Working Paper: NBER ID: w22099
Authors: Tova Levin; Steven D. Levitt; John A. List
Abstract: The wealthiest 10% of donors now give 90% of charitable dollars in the U.S., but little is known about what motivates them. Using a natural field experiment on over 5,000 high capacity donors, we find persistence in giving patterns, that signals of program quality influence giving, and that the price of giving is not unduly important. Unlike typical small donors, our givers respond only on the intensive margin, and often with a longer time lag. Our study highlights the value to practitioners of partnering with academics, as our intervention has generated $30 million in incremental donations to the University.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: C93; H4
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| excessive contact with high capacity donors (F35) | negative impact on fundraising (H84) |
| exposure to the treatments (C90) | increased giving (D64) |
| speaking invitation (Y20) | increased donations (D64) |
| two-to-one match (C78) | increased donations (D64) |
| exposure to the treatments (C90) | likelihood of making a donation (D64) |
| exposure to the treatments (C90) | size of donations (D64) |