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It’s me again… Ask Avoidance and the Dynamics of Charitable Giving

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  • Maximilian Späth

    (University of Potsdam)

Abstract

Charities typically ask potential donors repeatedly for a donation. These repeated requests might trigger avoidance behavior. Considering that, this paper analyzes the impact of offering an ask avoidance option on charitable giving. In a proposed utility framework, the avoidance option decreases the social pressure to donate. At the same time, it induces feelings of gratitude toward the fundraiser, which may lead to a reciprocal increase in donations. The results of a lab experiment designed to disentangle the two channels show no negative impact of the option to avoid repeated asking on donations. Instead, the full model indicates a positive impact of the reciprocity channel. This finding suggests that it might be beneficial for charities to introduce an ask avoidance option during high-frequency fundraising campaigns.

Suggested Citation

  • Maximilian Späth, 2021. "It’s me again… Ask Avoidance and the Dynamics of Charitable Giving," CEPA Discussion Papers 38, Center for Economic Policy Analysis.
    • Handle: RePEc:pot:cepadp:38
    DOI: 10.25932/publishup-52099
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Charitable giving; Repeated request; Ask avoidance; Experiment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D64 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
    • C73 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Stochastic and Dynamic Games; Evolutionary Games

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