How Enhancing a Donor’s Moral Identity Can Advance their Donor Hero Story

Dr. Russell James

July 24, 2023

Effective fundraising can deliver real value to donors. For example, it can enhance public reputation. This external identity has tangible economic value.[1]

But fundraising can do more. It can also deliver transcendent value. This comes from a private, internal identity. It comes from a moral identity. Moral identity reflects how well one’s life matches one’s ideal values.[2]

Primal origins: Morality as a gift

An internal moral identity may seem intangible. It may feel far removed from the rational world of natural selection and game theory. But it does connect. How? It connects in this way. Morality is a code of conduct. More precisely, it’s a pro-social code.[3] Pro-social actions benefit the group. Thus, acting morally is like a gift to the group.

This gift may be simply an individual helpful act. But it can help the group in another way. It can support a shared pro-social code.[4] The code dictates that group members help each other. This mutual concern makes the group stronger. Thus, supporting a pro-social code makes the group stronger. It acts like a gift to the group.

This support can even include punishing code violators. The punisher incurs cost in order to enforce a code. But the code benefits the group. Thus, costly punishment can be a form of pro-social action.[5] (In the primal-giving game, this is called indirect reciprocity.[6] A world of indirect reciprocity strongly encourages sharing.)

The reinforcement may be positive or negative. But the effect is similar: Supporting a pro-social code acts like a gift to the group.

Primal origins of moral identity: Similarity

When are such gifts to the group a good idea? It might depend on one’s similarity with the shared group. In Hamilton’s simple math,[7] a gift is genetically helpful when

My Cost < (Their Benefit X Our Similarity).

The trade-off weighs the cost of support against the benefit to the group. The value of this group benefit depends on genetic similarity with the group members. However, the natural origins of code support go beyond this simple math.

Primal origins of moral identity: Alliances

If people aren’t related, Hamilton’s math doesn’t work. Yet, sustainable giving is still possible. It is possible through reciprocal altruism. Biologists model this using the primal-giving game.[8] In the game, each player can give to the other. A gift helps the other player more than it costs. But both players must decide to give or not before knowing what the other will do.

When behavior is hidden, reciprocity is not possible. (We can’t respond to an action that we can’t see.) Without reciprocity, not sharing is the only logical move. That’s why visibility is so important. If sharing is invisible, no one shares.

This choice is individually rational. But everyone ends up worse off because no one shares. Is there a way around this problem? Is there a way that leads to reciprocal sharing even when it is invisible?

There is. Suppose a group of players adopted an internal moral code:

When playing with fellow group members, they would act as if they were being watched.

Each player would give up rational opportunities to cheat fellow group members. They would share with each other, even when their actions were hidden.

The result? This “moral code” group would succeed. It would outperform other groups.[9] Being part of this group would be more valuable than being part of a purely rational self-interested group. In natural selection, being part of a strong, mutually cooperative group is an ideal scenario.

Thus, playing the game as if one is being watched – even when actions are hidden – can be a superior strategy for the group. This gameplay matches the desire for internal moral identity. It means one’s private actions match one’s ideal public values. It means acting the same whether the actions are hidden or not.

Primal origins of moral identity: Alliance problems

This “moral code” group would outperform others. It works. But there’s a problem. It works only if other group members actually follow the code. To be stable, these groups must exclude cheaters. They must exclude those who claim they will follow the pro-social values, but then don’t. But how is this possible if cheating is hidden?

One solution is to use a visible substitute for the hidden action. Group members can express their commitment to following the pro-social code using costly signals. In religious groups, a costly signal might be a special diet or dress. It can also be a gift or sacrifice such as burning valuable goods.[10]

Increasing group member monitoring also helps. Over time, an accumulation of costly signals – including unknowingly observed behavior – means something. It predicts the person will consistently follow the moral code in the future. A group of such similarly committed people is strong. It excludes those who aren’t internally committed to the group’s moral code. It excludes cheaters.

These game-theory concepts lead to practical suggestions. For example, maintaining a long history of commitment to a code is a particularly valuable signal. Thus, reminders of one’s historical commitment to such values encourage continued support for the values.

Following the moral code is also strategic if other group members support these values. Rejecting such values risks being subjected to costly punishment. It risks exclusion from the cooperative group. Thus, reminders that other group members support these values can also increase support for the values.

Even when hidden, supporting the moral code can still make sense. It makes sense because it helps other group members. Moral values are pro-social.

But helping the group can also help the individual. Being part of a strong, mutually cooperative group is valuable. (In natural selection, such alliances can be key to survival.) Thus, reminders of how such moral values benefit one’s group can encourage support for the values.

Story origins of moral identity

Primal game theory explains the power of supporting a pro-social moral code. But what about practical reality? What about fundraising?

Fundraising can match the game. Giving can support a pro-social moral code. It can enhance the donor’s internal moral identity. How? The steps are already familiar.

The “one big thing” in fundraising is to advance the donor’s hero story. The hero story (monomyth) cycle is,[11]

Or, as a loop,

Previous articles show how this cycle can enhance external, public identity.[12] These same steps can also enhance an internal, private, moral identity. They can move the donor from his original moral identity to an enhanced moral identity. In both cases, the process starts with the donor’s original identity.

Original identity: Reminders

Most giving supports some moral value. It might be faith or compassion. It might be freedom or education. The options are endless. But when does such giving enhance the donor’s internal moral identity? It depends.

The first question is this: How much are these values part of the donor’s ideal moral identity? If the values don’t matter, the gift won’t help. If the values do matter, then the gift can help. It can help the donor’s life match his ideal values. Thus, the value of the gift depends on the importance of the supported values.

But this importance can be fluid. Reminders can influence it. This shows up in experiments using religious reminders. In one, showing people the words

• Spirit
• Divine
• God
• Sacred, and
• Prophet

more than doubled gifts to others.[13] In another, organ donations increased if the solicitor wore a Christian cross.[14] Another found a “Sunday effect”: Religious people were more likely to support charity, but only if they had visited their place of worship on that day.[15] In another, mindfulness meditation more than doubled gifts to the United Way.[16] Thus, spiritual reminders encourage donations.

But this is not just about religious values. The right setting or reminder can strengthen a connection with any values. In experiments, reminders make moral values more mentally accessible.[17] They bring the values to the top of the mind. This, in turn, increases actions that match those values.[18]

Reminders strengthen the importance of the moral value. A gift that supports that moral value then becomes more attractive.[19] The reminder helps link the gift with the donor’s ideal moral identity. This connection makes the rest of the story more compelling. It makes the gift more attractive.

Original identity: Socratic inquiry

Reminding people about desired values underlying a gift works. But even more powerful is getting them to talk about it.

In experiments, people who first describe their connection with a value act differently. They become more likely to act according to that value.[20]

Expressing such an opinion once works. Expressing it multiple times in different ways works even better. This repetition increases commitment to the belief.[21] It increases actions that match the belief.[22]

This also works in fundraising. Getting people to express their opinion about the importance of the underlying cause or values works.[23] In experiments, this increases

• Current gifts
• Future gift intentions, and
• Charitable bequest intentions.

It works in experiments for charities in

• Higher education
• Environmental conservation
• Cancer research
• Animal welfare
• International relief, and
• Youth programs.

Answering questions about the importance of underlying values or causes works. It works by highlighting the internal importance of those values. And the more times people do it, the more impact it has.[24]

Original identity: Donor’s story

The right setting can provide values reminders. Socratic inquiry can do the same. Either way, focusing on values can increase giving. If.

Such reminders work only if the moral value is part of the donor’s ideal moral identity. If it isn’t, then this won’t work. The gift might advance some moral value. But it doesn’t advance the donor’s moral value. Thus, the gift won’t be compelling.

To be compelling, the challenge must be rooted in the donor’s desired moral identity. Otherwise, neither meeting the challenge nor winning the victory will enhance the donor’s identity. A compelling gift requires each part of the story cycle. It requires identity, challenge, and victory.

For example, suppose religious faith is not part of a donor’s identity. Then a gift that supports that value won’t help. It won’t enhance the donor’s internal, moral identity. It won’t be compelling.

Different values work for different people. One experiment tested a gender difference.[25] It pointed to findings that women “consider relationships to be more central to their sense of self.”[26] It tested reminders of five relationship-centered moral traits: compassionate, kind, caring, friendly, and helpful. These reminders increased giving for women, but not for men.[27] The researchers suggested that a different set of moral traits might work better for men.[28]

The “one big thing” in fundraising remains the same: Advance the donor’s hero story. This means advancing the donor’s story. A story about values that aren’t part of the donor’s identity isn’t the donor’s story. A gift that advances those values won’t help. It won’t advance this donor’s story.

Challenge: External threat

A story about values central to the donor’s identity is the donor’s story. But it’s not yet a hero story. The hero story cycle starts with original identity. It can start by connecting to values that are part of this identity. It can start by highlighting the importance of these identity connections. But to advance the story, this identity must then connect to a challenge.

A compelling challenge responds to a threat or opportunity. A threat to one’s moral values can be external or internal. An external threat arises when an outside force attacks the moral value.

An external threat is common in political cause fundraising. One experiment added an external threat to a political appeal letter. Doing so nearly doubled the share of people making gifts.[29] The added phrases included,

• “Powerful members of Congress are working hard to [take away rights from women].”
• “These threats are real!”[30]

Other experiments show similar results for threats related to issues in

• Gun control
• The environment, and
• Abortion.[31]

Showing that an opposing political candidate is ahead in fundraising also provides a threat. And it also increases donations.[32] In another example, online donations to the ACLU were typically about $5 million per year. Then President Trump took office. These donations shot up to over $120 million per year.[33]

Most hero stories involve responding to an external threat. In fundraising, external threats can make a huge impact. They can help create a more heroic giving opportunity.

Challenge: Internal threat

A challenge to moral values can be external. But it can also be internal. An internal threat suggests a gap between,

• Desired internal moral identity, and
• Actual internal moral identity.

This gap motivates action to fix the problem. It motivates action to improve internal moral identity. A gift can help do this. Thus, highlighting this gap can motivate a related gift.

Some experiments create this kind of internal threat. The threat highlights a gap between desired and actual moral identity. This increases guilt. But it also increases donations. In experiments, this happens after

• Writing about one’s own greediness or selfishness,[34]
• Making an accidental unfair split of money,[35]
• Using a counterfeit luxury product,[36] or
• Failing at a task that could have helped another.[37]

These situations create a gap between desired and actual internal moral identity. A gift helps close that gap. Thus, creating the gap motivates the gift.

In another example, combining a charitable gift with a product can sometimes increases sales. But not always. It works if the product creates guilt.[38] For example, it works for a hot fudge sundae. It works for chocolate truffles. But it doesn’t work for laundry detergent. It doesn’t work for a spiral notebook.

Again, the concept is the same. If consuming the product creates a gap between desired and actual identity, the gap can motivate a gift. If the product doesn’t create a gap, it doesn’t motivate a gift.

Challenging one’s loyalty to an important value can also create a threat. It implies that there is a gap between desired and actual moral identity. For example, mentioning a resented stereotype that a group is un-generous does this. In experiments, doing this causes group members to give more.[39] Highlighting the alleged gap motivates the giving.

Promising victory

The effective challenge responds to a threat. But it must also promise a victory. This victory can address the threat to the donor’s values. For example, the previous appeal letter threat that nearly doubled giving also included the phrase,

“But we can stop them if we work together.”[40]

That threat to the moral value was external. It was from an outside force. Thus, victory comes from defeating that outside force.

A victory over an internal threat is also possible. The gift can reduce the gap between actual and desired internal moral identity.[41] Giving can fix the problem. It can prove commitment to the supported values.

Promising the donor’s victory

Not all victories are compelling. The compelling victory must be tied to the donor’s identity. It must also be the donor’s victory.

This is where charities often go wrong. Their natural tendency is to claim the victory as theirs. The victory enhances their own identity. (This matches the administrator-hero story.)

But this is not as compelling for the donor. This victory is not tied to the donor’s actions. It doesn’t enhance the donor’s identity.

In an experiment, one e-mail focused on the charity as the actor. For example, it stated,

“The fashion industry has let these women down, but [the charity] won’t.” [42]

Another version added the donor as an actor. It instead stated,

“The fashion industry has let these women down, but you and [the charity] won’t.”

The odds of people clicking on the link to learn more were 27% higher for the second message. When the donor delivers the victory, it enhances the donor’s identity. This makes giving more attractive.

The second message increased the odds of responding even more, by 40%, among women. Why? In that case, the challenge connected to both

• The donor’s original identity (female), and
• The donor’s enhanced identity (the hero who delivers victory).

Connecting to more of the story cycle makes the request more compelling.

Delivering victory: External threat

A challenge is more effective when it promises victory leading to an enhanced identity. But how does the charity actually deliver on this promise?

If the moral challenge is external, the goal is to resist the external foe. Victory comes from the impact of the gift. The charity can confirm this impact. It can confirm this victory. How?

• It can report the gift’s impact.
• It can express gratitude for the gift’s impact.
• It can encourage others to express gratitude for the gift’s impact.
• It can publicize the gift’s impact.

Confirming the victory makes the next challenge more compelling. The hope of “Yes, you can!” is compelling. But it fades unless followed by, “Yes, you did!”

Delivering victory: Internal threat

If the moral challenge is internal, the goal is different. The goal is to reduce the identity gap. Victory moves actual internal moral identity towards desired moral identity.[43]

Confirming the gift’s impact can help here, too. It can show that the donor is an effective, successful, victorious, and valuable member of the community.

But internal victory can come even without impact. The victory comes simply from the making of the gift. It can verify that the donor is generous, faithful, committed, and sacrificial.

The gift itself may even be destroyed. Such offerings are described in the Iliad,[44] the Odyssey,[45] and the Pentateuch.[46] The act of giving shows allegiance to the desired values regardless of impact.

This type of victory is internal. But it can still be validated by others. The charity can confirm that the act of giving supports the desired values. Gift reporting, gratitude, and compatible publicity for the gift as an expression of the moral value provides this confirmation.

Conclusion

Enhancing the donor’s internal moral identity is powerful. It can tap into the deepest sources for sacrificial motivation. But delivering this transcendent value need not be mysterious.

Enhancing either private or public identity uses the same process. Both internal moral identity and external public reputation grow through the same steps:

The process is familiar. The answer, once again, is simply this: Advance the donor’s hero story.

Footnotes:

[1] See previous article in this series, “Primal fundraising delivers practical value with external identity: This is totally worth it!” (renamed “Dr. James explains how to harness friendship reciprocity to unlock heroic donations” on MarketSmart’s SmartIdeas)

[2] For an economic model of this concept where people act as their own audience in a social-signaling model, see Bénabou, R., & Tirole, J. (2006). Incentives and prosocial behavior. American Economic Review, 96(5), 1652-1678.

[3] “Morality refers to a code of conduct that individuals and groups adopt as normative to govern themselves.… Moral behaviors can be classified into two broad categories: prosocial and antisocial. Prosocial behaviors are actions that benefit others.… Antisocial behaviors are defined as actions that contradict social norms, laws, and rules.” Carlo, G., Christ, C., Liable, D., & Gulseven, Z. (2016). An evolving and developing field of study: Prosocial morality from a biological, cultural, and developmental perspective. In T. Shackelford & R. Hansen (Eds.), Evolutionary psychology series: The evolution of morality. Springer. p. 55-56.

[4] Gintis, H. (2000). Strong reciprocity and human sociality. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 206(2), 169-179.

[5] See, e.g., Fehr, E., & Fischbacher, U. (2004). Third-party punishment and social norms. Evolution and Human Behavior, 25(2), 63-87; Fehr, E., & Gächter, S. (2000). Cooperation and punishment in public goods experiments. American Economic Review, 90(4), 980-994; Fehr, E. & Gächter, S. (2002). Altruistic punishment in humans, Nature, 415(6868), 137-140.

As with other types of gifts, costly punishment also increases when the act become more visible to others. See, Kurzban, R., DeScioli, P., & O’Brien, E. (2007). Audience effects on moralistic punishment. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28(2), 75-84.

[6] See the discussions of indirect reciprocity in the previous articles “Primal fundraising delivers practical value with external identity: This is totally worth it!” and “The power of community in primal fundraising: I’m not just giving, I’m sharing!” (renamed “Dr. James explains how to harness friendship reciprocity to unlock heroic donations” and “Giving vs. Sharing: The Power of Community in Major Gifts Fundraising” respectively on MarketSmart’s SmartIdeas)

[7] Hamilton, W. D. (1964). The genetical evolution of social behaviour. II. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 7(1), 17-52.

[8] Boyd, R. (1988). Is the repeated prisoner’s dilemma a good model of reciprocal altruism? Ethology and Sociobiology, 9(2-4), 211-222.

[9] Bazzan, A. L., Bordini, R. H., & Campbell, J. A. (2002). Evolution of agents with moral sentiments in an iterated prisoner’s dilemma exercise. In S. D. Parsons, P. Gymtrasiewicz & M. Wooldridge (Eds.), Game theory and decision theory in agent-based systems (pp. 43-64). Springer; Gintis, H. (2000). Strong reciprocity and human sociality. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 206(2), 169-179.

[10] For a discussion of this game-theoretic model, see Iannaccone, L. R. (1998). Introduction to the economics of religion. Journal of Economic Literature, 36(3), 1465-1495.

[11]Joseph Campbell uses a three-step circular illustration with this description:

“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”

Campbell, J. (1949/2004). The hero with a thousand faces (commemorative ed.). Princeton University Press. p. 28.

I label these steps as follows:

The beginning point of “the world of common day” is “original identity.”
“Venturing forth into a region of supernatural wonder” is “challenge.”
“Fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won” is “victory.”
“The hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man” is “enhanced identity.”

I apply this both to a scenario where the charitable gift serves as part of the final step in the heroic life story and where the gift request itself constitutes the challenge that promises a victory delivering enhanced identity.

[12] See previous articles in this series, “Primal fundraising delivers practical value with external identity: This is totally worth it!” and also “The power of community in primal fundraising: I’m not just giving, I’m sharing!” and “Social norms in primal fundraising: People like me make gifts like this!” (renamed “Dr. James explains how to harness friendship reciprocity to unlock heroic donations“, “Giving vs. Sharing: The Power of Community in Major Gifts Fundraising“, and “Dr. James explains why the feeling “People like me make gifts like this” is so powerful in major gifts fundraising” respectively on MarketSmart’s SmartIdeas)

[13] Shariff, A. F., & Norenzayan, A. (2007). God is watching you: Priming God concepts increases prosocial behavior in an anonymous economic game. Psychological Science, 18(9), 803-809. Experiment 1.

[14] Guéguen, N., Bougeard-Delfosse, C., & Jacob, C. (2015). The positive effect of the mere presence of a religious symbol on compliance with an organ donation request. Social Marketing Quarterly, 21(2), 92-99.

[15] Malhotra, D. (2010). “Sunday Effect” on pro-social behavior. Judgment and Decision Making, 5(2), 138-143.

[16] “Subjects who underwent the meditation treatment donated at a 2.61 times higher rate than the control (p = 0.005), after controlling for socio-demographics.” Iwamoto, S. K., Alexander, M., Torres, M., Irwin, M. R., Christakis, N. A., & Nishi, A. (2020). Mindfulness meditation activates altruism. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 1-7. p. 1.

[17] Glasman, L. R., & Albarracin, D. (2006). Forming attitudes that predict future behavior: A meta-analysis of the attitude-behavior relation. Psychological Bulletin, 132(5), 778-822.

[18] Id. In another example, a reminder to “be grateful for what you have” increased the tendency to make donations and increased the size of those donations. Paramita, W., Septianto, F., & Tjiptono, F. (2020). The distinct effects of gratitude and pride on donation choice and amount. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 53, 101972, 1-10. p. 4.

[19] In one study, the reminder “Be proud of what you can do” (pride motive) increased donations only if the donations would be publicly acknowledged and recognized. Without this recognition, the highlighted value (pride) didn’t match the gift. Paramita, W., Septianto, F., & Tjiptono, F. (2020). The distinct effects of gratitude and pride on donation choice and amount. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 53, 101972, 1-10. p. 4.

Another study investigated charitable giving motivations for donors at 13 large Dutch nonprofits that account for nearly a third of total donations in the country. The researchers found that “donating to a specific nonprofit depends on the congruency between the nonprofit values of the organization and the individual donor’s nonprofit values.” van Dijk, M., Van Herk, H., & Prins, R. (2019). Choosing your charity: The importance of value congruence in two-stage donation choices. Journal of Business Research, 105, 283-292.

[20] Glasman, L. R., & Albarracin, D. (2006). Forming attitudes that predict future behavior: A meta-analysis of the attitude-behavior relation. Psychological Bulletin, 132(5), 778-822.

[21] Descheemaeker, M., Spruy, A., Faxio, R. H., & Hermans, D. (2017). On the generalization of attitude accessibility after repeated attitude expression. European Journal of Social Psychology, 47, 97-104; Holland, R. W., Verplanken, B., & van Knippenberg, A. (2003). From repetition to conviction: Attitude accessibility as a determinant of attitude certainty. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 39(6), 594-601.

[22] Downing, J. W., Judd, C. M., & Brauer, M. (1992). Effects of repeated expressions on attitude extremity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63(1), 17-29.

[23] Capraro, V., Jagfeld, G., Klein, R., Mul, M., & van de Pol, I. (2019). Increasing altruistic and cooperative behaviour with simple moral nudges. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1-11; James, R. N., III. (2018). Increasing charitable donation intentions with preliminary importance ratings. International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, 15(3), 393-411; Kessler, J. B., Milkman, K. L., & Zhang, C. Y. (2019). Getting the rich and powerful to give. Management Science, 65(9), 4049-4062.

[24] James, R. N., III. (2018). Increasing charitable donation intentions with preliminary importance ratings. International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, 15(3), 393-411.

[25] Shang, J., Reed, A., Sargeant, A., & Carpenter, K. (2020). Marketplace donations: the role of moral identity discrepancy and gender. Journal of Marketing Research, 57(2), 375-393.

[26] Id. p. 377.

[27] Id. p. 379. (New or renewing members of a public radio station called in during a pledge drive. Before being asked, “How much would you like to pledge today?” some were told, “Thank you for becoming/being a [station name] member.” Others were told “Thank you for becoming/being a [moral trait 1] and [moral trait 2] [station name] member.” Using the five listed traits increased average gift size by 21.3% for women, but it made no significant impact for men.)

[28] Id. p. 390. (“If women’s relationship concerns enabled us to shrink their moral identity discrepancy through relationship building activities, is it possible that we could shrink men’s moral identity discrepancy through authority-building or fairness-restoration activities because of their need to be the agent to uphold moral values?”)

[29] Miller, J. M., & Krosnick, J. A. (2004). Threat as a motivator of political activism: A field experiment. Political Psychology, 25(4), 507-523. p. 513. (Donation rate for direct mail appeals rose from .23% in the control letter to .43% in the threat letter.)

[30] Id. at p. 520.

[31] Miller, J. M., Krosnick, J. A., Holbrook A. L., Tahk, A., & Dionne, A. (2016). The impact of policy change threat on financial contributions to interest groups. In J. A. Krosnic, I. C. Chiang, & T. Stark (Eds.), Explorations in Political Psychology. Psychology Press.

[32] Schwam-Baird, M. (2016). Essays on the motivations and behavior of individual political donors. [Doctoral dissertation]. Columbia University, New York.

[33] See Reints, R. (2018, July 5). The ACLU’s membership has surged and it’s putting its new resources to use. Fortune. http://fortune.com/2018/07/05/aclu-membership-growth/

[34] Sachdeva, S., Iliev, R., & Medin, D. L. (2009). Sinning saints and saintly sinners the paradox of moral self-regulation. Psychological Science, 20(4), 523-528.

[35] Ohtsubo, Y. & Watanabe, E. (2013). Unintentional unfair behavior promotes charitable donation. Letters on Evolutionary Behavioral Science, 4(1), 1-4.

[36] Chen, J., John, D., Wang, Y., & Carufel, C. (2017). Prosocial consequences of counterfeits: using counterfeit luxury goods can lead to prosocial behavior. In A. Gneezy, V. Griskevicius, and P. Williams (Eds.), NA – Advances in Consumer Research (Vol. 45). Association for Consumer Research. p. 68-69. https://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/v45/acr_vol45_1024798.pdf

[37] Darlington, R. B. & Macker, C. E. (1966). Displacement of guilt-produced altruistic behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4(4), 442-443.

[38] Strahilevitz, M., & Myers, J. G. (1998). Donations to charity as purchase incentives: How well they work may depend on what you are trying to sell. Journal of Consumer Research, 24(4), 434-446.

In another example of a potentially “guilt-inducing” sale, Kaylen Ward, the “naked philanthropist,” offered to send nude pictures of herself to anyone who donated $10 to fundraisers for Australian wildfires. She raised a reported $700,000 in four days. See Rosen, M. (2020, January 7). What can you learn from “The Naked Philanthropist”? [Blog]. https://michaelrosensays.wordpress.com/2020/01/07/what-can-you-learn-from-the-naked-philanthropist/

[39] Hopkins, N., Reicher, S., Harrison, K., Cassidy, C., Bull, R., & Levine, M. (2007). Helping to improve the group stereotype: On the strategic dimension of prosocial behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33(6), 776-788.

[40] Miller, J. M., & Krosnick, J. A. (2004). Threat as a motivator of political activism: A field experiment. Political Psychology, 25(4), 507-523. p. 520.

[41] Shang, J., Reed, A., Sargeant, A., & Carpenter, K. (2020). Marketplace donations: The role of moral identity discrepancy and gender. Journal of Marketing Research, 57(2), 375-393.

[42] Id. p. 382.

[43] Id. p. 375. (Referencing “moral identity discrepancy (i.e., the gap between actual and ideal moral identity)”).

[44] Strittmatter, E. J. (1925). Prayer in the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Classical Weekly, 18(11), 83-87.

[45] Petropoulou, A. (1987). The sacrifice of eumaeus reconsidered. Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies, 28(2), 135-149.

[46] E.g., Genesis [35:14], Exodus [29:41], Leviticus [23:18].

Related Resources:

• Donor Story: Epic Fundraising eCourse
• The Fundraising Myth & Science Series, by Dr. Russell James
• How transactional donor relationships kill generosity
• Dr. James explains the power of giving: why leading with a gift always wins

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