Charities: Get Donors to Give a Piece of Themselves
If you鈥檙e raising support for a cause, try to get potential donors to feel that they鈥檙e giving something of themselves.
Charities: Get Donors to Give a Piece of ThemselvesPaper Giving the Self: Increasing Commitment and Generosity through Giving Something That Represents One鈥檚 Essence
Prosocial actions often involve giving something that represents one鈥檚 essence, be it one鈥檚 name (e.g., signature), personal possessions, or body (e.g., blood donation). This research compares such 鈥渟elf-giving鈥� to the giving of resources of comparable value that are less connected to one鈥檚 essence. We show in five studies that self-giving embeds givers with a sense of commitment and generosity. Specifically, giving endowed objects (vs. briefly owned objects), one鈥檚 signature (vs. anonymous support), and blood (vs. a comparable amount of money) all increased perceptions of commitment and generosity among givers. As a result, givers were more likely to continue supporting that cause in the long run.
Published in: Social Psychological and Personality Science
- Authored by
- 2016
- Philanthropy
Read the Research in Chicago Booth Review