With a growing number of donors likely to contribute online instead of meeting representatives of charitable institutions, getting a letter from them or speaking to them on the phone, organizations seek ways of getting them to give funds over the long term.

Researchers at Ben-Gurion University (BGU) of the Negev in Beersheba have found that if potential donors are encouraged to share their opinion about a campaign and become emotionally engaged before being solicited, they are more likely to make a long-term commitment. 

Raising donations online has become an increasingly popular strategy, with many organizations recruiting donors primarily through email campaigns and click-through banners on websites.

The study, published in the Journal of Business and Psychology under the title “To Ask or Not to Ask: Enhancing Donations to Nonprofits by Soliciting Opinions Upfront Rather than Donations,” suggests that soliciting an opinion about a campaign, and then asking for a donation, is potentially more effective than merely asking for a donation upfront. 

In the study, 504 American participants were told a laboratory was collaborating with the hypothetical association “Cancer Research” to help children in the US and around the world. They were then randomly assigned to one of two groups, based on the type of appeal: Participants in the Donation Group were told the association was running a new campaign to help sick children and that they would have the opportunity to donate. 

Participants in the Opinion Group were told the association was running a new campaign to help sick children and they would have an opportunity to express their opinion about it.

In all three experiments, the Opinion Group consistently showed greater willingness to donate, made larger donations and expressed greater emotion and connection as well as feeling valued. 

“A nonprofit organization’s success depends mainly on the strategies it uses to recruit new donors,” said Prof. Tehila Kogut of BGU’s department of education and Decisionmaking and Economic Psychology Center who was assisted by former BGU postdoctoral student Dr.Andrea Pittarello, who is now a faculty member at Virginia Tech.

“This study explored a fundamental yet overlooked approach to making decisions about donations. Our research shows that changing the way a donation appeal is presented and making someone feel that their voice matters can motivate a potential donor to engage with a cause and want to know more about it.”

The study also confirmed that reading about and engaging with a charity boosted a donor’s emotional reactions toward the plight of those in need, especially particularly feelings of compassion, distress and sympathy that led to larger donations. “In sum,” the researchers wrote, “we propose a simple and cost-effective intervention that may help non-profit businesses become more effective.”