What do donors value in flexible giving? Cause scope, allocation patterns, and charitable impact

Authors: Konstantinos Ioannidis, Eriko Yamakuma and Atiyeh Yeganloo

Stage: Data collection in progress

Abstract: Charitable giving often involves allocating resources across multiple worthy recipients, yet little is known about why allocation flexibility increases donations. This paper studies the behavioural foundations of the flexible allocation premium by separating three margins: the value of spreading donations within a single charitable domain, the additional value of spreading donations across distinct domains, and the willingness to sacrifice charitable impact to preserve preferred allocation patterns. We implement a framed dictator game in which participants allocate a real monetary endowment across UK charities selected from their own preferred causes. The design varies cause scope, allocation flexibility, and charitable effectiveness. Single Cause choice sets identify within cause diversification, while Multiple Cause choice sets identify the incremental value of cross cause diversification. Unequal Impact conditions measure the efficiency costs of these allocation motives. The design clarifies when flexibility enhances giving and when it may distort impact.

Keywords: charitable giving, allocation flexibility, donor choice, cause diversification, charitable effectiveness, experiment

JEL codes: C91, C92, D64, D91, H41, H44