidence about a charity's effectiveness (L31) | likelihood of giving among large prior donors (D64) |
| scientific evidence about a charity's effectiveness (L31) | likelihood of giving among small prior donors (D64) |
| altruistic motives (D64) | larger donations (D64) |
| 'warm glow' motivations (D64) | smaller donations (D64) |
| emotional connection and perceived effectiveness of the charity (D64) | treatment's impact on donor behavior (D64) |