TITLE:
Improving the Efficiency of Online Philanthropy: The Interactive Role of Temporal Distance and Goal Frame
AUTHORS:
Zhicong Zhang, Chenlan Xie
KEYWORDS:
Online Philanthropy, Temporal Distance, Goal Framework, Nonprofit Organizations, Donation
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.10 No.7,
July
14,
2022
ABSTRACT: How can
charitable initiatives be developed to stimulate individuals’ desire to donate,
increase the likelihood that they will donate? The context of the research was fundraising by nonprofit organizations
(NPOs) in China. We conducted two experiments with fundraising
advertisements with different content in terms of temporal distances and
information frames to investigate the effects on college students’ donation
behavior. Study 1 used a temporal distance single-factor design; Study 2 used a
two-factor (temporal distance: near, distant
× goal frame: gain, loss) mixed design. In both studies, donation amount
and donation possibility were used as measures of donation behavior. The
results show that individuals’ willingness to donate is higher in the near
distance condition than in the distant
temporal condition. Also, both the amount and possibility of donations
from individuals are higher under the gain frame than the loss frame. However,
although the gain frame can improve an individual’s willingness to donate more
than the loss frame in the distant temporal condition, there is no significant
difference in the near temporal distance condition.
The results suggest that by including goal-frame information about the
project start time in their advertising, NPOs can increase the effectiveness
and efficiency of their internet-based fundraising.