Economic and Behavioral Assessment of Motivation Factors of Lebanese Monetary Donors to Non-Government Organizations (NGOs)

Bassam Charif Hamdar

doi:10.11648/j.ijebo.20180601.12

Abstract

In recent years, non-profit organizations proved to play a vital role in the community especially in a small country like Lebanon where goods and services to the population are very limited and only few alternatives are obtainable. Private individual charitable giving has gained much importance as a source of support for non-profit organizations. The aim of this paper is to assist these charitable organizations to better understand the motivating factors of Lebanese donors. This paper conducted a research on the effect of the gender and educational level of donors on their donation decisions, to know what motivates them to give to charity, what hinders them from giving more, and what affects their choice of the recipient Non-Government Organizations (NGOs). Data from 235 respondents in Beirut, the authors were able to deduce three potential motivating factors affecting the donor; religion, human sympathy, and social solidarity, and three potential de-motivating factors (or barriers); non-transparency, lack of post donation reports, and the insistence in the request of donations. Moreover, three potential factors affecting the decision of donors to choose the recipient NGOs: Good reputation, same religious affiliation, and importance of the cases requesting donations. The results of this study will provide valuable insights into how donors engage with these non-profit organizations as well as pave the way for the NGOs to effectively influence the decisions and intentions of donors.

Highlights

During the past few years, Lebanon has been a country of a great need to charitable giving due to the Syrian refugees’ crisis and due to the bad economic condition of many Lebanese, and Lebanon witnessed an increasing philanthropy activity in parallel with the birth of many non-profit organizations working in the charity domain trying to meet the social needs
With little and almost no research conducted in Lebanon about this issue, which is of a great importance, no clear donor motivation practices are adopted by the NonGovernment Organizations (NGOs) in Lebanon that conform to the donors’ behavior towards the act of donating
The motivation factors to donating vary in importance depending on gender and education level as follows: males are motivated by order of importance higher to lower: religion/faith, social solidarity, and human sympathy / emotion; while females are motivated by order of importance from higher to lower: religion/faith, human sympathy / emotion and social solidarity

Summary

Introduction

During the past few years, Lebanon has been a country of a great need to charitable giving due to the Syrian refugees’ crisis and due to the bad economic condition of many Lebanese, and Lebanon witnessed an increasing philanthropy activity in parallel with the birth of many non-profit organizations working in the charity domain trying to meet the social needs. This situation led to a rise in the fundraising activity among various charity institutions putting the donor under financial and social responsibility pressure, from one side, and putting the Non-Government organizations( NGOs) under the pressure of acquiring donors and motivating them to donate more, from the other side. In an increasingly donor-centered country, where donors are motivated to give by a variety of factors, and are able to choose from a growing number of organizations to support, researches that analyze differences among donor preferences, motivations, and priorities are urgently needed.

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Discussion

Conclusion