Donors’ perceptions of financial disclosures and links to donation intentions

Abstract

ABSTRACT The not-for-profit literature has not fully explored the decision-usefulness of financial disclosures with respect to the public’s donation intentions. Engaging with this lacuna, this study proposes that reputation and trust serve as important causal links between donors’ perceptions of the decision-usefulness of financial disclosures and their donation intentions. The study adopts the theory of planned behaviour and applies structural equation modelling to 400 useable responses from an Australian survey. The study finds: (1) a strong link between financial disclosures which donors perceive as decision-useful and their perception of the reputation of the reporting not-for-profit organisation (NFP), (2) a close association between donors’ perception of the reputation of an NFP (that is, their behavioural belief) and their trust in the organisation (their attitude), and (3) a significant link between donors’ trust in an NFP and hence their attitude towards the organisation with respect to their donation intentions. These results imply that the decision-usefulness of an NFP’s financial disclosures make donors more inclined to donate to the NFP via the impact of disclosures on donors’ perceptions of reputation and thence trustworthiness. In addition to contributing to the emergent NFP literature on disclosures and giving behaviour, these findings inform financial disclosure policies and practice by furthering the case for decision-useful financial disclosures among NFPs.