With the advent of technology, donors are increasingly donating via online channels. This shift deems it necessary for nonprofit organizations to better understand the online donor behavior. As such, the purpose of this paper is twofold. First, we investigate if nonprofit organizations are perceived differently in terms of their cognitive and affective natures. Then, we examine how different consumer processing styles, i.e. cognitive and affective, interact with consumer perceptions of nonprofit cognitive/affective orientations in influencing their donation intentions. Our results indicate that consumers with a high need for cognition are more willing to donate to predominantly cognitive nonprofit organizations, while those with high need for emotion are more willing to donate to predominantly affective nonprofit organizations. Based on these results, we suggest that nonprofit organizations can garner more donations if they request funds from donors whose processing styles are congruent with the organization. Additional recommendations for future research are provided. | INTRODUCTIONThe number of charities in the U.S. has increased from 1.16 million in 1998 to 1.56 million in 2015 (Urban Institute, 2018). In this evercompetitive environment, "donor cultivation, acquisition, retention, communications" was listed as the second biggest challenge for nonprofits in the U.S. and Canada in 2019 (Nonprofit Research Collaborative, 2019). Thankfully, technological advancements and innovations over the years have allowed nonprofit organizations (NPO) to adapt through online donations. Indeed, statistics show that online donation has been growing over the years. Showing a steady increase, online donations reached $31 billion in 2017, an increase of 12.1% compared to 2016 (NonProfits Source, n.d.). During the same time period, overall donations to charities increased by 5% (NonProfits Source, n.d.). The same report also states that more than half of the donors prefer to donate online (NonProfits Source, n.d.).

Purpose This study aims to examine whether adding a quantity scarcity message to a monetary discount helps to improve consumers’ offer-related perceptions and intentions, and how the effectiveness of that message compares with adding time restriction to the offer. Design/methodology/approach Two experiments, where participants evaluated retail ads and responded to relevant measures, were conducted in two country markets. Findings Adding either a quantity scarcity message or time restriction to a monetary discount increases the potency of a retail offer. Further, when an offer ad emphasizes product and price-related cues in a balanced manner, time restriction results in more favorable consumer perceptions than scarcity. However, this difference in the messages’ efficacy disappears when the offer strongly emphasizes price-related cues. Research limitations/implications The US market sample is more homogeneous than the Indian one. Discounts were presented in terms of advertised reference prices; further research with other discount formats is desirable. Practical implications Understanding the relative efficacy of quantity scarcity message and time restriction in discounted retail offers can give managers flexibility in the use of these tools. Originality/value This paper addresses scholars’ call for theory-grounded research that provides guidance to retailers on the use of sales promotional tools.

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