Chapman, C. M., Spence, J. L., Hornsey, M. J. & Dixon, L.
Examining the link between social identification and charitable giving through a systematic review and meta-analysis spanning 40 years of research, the study quantitatively shows that donors give more strongly to the groups and causes they identify with.
To enhance their effectiveness, nonprofit fundraisers may wish to harness the power of identification. Informed by Social Identity Theory and Charitable Triad Theory, we meta-analyzed 40 years of research on social identification and charitable giving to quantify the overall relationship and conducted meta-regressions to investigate moderators. Across 109 effect sizes drawn from 89,570 participants, we found a medium-sized relationship ( r = .29). Identification with other donors ( r = .23), beneficiaries ( r = .24), and fundraisers ( r = .36) were all positively associated with giving. Strength of identification ( r = .32) was more strongly associated with giving than was shared identity (i.e., in-group vs out-group target; r = .15). Effects were smaller for actual behavior ( r = .20) than for self-reported giving ( r = .33) and were only found when giving was mediated through charities ( r = .34) but not when giving directly to individuals ( r = .04). We include practical recommendations for ways that fundraisers can effectively leverage the power of identification in recruitment campaigns, copywriting, and selection of spokespeople.
Source: Crossref (DOI metadata) — the authors' original published abstract.
Examining the link between social identification and charitable giving through a systematic review and meta-analysis spanning 40 years of research, the study quantitatively shows that donors give more strongly to the groups and causes they identify with.
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