Fundraising for Stigmatized Groups

A Text Message Donation Experiment

Bibliographic Data

ID3358193
AuthorsK Linos (0000-0002-9530-0211, University of California, Berkeley, corresponding author), Laura Jakli (0000-0001-8475-2231, Harvard University Press, corresponding author), Melissa Carlson (0000-0002-8611-3748, Stanford University, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume115
Issue1
Pages14-30
Publication date2021-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Political Science Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-0554 • E-ISSN: 1537-5943
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0003055420000787
OpenAlexW3089320707
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited102

As government welfare programming contracts and NGOs increasingly assume core aid functions, they must address a long-standing challenge-that people in need often belong to stigmatized groups. To study other-regarding behavior, we fielded an experiment through a text-to-give campaign in Greece. Donations did not increase with an appeal to the in-group (Greek child) relative to a control (child), but they were halved with reference to a stigmatized out-group (Roma child). An appeal to fundamental rights, a common advocacy strategy, did not reduce the generosity gap. Donations to all groups were lower near Roma communities and declined disproportionately for the Roma appeal. Qualitative research in 12 communities complements our experiment. We conclude that NGO fundraising strategies that narrowly emphasize either in-groups or out-groups, or fundamental rights language, may not be as effective as broader appeals, and we discuss implications for public goods provision in an era of growing nationalism

Appeal · Donation · Economics · Generosity · Government (linguistics · Political science · Public good · Public relations · Gender Politics and Representation · Law · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions · Social Capital and Networks · Social Psychology

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