Recognition and Cross-Cultural Communications as Motivators for Charitable Giving

Abstract

Most models of charitable giving and volunteerism assume that individuals give to receive some type of benefit, which can range from the receipt of a small extrinsic reward (such as a material reward) to being rewarded with a feeling of doing good, a sense of pride, a strengthened reputation, or an expectation of reciprocity. One incentive that has been identified in the literature is image motivation, with mixed results to date. Utilizing a randomized controlled field experiment, I test the effect of image motivation, specifically a promise to publicly acknowledge participation, using a sample of low income and linguistically diverse households. Findings suggest that there is a significant effect of image motivation on participation, but not among all audiences. These findings should be instructive for both nonprofit practitioners and scholars who research charitable giving.