Virtual Reality in Nonprofit Marketing: Boosting Inspiration and Encouraging Donations

Abstract

Nonprofits often face the challenge of inspiring people to care about issues that are at distance, both geographically and emotionally. This study seeks to investigate how Virtual Reality (VR) can increase inspiration and encourage potential donors to give to nonprofits. Additionally, the study aims to analyze the moderating role of immersion level. A three-group between-subjects experiment with 142 participants was conducted to examine how immersiveness can influence presence, inspiration, and donation intention. The three different devices used (HMD, mobile HMDs, and computer desktop) to watch the documentary correspond to the different immersion levels (high, moderate, and low, respectively). Results reveal that perceived media richness enhances users’ spatial presence. Further, presence (spatial and social) positively effects customer inspiration. Lastly, findings suggest that customer inspiration increases donation intention. This study contributes to researchers and practitioners by identifying the role of customer inspiration on donation intention and by highlighting the impact of immersiveness.