Different or Equal Treatment? Donor Priority Strategy and Fundraising Performance Assessed by a Propensity Score Matching Study. Issue 4 (1st May 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Scherhag, Christian; Boenigk, Silke
• Is Part Of: Nonprofit management & leadership. Volume 23:Issue 4(2013:Summer)
• Page Start: 443
• Page End: 472
• Publication Date: 2013-05-01
• Subjects: Nonprofit organizations -- Management -- Periodicals; Nonprofit organizations -- Periodicals; 658.048
• DOI: 10.1002/nml.21074
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1048-6682

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" xml:lang="en"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>Many nonprofit organizations apply a priority strategy to their donors instead of treating donors equally. The underlying assumption of this strategy is that different and preferential treatment of donors according to their donation amount positively affects fundraising performance. We conducted a propensity score matching study to analyze the fundraising strategies of seventy‐three cultural organizations in Germany. The empirical findings are discussed and complemented by qualitative data from twenty interviews with fundraising managers and private donors. The results show that, in terms of fundraising performance, nonprofit organizations that apply a donor priority strategy outperform organizations that treat donors equally. A donor priority strategy ultimately leads to a 125 euro higher total revenue per donor and an 87 euro higher profit per donor due to cost savings via better use of fundraising resources.</p> </abstract>