Lift and Shift: The Effect of Fundraising Interventions in Charity Space and Time
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 14,
no. 3, August 2022
(pp. 296-321)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
Fundraising interventions may lift donations and/or shift their composition and timing. Using data rich in both the charity space and time dimensions, we find that major fundraising appeals lift donations to the appeal charity and that this increase is not offset by lower donations later in time. Strikingly, major appeals also forward-shift donations to other (nonappeal) charities that are offset by lower donations later. To understand these response patterns, we introduce a two-period, two-charity "lift-shift" model. The model indicates that the observed response patterns are possible only if warm glow is substitutable, both intertemporally and between charities.Citation
Scharf, Kimberley, Sarah Smith, and Mark Ottoni-Wilhelm. 2022. "Lift and Shift: The Effect of Fundraising Interventions in Charity Space and Time." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 14 (3): 296-321. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20180679Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D64 Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
- H12 Crisis Management
- H41 Public Goods
- L31 Nonprofit Institutions; NGOs; Social Entrepreneurship
- Q54 Climate; Natural Disasters and Their Management; Global Warming
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