Interplay of impact, moral goals influences charitable giving to
different causes

Date:
July 7, 2020
Source:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, News Bureau
Summary:
With the rise of globalization, geographic borders are becoming less
relevant for making charitable donations, which means nonprofits and
charities can make more effective pitches to donors by emphasizing
higher-level concepts such as morality and idealistic values,
said Carlos Torelli, a professor of business administration and
the James F. Towey Faculty Fellow at Illinois.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Charitable giving is a nearly half-trillion-dollar sector of the
U.S. economy, but what accounts for why some individuals, foundations
and corporations give locally while others give to charities on the other
side of the globe? According to a new paper co-written by a University
of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign expert in consumer behavior and global marketing, the dynamic interplay between the accessibility of local
impact versus more global goals can influence charitable behaviors
between donors and recipients.


==========================================================================
An appeal to morality can persuade people to make donations that benefit recipients halfway around the world -- even though those same resources
could be allocated to helping those with similar needs who live closer,
said Carlos Torelli, a professor of business administration and the
James F. Towey Faculty Fellow at Illinois.

"Although past research suggests that people are more likely to
donate money to nearby causes to maximize the positive impact on their
local community, donations to foreign causes are growing rapidly," he
said. "With the rise of globalization, geographic borders are becoming
less relevant for making charitable donations, which means nonprofits
and charities can make more effective pitches to donors by emphasizing higher-level concepts such as morality and idealistic values." Torelli
and his co-authors conducted five studies to identify the conditions
under which donors pledge higher amounts of money to recipients who
are located spatially far away versus nearby recipients, and to rule
out the possibility that the effect of spatial distance is driven by
unequal economic conditions and, thus, differences in need between the
two recipients.

"What we found is that people who donate money to causes that aren't
local do so to feel more fulfilled, because it's something that's more
aligned with their moral identity, which is the extent to which moral
traits, goals and behaviors are important to one's self-concept or self-identity," said Torelli, also the executive director of Executive
and Professional Education at the Gies College of Business. "We also
found that this positive effect was more prevalent among people high
in moral self-concept and was attenuated or even reversed among people
low in moral self-concept." The appeal to morality in requesting
donations for distant recipients is "an entirely different framework"
than for requesting donations to a local cause, which should emphasize
the concrete, actionable impact of a monetary donation, Torelli said.

"For local or nearby causes, you really have to push the immediate
impact aspect of it -- how many people you can help, how much and how
quickly your dollar can be put to work for individuals who are members
of the community," he said. "The morality appeal, on the other hand,
really has to tap into higher- level idealistic goals -- clean water for everyone the alleviation of hunger, for example." The paper's findings
can help organizations increase the efficacy of marketing initiatives,
Torelli said.

"The same cause can use different appeals depending on who they're
targeting and where they are," he said. "If they're far away, then an
appeal to morality is going to be more effective than an appeal to sheer numbers and impact." The research also has implications for for-profit organizations engaging in corporate social-responsibility initiatives.

"Many large organizations are global and choose international charitable organizations to partner with, to align their social impact with
their practices and beliefs," Torelli said. "Not only does this type
of initiative have a social impact, it can also have a positive impact
on employees of the organization. Our findings suggest that companies
with corporate social- responsibility initiatives that help recipients
in distant locations could benefit by focusing their communications on
the higher-level goals that such initiatives are accomplishing instead
of just touting their impact.

"Doing so might result in higher employee involvement with the charitable
cause and higher employee satisfaction, particularly for employees who
place a lot of importance on moral identity."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Illinois_at_Urbana-Champaign,_News_Bureau.

Original written by Phil Ciciora. Note: Content may be edited for style
and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Alison Jing Xu, Maria A. Rodas, Carlos J. Torelli. Generosity
without
borders: The interactive effect of spatial distance and donation
goals on charitable giving. Organizational Behavior and Human
Decision Processes, 2020; 161: 65 DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2020.01.007 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200707113305.htm

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