Service fundraising and the role of perceived donation efficacy in individual charitable giving

Abstract Perceived donation efficacy (PDE) is the degree to which a donor believes that a charitable gift will make a difference in the cause that he or she is supporting. Extant research leaves important questions to be answered about the kinds of fundraising models that affect PDE, and PDE's subsequent influence on charitable giving. We find that PDE and, in turn, charitable giving can be impacted by a newly proposed fundraising model that substitutes volunteer service for miles walked in the more traditional “walk-a-thon” model. The real-world success of the service fundraising model is first established in a field study with an actual nonprofit organization. Subsequent experiments further suggest that the influence of fundraising models on PDE is broader than simply making more efficient use of donors' dollars. We also offer the first empirical evidence that PDE mediates the relationship between fundraising models and charitable giving.