Charities are shedding jobs at double the rate of the public sector as many voluntary organisations face deepening financial distress as a result of recession, cuts in government spending and rising costs. The voluntary sector shed more than 70,000 jobs in the year of 2011 following financial crisis, according to analysis of employment data by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), an umbrella group for the charitable sector[1]. Donations to most charitable organizations generally come from individuals (e.g. from a fundraising appeal or given as a legacy), from companies, or from charitable trusts and foundations. Gifts and individual donations are a particularly important source of income for charities and can attract tax relief. Raising funds however can be time-consuming and costly which may render effort of charitable organizations futile.
Research in behavioural economics has used various tools to test for the effectiveness of donation raising strategies. Most of the studies use student populations and some have argued that students behave less pro-socially and are more money motivated than the general population[2],[3] and hence are not representative of what is going on in real world. A recent study has shown that students participate in economic experiments solely to earn money as the recruitment rates have been found to be extremely low when money was not mentioned in the recruitment email[4]. Yet we know of an abundance of studies that show that in completely anonymous settings, people choose to give money to others[5],[6], reject unequal offers at the risk of not earning any money at all[7],[8], cooperate with others at the risk of being taken advantage of[9],[10] and return money back if someone has entrusted in them[11].
Research in behavioural economics has used various tools to test for the effectiveness of donation raising strategies. Most of the studies use student populations and some have argued that students behave less pro-socially and are more money motivated than the general population[2],[3] and hence are not representative of what is going on in real world. A recent study has shown that students participate in economic experiments solely to earn money as the recruitment rates have been found to be extremely low when money was not mentioned in the recruitment email[4]. Yet we know of an abundance of studies that show that in completely anonymous settings, people choose to give money to others[5],[6], reject unequal offers at the risk of not earning any money at all[7],[8], cooperate with others at the risk of being taken advantage of[9],[10] and return money back if someone has entrusted in them[11].