Donor Misreporting: Conceptualizing Social Desirability Bias in Giving Surveys

Although survey research is one of the most frequently used methods for studying charitable giving, the quality of the data is seldom stated or known. In particular, social desirability bias (SDB) has been found to distort data validity where respondents tend to over-report what is socially desirable and vice versa. We argue that this phenomenon has not been fully understood in the nonprofit context as existing social desirability scales are not appropriate to be used in giving surveys. Thus, this paper is the first to extend understanding of SDB to the nonprofit context and to explore its motivating factors. Based on a multidisciplinary literature review and qualitative interviews with various senior practitioners from the fundraising and marketing research sectors, it is suggested that SDB is a multidimensional construct yielding five dimensions, namely, impression management, self-deception, level of involvement, perceived benefits and social norms. The paper then discusses the implications for nonprofit researchers and concludes with directions for future research.     

Hispanic charitable giving: An opportunity for nonprofit development

In 2003, the U.S. Census Bureau indicated that Hispanics had become the largest U.S. minority group. Representing 14 percent of the population, more than forty million Hispanics currently live in the United States and are a growing source of charitable giving. This study uses a national probability sample (n = 3,261) to examine variables that may influence Hispanic charitable giving in the United States to private nonprofit organizations. Logistic regression analyses indicated that Hispanics were eight times more likely to donate to human service organizations when using payroll deduction. In addition, Hispanics who were solicited for a donation by telephone were twice as likely to make a donation to educational organizations as Hispanic donors not solicited by phone. Volunteerism was also a predictor of Hispanic charitable giving. U.S. demographic trends and this study's findings suggest that nonprofit leaders, including those responsible for fundraising in private nonprofit organizations, need to be aware of the opportunities for Hispanic charitable support.     

On the behavioural relevance of optional and mandatory impure public goods

Impure public goods combine a private good with a public good. Often, impure public goods have a charitable or ethical dimension, giving ethically motivated consumers a convenient option to contribute to public goods through the marketplace (in addition to direct donations). Impure public goods could potentially promote ethical giving or alternatively hinder charitable behaviour. We implement an economics experiment with a between-subject design to test the behavioural relevance of impure public goods with only a token (i.e. small) contribution to a public good. Contributions to the public good are negatively affected by the presence of impure public goods with token contributions. We explore one mechanism to offset this negative impact by making the token impure public good mandatory. We observe higher average contributions and several positive impacts on charitable behaviour, which supports the claim that this mechanism can potentially offset the negative impact of impure public goods.     

Gambling on an alternative revenue source: The impact of riverboat gambling on the charitable gambling component of nonprofit finances

This article examines the impact of casino gambling in and around Illinois on charitable gambling in that state. The research targets the impact of casino gambling on one of the vital revenue sources of many nonprofit organizations. Charitable gambling represents the most widespread form of legalized gambling in the United States. Net income from charitable gambling totaled an estimated $1.3 billion in 1997. Despite its apparent importance in providing an alternative revenue stream to nonprofit organizations, in a growing number of states charitable gambling operations must compete with an increasing number of private for‐profit gambling enterprises, including riverboat and land‐based casinos, Indian gambling operations, and pari‐mutuel wagering venues. As a result, there is interest in the extent to which forprofit gambling is crowding out charitable gambling—and in the process reducing funds (such as receipts from gambling operations) available to nonprofit organizations. The data analysis presented in this article suggests that spending on casino gambling in Illinois and in bordering areas of Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri may be displacing consumer expenditures on charitable gambling.     

The Effects of Nonprofit Reputation on Charitable Giving: A Survey Experiment

A nonprofit’s reputation is a crucial intangible asset that can bring significant benefits to the organization. Using a multidimensional framework, this study tested the effects of three dimensions of nonprofit reputation—financial efficiency, media visibility, accreditation status—on charitable giving behavior. The findings of this 2 × 2 × 2 full-factorial survey experiment show that each of the reputation dimensions has a significant individual effect on giving behavior. Furthermore, financial efficiency and accreditation status have an interaction effect on giving behavior. The findings also demonstrate the cross-level interaction between financial efficiency and the real-life giving behavior of individuals and between accreditation and the real-life volunteering behavior. This study provides implications for our understanding of the components of nonprofit reputation and their impact on charitable giving.

     

Interhousehold grants in peninsular Malaysia: Impact of grantors' characteristics on amount of grants given

Grants of money, goods, and services are one-way transfers between households. Tobit analysis reveals that race, household structure, household income, transportation resources (viz., vehicles owned), goods and service grants received, husband's education, and stock of small animals owned (viz., a common commodity gift in Malaysia) are characteristics of granting households that are influential in determining the amount of grants given. The incidence of granting is substantially lower among Indian than among Chinese or Malay households, although Indian households give the highest mean amount of grants. Multivariate analysis reveals that, other factors held constant, Malay households are the most generous and Indian households the least so in giving interhousehold grants. When giving of grants is conceptualized as a consumption expenditure, granting is observed to have a relationship to income similar to that of necessities rather than luxury goods.His areas of research interest are grants economics, labor economics, welfare economics, and consumer rights and protection. He received his Ph.D. in Consumer and Family Economics from the University of Missouri.His research interests include various aspects of social policy and family economic circumstances and functioning. He received his Ed.D. from the University of Missouri.     

Information Source Reliance and Charitable Giving Decisions

This study examines the relationship between donor reliance on information and donors’ subsequent charitable giving decisions of both time and money. To examine this relationship, we utilize data from an original survey of residents in San Diego County, California (n = 1,002), asking donors about their charitable activities and the information sources that they use to facilitate their charitable decisions. Our findings reveal that relying on information from both nonprofit accrediting agencies and personal experiences positively influences donors’ decision to give time to nonprofit organizations (that is, volunteer), but has no significant impact on decisions to give money. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

"Walking the Walk" of Public Service Motivation: Public Employees and Charitable Gifts of Time, Blood, and Money

Research generally indicates that public employees "talk thetalk," but do they also "walk the walk" of the public servicemotive (PSM)? Are public service employees more likely thanothers to engage in public service activities? The behavioralimplications of PSM are addressed by studying the involvementin charitable activities of public, nonprofit, and private workers.Using data from the 2002 General Social Survey, multivariatelogistic regression models are estimated to examine self-reportedgifts of time, blood, and money to charitable organizations.It is found that government employees are more likely to volunteerfor charity and to donate blood than for-profit employees are.Additionally, nonprofit workers are also more likely than theirfor-profit counterparts to volunteer. However, no differenceis found among public service and private employees in termsof individual philanthropy. These findings generally lend supportfor the hypothesis that PSM is more prominent in public servicethan in private organizations, especially as it pertains togovernment personnel.     

Repeal of the Estate Tax and Its Impact on Philanthropy

The estate tax has many advocates and opponents. We present a review of the primary arguments and empirical evidence promulgated in support of continuation and for repeal. Overall, we find that there are plausible theories and strong, but not definitive, empirical evidence on both sides of the issue. Further research is needed that more clearly isolates differences between the income‐tax and estate‐tax (that is, the after‐tax cost or “price” of a donation or bequest) effects, the independent‐income and wealth effects (how having higher income or wealth has an effect on giving during life and at death), and married and single estate tax filers. These differences can be best isolated using longitudinal data. Data and analyses for both the short run and long run are necessary before society can reasonably predict the impact the repeal of the estate tax will have on both giving during life and charitable bequests.     

The Philanthropic Poor: In Search of Explanations for the Relative Generosity of Lower Income Households

In this study we investigate the relationship between income and charitable giving. Previous research shows inconsistent findings regarding both the effect of income on the probability of giving and the proportion of income spent on charitable giving. We test hypotheses with the Giving in The Netherlands Panel Study 2003 (N = 1,316). We do not find an effect of income on the probability of giving, but a consistent negative effect of income on both total and religious donations as a proportion of income. This effect cannot be explained by stronger religious affiliation of lower income groups, or by other differences such as age, and price of giving. We find evidence in favor of a giving standard: Norms concerning the level of donations in specific situations that people in different income groups share, leading lower income groups to donate a higher proportion of their income.

Resource Constraints or Cultural Conformity? Nonprofit Relationships with Businesses

Nonprofit interactions with businesses have become increasingly diverse, but which nonprofits establish relationships, and to what extent do relationships depend on the form or type of tie? Focusing on nonprofit collaboration with businesses and donations from businesses, we test arguments based on sociological institutionalism and resource dependence theory. We find that nonprofits relying on earned income, nonprofits led by individuals with management degrees, and rationalized nonprofits all are more likely to report collaborations with businesses, aligning with expectations from institutional theory. For donative ties between businesses and nonprofits, we find that rationalized nonprofits are more likely to have charitable gifts from businesses. However, nonprofits with earned income are less likely to have business donations, and funding diversity has a salient positive effect. These results reveal important but paradoxical institutional and resource dependence effects. We conclude with a discussion of our divergent findings and set an agenda for additional research on the topic.     

An Analysis of the Peer Effects in Charitable Giving: The Case of Taiwan

The purpose of this study was to utilize the data from the Survey on Family Income and Expenditure in Taiwan to investigate the influence of peer effects on the behavior of charitable giving. Based on the definitions of the reference group in this study, the estimation results suggested that peer effects on households' decisions on both whether to make charitable giving and how much to contribute were quite modest. The study also found that the price elasticity and the income elasticity of charitable giving in Taiwan were larger than those in the U.S., which may partially explain the low ratio of charitable giving to GDP in Taiwan. The earthquake in 1999 substantially increased the amount of charitable giving though its effect diminished after sometime.     

Creating trust with major donors: The service encounter model

Although the wealthy individuals who create charitable trusts exert considerable influence on the $123 billion of charitable giving, very little is known about this segment. Aside from data about the size of donations and emerging information about their motivations, the philanthropic and marketing literature is largely silent on issues surrounding major philanthropic acts. For example, what aspects of the service encounter catalyze support and create a successful experience? What are the prior constituent, voluntary, and donor behaviors of individuals who create trusts exceeding $1 million? What support is required from nonprofit and external legal and financial advisers? This article provides a model of the trust creation process framed by insights from the services marketing literature, documents the process empirically, and draws out implications for nonprofit resource development.     

Whether and How Much to Give: Uncovering the Contrasting Determinants of the Decisions of Whether and How Much to Give to Charity with Two-Stage Alternatives to the Prevailing Tobit Model

Charitable giving involves two seemingly distinct decisions: whether to give and how much to give. However, many researchers methodologically assume that these decisions are one and the same. The present study supports the argument that this is an incorrect assumption that is likely to generate misleading conclusions, in part, since the second decision is much more financial in nature than the first. The argument that charitable giving entails two distinct decisions is validated by empirically dismissing the prevailing Tobit model, which assumes a single decision, in favor of less restrictive two-stage approaches: Cragg’s model and the Heckman model. Most importantly, it is shown that only by adopting a two-stage approach may it be uncovered that common determinants of charitable giving such as income and gender affect the two decisions at hand very differently. Data comes from a high-quality 2012 Danish survey and administrative registers.     

The influence of religiosity on charitable behavior: A COPPS investigation

We examine the role of religion in charitable giving and find that the religious preference of both the donor and the recipient organization influence giving behavior. By exploiting a panel survey of charitable giving, we demonstrate that traditional empirical analysis on charitable giving masks important differences among donor groups. Religious giving by religious individuals is least responsive to changes in price and income, while secular giving by secular individuals has the greatest sensitivity.     

Understanding the Dynamics of the Individual Donor’s Trust Damage in the Philanthropic Sector

Although trust is long known to be critical to predict behaviors in a charitable context, little research has examined trust damage and its effects on giving behavior. Trust damage is an intermediate state between trust and distrust, rather than a simple reversal or extension, and can change over time. Our research explores individual donor’s trust damage through a dynamic evolution. Across the longitudinal survey, we conclude that the trust damage of pre-giving, giving, and post-giving stage plays different roles in the decision-making process. Trust damage does not play a direct role in the giving intention, but it can indirectly affect giving intention through its impact on perceived benefit and perceived risk. Individual donor’s satisfaction has a strong effect on post-giving trust or continual trust damage, which in turn positively affects future giving intention and behavior. Several important insights for practitioners in the nonprofit sector are also discussed.     

Caring Labor and Class Consciousness: The Class Dynamics of Gendered Work

Previous research on class consciousness has not examined the gendered nature of paid labor. Paid caring laborwork that involves the direct provision of care to clients or customers—now comprises 20% of the labor force. This is work that tends to place workers in conflict with the goals of management. The conflict between caring values and exchange values may lead workers to greater levels of class consciousness. I use national survey data to examine whether workers in caring labor occupations are more class conscious than other workers. Results indicate that caring laborers are more likely to be pro–working-class conscious than other workers after controlling for class position, income, education, government and nonprofit sectors, sex, and race. Workers in high intensity caring jobs are especially likely to be class conscious. This suggests that, at crucial points, the logic of caring and the logic of commodification are at odds.     

Understanding the Compensation of Nonprofit Executive Directors: Examining the Influence of Performance and Organizational Characteristics

In this study we aimed to provide a better understanding of executive compensation in nonprofit organizations. We examined factors including organizational size, market, subsector, organizational type, staffing level, and organizational performance as potential influences driving variation across the nonprofit sector. The models utilize data on the population of nonprofit organizations required to file Form 990 returns with the Internal Revenue Service in order to broadly examine compensation. The results indicate associations between various measures of performance and compensation in nonprofit orga‐nizations and also suggest that different types of nonprofits may be sensitive to different measures of performance.     

The variability of individual charitable giving in the US

Using five-year panel data, this study examines the various dimensions of the variability of individual charitable contributions at all income levels: the variation in the generosity of individuals and the variability of the individuals' giving over a five-year period. The study finds considerable variability of both kinds. One finding is that the variability of generosity is substantially greater at the higher income levels. Another finding is that variability is substantially less pronounced by observing a five-year period of an individual's generosity than by observing annual behaviour. One consequence is that a relatively small proportion of donors account for a large proportion of total giving. The popular reputation of the wealthy for generosity is actually due to the exceptional generosity of a minority rather than widespread generosity among the wealthy. Differences in generosity and variability of giving over time are both more pronounced among high-income donors. Results of the study have implications for research on charitable giving, for predicting the effects of tax policy changes on giving, and for fund-raising.The authors wish to acknowledge the valuable comments of Charles Clotfelter, Susan Rose-Ackerman, Jerry Schiff, Eugene Steuerle and participants in a conference on the non-profit sector at the Center for the Study of Philanthropy and Voluntarism at Duke University. The research was supported in part by Yale University's Institution for Social and Policy Studies (Program on Non-Profit Organisations). The views expressed are those of the authors alone and do not represent the views or policies of the above institutions or individuals.     

The Family Tribute in Charitable Bequest Giving

The propensity for charitable bequest giving is much lower than for current charitable giving. Some nonexperimental evidence suggests that this difference may be due to the relatively greater importance of family benefit considerations in charitable bequest giving than in current charitable giving. To test this concept experimentally, the effects of a family–charity conflict reduction message (that is, a reminder of family connections to a cause and an opportunity to make a tribute gift) are measured for both current and bequest giving. For those with family connections to a cause, the message generated increased interest in charitable bequest giving but not in current charitable giving. This result provides experimental support for previous suggestions regarding the special role of family considerations in charitable bequest giving. Managers may profitably consider the use of tribute messages to encourage bequest, but not necessarily current, charitable giving. Such messages were effective at increasing bequest intentions for all organization types and demographic groups tested, especially where the tribute was in honor of an ascendant such as a mother, grandmother, grandfather, or uncle.