Abstract
Despite the increased social significance currently attached to national identity, little is known about how national group attachment may correlate with the decision to donate to domestic versus international charities. The current study brings together literature on national identity and charitable giving to empirically validate a model of charitable ethnocentrism and cosmopolitanism. The substantive study is based on an online survey administered to a sample of 1004 UK respondents. The findings indicate that internationalism leads to an increased preference for international charities and a negative inclination towards domestic alternatives. Conversely, nationalism leads to a preference for domestic charities, but a surprisingly non-significant view on international causes. This study adds to the limited empirical research on charitable choice, specifically international giving, and has implications for fundraisers of both domestic and international charities. The work also provides valid and reliable scales for the assessment of charitable ethnocentrism and charitable cosmopolitanism.
Highlights
Much is known about the broader determinants of charitable giving
Despite the increased social significance currently attached to national identity, little is known about how national group attachment may correlate with the decision to donate to domestic versus international charities
The current study brings together literature on national identity and charitable giving to empirically validate a model of charitable ethnocentrism and cosmopolitanism
Summary
Much is known about the broader determinants of charitable giving (best reconciled by Bekkers and Wiepking 2011a). It has been argued that donors feel greater empathy towards beneficiaries they personally identify with (Einolf et al 2013) Such a ‘‘sense of fit’’ (Sargeant and Woodliffe 2007) with beneficiaries may arise from nationality, one of the strongest forms of ingroup attachment (Schatz et al 1999). As noted by Schons et al (2015), supporting domestic charities indicates a belief that ‘‘compatriots take priority’’, which contrasts strongly with harbouring equal concern for all of humanity and allocating money to international charities . We term these opposing positions ‘‘charitable ethnocentrism’’ and ‘‘charitable cosmopolitanism’’, respectively
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