Spoilt for choice? Understanding how donors choose which charities to support

Whilst an established body of non-profit marketing research addresses what drives donors to give to charity in general terms, far less is known about how donors choose which charities to support. Given that an understanding of donor choice is critical in an increasingly competitive charitable marketplace, this chapter brings together the existing literature on this valuable topic to provide an overview of how donors select the causes or charities they wish to assist.

Specifically, the chapter addresses donor choice through four key drivers: personal experience, solicitation, donor tastes and values and donation destination, demonstrating that an understanding of donor choice is developing but still work-in-progress. The emerging message is that choice drivers are multi-faceted, and as such relatively complex for the sectors’ decision-makers to appreciate and act upon. Whilst a donor’s choice will inevitably be guided by their own life experiences, wider values-based issues such as whether to prioritise domestic or overseas charities further complicate decisions of how to allocate modest fundraising budgets. A useful step forward is the effective use of segmentation strategies that embrace demographic, behavioural and values-based factors, and can be tailored to the budgets and expertise of both large and small charities.