Donation crowdfunding: principles and donor behaviour

Donation crowdfunding is a form of internet-enabled fundraising where backers provide funding based on philanthropic motivations without expectation of monetary or material rewards. Despite accounting for only a marginal share of global crowdfunding volumes, donation crowdfunding is a unique model for supporting a wide range of prosocial and charitable causes, while allowing fundraisers to leverage benefits afforded by ICT solutions for more effective and efficient fundraising. The chapter provides an overview of the limited research on donation crowdfunding while highlighting donor motivations and behaviour, as well as drivers of success in donation campaigns. We find that current research suggests that donation behaviour is driven by impure altruism closely linked to intrinsic motivations such as satisfaction, joy, and a sense of belonging. Furthermore, several success drivers of donation crowdfunding campaigns have been identified with respect to factors at the fundraiser, campaign, and platform levels.