Americans give to causes they care about every year. Read on to learn how the underlying philanthropic psychology works to motivate their donations.
As individual philanthropy continues its centuries-long boom in America, studying this type of giving becomes necessary. A modern American may not realize this, but, while corporate giving is an ancient tradition, modern individual giving’s proliferation began in the early 1700s. Cotton Mather’s “Essay to Do Good,” published in 1710, led to a normalization of individual donations just as many Americans developed the disposable assets to substantially donate.
Today, philanthropic psychology studies how exactly this individual decision-making process proceeds, from initial interest to donation. For those asking what philanthropic psychology is, here is how a psychologist would describe the field.
Philanthropic Psychology Involves Studying Behavior
First and foremost, philanthropic psychology studies human behavior and consolidates related research on altruism, giving, and overarching behavioral psychology principles in one field. Due to the significant rates of giving and charitable organizations’ differing donation appeals, experts study what exactly gets people to donate.
It Benefits Donors and Charitable Organizations
When studying what philanthropic psychology is, you must consider those who benefit from this philanthropy. The beauty of philanthropic psychology is that it doesn’t just serve the purposes of organizations looking to gain an edge, but it serves donors as well. Because organizations thrive when receiving resources and donors feel immense satisfaction when donating, philanthropy does the important work of boosting the value of the relationship for each party.
Charities
For charities, the field gives a window into how people prefer to donate—what amounts and when—as well as how they prefer the donation relationship to look after initially partnering up. This helps them streamline their marketing target demographics intelligently and strategically ask for follow-up donations, boosting their income.
Donors
Because these adaptations are based on what donors prefer, the donor experience becomes more fulfilling as well. They receive updates on programs’ progress, letters of appreciation, and an overall sense of purpose. In summary, neither party has reason to distrust philanthropic psychology because it works to promote the holistic bi-directional relationship at play.