Inspire me to donate: The role of group membership between donor and solicitor

Past research indicates that individuals are more willing to donate when solicited by a familiar person (e.g., a friend) than when solicited by a stranger, reflecting situations where the solicitor is part of the donors’ in-group. However, in most real-world campaigns, potential donors are unfamiliar with the solicitor, who is typically unknown to them. This paper explores how donor–solicitor group membership influences donation behavior in contexts where the donor is unfamiliar with the solicitor. The findings show that potential donors are more willing to help when solicited by an out-group (vs. in-group) solicitor with whom they are unfamiliar. This effect occurs because out-group solicitors induce the perception of unexpectedness, which increases a sense of inspiration. The heightened sense of inspiration, in turn, leads to increased donations. The cause type (in-group vs. out-group cause), identity breadth of the solicitor, and the nature of the solicitor (individual vs. organization) set the boundary conditions for the effect of donor–solicitor group membership.