# People give more when beneficiaries make an effort’

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2007/09/06/people-give-more-when-beneficiaries-make-effort/
- Published: 2007-09-06T23:00:00+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**People are more likely to give more to the victims of disasters when they think
that beneficiaries are making an effort to help themselves and when the victims 
are not deemed to be responsible for the situation.**

A series of studies by Dr Hanna Zagefka and Dr Masi Noor of the Royal Holloway University
of London for the British Psychological Society’s annual conference reveals why 
people donate more generously towards some humanitarian disasters than others.

There were four studies, looking at willingness to donate to victims of the 2004
tsunami, and to the Darfur crisis as well as hypothetical disasters.

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Results showed that people are more willing to donate if disasters were caused by
natural factors rather than manmade – famine following natural drought rather than
famine following armed conflict, for example.

Positive emotions such as empathy towards the victims also increase people’s willingness
to donate. When people believed their donations had the potential to make a ‘real
difference’ in the region affected, they were more inclined to donate.

People also considered their country’s relations with that of the affected country
when they made donations. They are less willing to donate if the victim country’s
regime is perceived to be an enemy, rather than an ally. Dr Zagefka said this was
interesting because often disaster victims might not actually support the regime,
for example in a dictatorship. Nonetheless donors are biased against them because
victims are associated with the enemy regime.

The authors suggest that fundraising campaigns should seek to represent the victims
as proactive rather than passive and they should convey the message that donations
will be ‘effective’, establishing a feeling of trust in the potential donor. Campaigns
should also highlight positive relations between the donor’s and the victim’s countries,
or if this is not possible, then provide information that could help donors see 
the diversity of groups within that country.

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