The Power of Indirect Appeals in Peer‐to‐Peer Fundraising: Why “S/He” Can Raise More Money for Me Than “I” Can For Myself
By Amir Sepehri, Rod Duclos, Kirk Kristofferson, Poornima Vinoo, Hamid Elahi
Journal of Consumer Psychology | July 2021
DOI
doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1232
Citation
Sepehri, Amir., Duclos, Rod., Kristofferson, Kirk., Vinoo, Poornima., Elahi, Hamid. The Power of Indirect Appeals in Peer‐to‐Peer Fundraising: Why “S/He” Can Raise More Money for Me Than “I” Can For Myself Journal of Consumer Psychology doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1232.
Copyright
Journal of Consumer Psychology, 2021
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Abstract
The proliferation of peer-to-peer fundraising platforms (e.g., GoFundMe, Rally, Fundly) poses conceptual and substantive challenges for behavior scientists and fundraisers. This article explores how fundraisers should craft their appeals to maximize their chance of success. Four field- and laboratory-studies find that direct appeals (i.e., narratives written in the first person by the intended recipient) raise less money than otherwise-identical indirect appeals (i.e., narratives written in the third person, seemingly by a third party on behalf of the intended recipient). The cause? Prospective donors ascribe lesser (greater) credibility to direct (indirect) appeals, which in turn curtails (increases) their giving. Since the narrative voice (direct vs. indirect) in which appeals are crafted is often discretionary (i.e., adjustable), our findings offer prescriptive guidelines for fundraisers.

Poornima Vinoo is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Indian School of Business (ISB). Her research spans two primary streams: financial decision-making and disposal behaviour, with an overarching focus of improving consumer wellbeing.

Her work has explored how consumers make decisions to invest money for their retirement, how they choose to donate to worthy causes, and why they may sometimes prefer moral rewards over financial rewards.

Professor Vinoo holds a PhD from Western University, Canada, an MBA from the Indian School of Business, a postgraduate diploma from the Xavier Institute of Communications, and a BA from Osmania University, India.

An experienced industry professional, she has worked for over a decade across startups and large business conglomerates in multiple industries and roles.
At ISB, she teaches Consumer Behaviour.

Poornima Vinoo (1)
Poornima Vinoo