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Charities increasingly depend on online giving, like donation- and reward-based crowdfunding (i.e. philanthropic crowdfunding), as door-to-door collections are less employable in a time of physical distancing. However, in Europe, in terms of the overall funding volume, philanthropic crowdfunding is currently still considered a niche phenomenon. By focusing on giving behavior pre and post Covid-19 we analyze door-to-door and crowdfunding behavior. Our analysis comprises of survey research (n = 2,125) observing giving behavior on an individual level of both donors and non-donors. Our contributions are twofold: first, we report on characteristics of donors to crowdfunding and those donors who give via door-to-door giving (i.e. traditional), focusing on micro rather than macro-level data. Second we compare the giving behavior via crowdfunding and door-to-door giving both before and during COVID-19. We show that the percentage of individuals supporting crowdfunding did not increase between 2018 (11%) and 2020 (12%). In 2020, donors donated 13% higher amounts than in 2018, but the difference was not significant. For door-to-door giving, the amount donated remained the same (€4), but the percentage of donors decreased, from 69% (2018) to 61% (2020). Crowdfunding is mostly supported by individuals active via social media, while this is not related with door-to-door giving. Charities need to compete with individuals for donations in a crowdfunding context: most individuals give to projects connected to an acquaintance. In this, crowdfunding focusses more on informal giving, rather than formal giving (i.e. to traditional charities). Finally, three out of ten donors giving via crowdfunding, do not give via door-to-door giving. Encouraging online giving behavior may be important to support charities, as door-to-door giving decreased further. However, based on our data, crowdfunding is still a niche phenomenon and mostly focussed on informal giving. The onset of the pandemic doe

Charities increasingly depend on online giving, like donation- and reward-based crowdfunding (i.e. philanthropic crowdfunding), as door-to-door collections are less employable in a time of physical distancing. However, in Europe, in terms of the overall funding volume, philanthropic crowdfunding is currently still considered a niche phenomenon. By focusing on giving behavior pre and post Covid-19 we analyze door-to-door and crowdfunding behavior. Our analysis comprises of survey research (n = 2,125) observing giving behavior on an individual level of both donors and non-donors. Our contributions are twofold: first, we report on characteristics of donors to crowdfunding and those donors who give via door-to-door giving (i.e. traditional), focusing on micro rather than macro-level data. Second we compare the giving behavior via crowdfunding and door-to-door giving both before and during COVID-19. We show that the percentage of individuals supporting crowdfunding did not increase between 2018 (11%) and 2020 (12%). In 2020, donors donated 13% higher amounts than in 2018, but the difference was not significant. For door-to-door giving, the amount donated remained the same (€4), but the percentage of donors decreased, from 69% (2018) to 61% (2020). Crowdfunding is mostly supported by individuals active via social media, while this is not related with door-to-door giving. Charities need to compete with individuals for donations in a crowdfunding context: most individuals give to projects connected to an acquaintance. In this, crowdfunding focusses more on informal giving, rather than formal giving (i.e. to traditional charities). Finally, three out of ten donors giving via crowdfunding, do not give via door-to-door giving. Encouraging online giving behavior may be important to support charities, as door-to-door giving decreased further. However, based on our data, crowdfunding is still a niche phenomenon and mostly focussed on informal giving. The onset of the pandemic doe

Philanthropic crowdfunding is an online funding method with a growing popularity. In this study we quantify the effects of information about the donation behavior of previous donors, also known as social information. We report results from a large natural field experiment among visitors (n = 23,676) of a crowdfunding platform advertising campaigns for artists and nonprofit organizations in the field of arts and culture. Visitors who were exposed to a reminder about the average donation amount of previous donors were not more likely to donate than visitors who were not exposed to this information. Neither did visitors who decided to donate give higher amounts.

Philanthropic crowdfunding is an online funding method with a growing popularity. In this study we quantify the effects of information about the donation behavior of previous donors, also known as social information. We report results from a large natural field experiment among visitors (n = 23,676) of a crowdfunding platform advertising campaigns for artists and nonprofit organizations in the field of arts and culture. Visitors who were exposed to a reminder about the average donation amount of previous donors were not more likely to donate than visitors who were not exposed to this information. Neither did visitors who decided to donate give higher amounts.