The purpose of this paper is to test an expanded model of charitable giving based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The novelty of this research resides in disaggregating the overall attitude a donor may hold into three different attitudes: toward a charity, toward helping, and toward donation. An online survey was conducted among Canadian, resulting in a sample of 202 current donors. By using a hierarchical multiple regression, results show that overall, the extended TPB model proposed in this study is better than those found in the extant research in predicting the intention to donate. The strongest influences on the intention to donate were past behaviour, moral norms, and perceived behavioural control. Subjective norms and attitude toward charitable organisation were found to be nonsignificant predictors. Managerial implications are presented at the end of the paper.

PurposeChild sponsorship programs have been accused of representing children in the developing world in a manner described as “development porn”. The purpose of this paper is to take an historical approach to investigating the use of advertising techniques by Plan Canada, a subsidiary of one of the oldest and largest child sponsorship‐based non‐governmental development agencies, Plan International, during the 1970s. This time period represents an important era in international development and a time of significant change in the charitable giving and advertising industries in Canada.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conduct a content analysis on an archival collection of 468 print advertisements from the 1970s.FindingsA description of the “typical” Plan Canada fund‐raising ad is presented and shown to be different, in several aspects, from other advertisements of the time period. It was determined that Plan Canada's advertisement did not cross the delicate line between showing the hardship and realities of life in the developing world for these children and what became known as “development porn”.Originality/valueThere has been little previous research which focuses specifically on the design of charity advertisements. This paper presents a historically contextualized description of such ads, providing a baseline for further research. It also raises important questions regarding the portrayal of the “other” in marketing communications and the extent to which aid agencies must go to attract the attention of potential donors.

This study is the first in exploring the needs and motivations of those who participate in the social phenomenon of Online Social Lending for Development (OSL4D). OSL4D represents a new form of charity support behaviour that has raised numerous important theoretical issues about the evolving nature of charitable giving and the motivation of its participants. A model of lending behavior is proposed. Using data from Kiva.org, the authors consider the different theoretical needs and motivations to participate in social lending and, through content analysis of 1,283 consumer statements from the members of the Team Canada lending team about the reason they lend, conclude that OSL4D consumers are principally intrinsically motivated to make a small difference in the lives of the working poor. Managerial conclusions are offered as well as ideas for future research.

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At a time when government support for international humanitarian aid is decreasing, organizations devoted to helping in times of disaster are looking ever more to the individual donor for financial contributions. In this paper, we explore the relationship between the donor and the distant other by introducing the concepts of psychic distance and psychic distance stimuli to the macromarketing literature and exploring the role of psychic distance in fundraising for international humanitarian aid. It is our contention that by better understanding the biases that psychic distance introduce into the system, an improved flow of donations for the betterment of the distant needy and a more effective marketing system can be achieved. We offer four propositions for future testing and exploration.