What do you value? Examining gendered responses to appeal letters

Abstract

This study builds on previous inductive analysis of fundraising professionals' choices in writing acquisition letters. Fundraisers often write in a way that aligns with one of two personal values, either foregrounding aspects of self‐transcendent Universalism values (an appreciation for community and the welfare of all people) or of conservation Security values (those of personal safety and stability for close others). Previous research also indicates that while women and men have different donation styles, targeted motivating language has yet to be explored. Using a national sample, this research tests public response to letters written for a fictional children's charity using content aligned with each option separately, and combined, compared to a control version. Using an experimental dictator game, Universalism values are found to be negatively related to giving across the board as compared to the valueless treatment. We find no statistically significant improvement in donor responses to acquisition appeals that choose to highlight either Universalism or Security values between men and women, although men were marginally less responsive to Universal, self‐transcendent values language. The discussion attempts to make sense of these results and the possible complications of running a donor acquisition campaign in the time of COVID‐19.