Comparing Charitable Fundraising Schemes in GermanyPDF version
In 2002, more than US$241 billion were given to charities in the United States, and 75 percent of charitable giving came in the form of individual donations. Despite the fact that these organizations often depend on the support of outside donors to finance their mission, fundraisers are divided as to the most efficient means of attracting donations. The disagreement arises in part because there is minimal evidence on the relative effectiveness of alternative fundraising schemes.
The Bavarian State Opera House was founded in Munich, Germany in the 17th Century. In recent years, the Bavarian State Opera house has invested in the musical education of children to ensure that appreciation for the operatic art form does not disappear in future generations. The Opera’s most recent fundraising project is entitled “Stück für Stück” and strives to provide a musical education for school children from socially disadvantaged areas. Although the Bavarian State Opera has never previously used mailouts as a form of fundraising and the practice is not common in Germany, the program Stück für Stück will be partially funded by the individual donations received in response to a mail solicitation. The average recipient of the Opera’s solicitation purchased six tickets at an average cost of €86 per ticket in the year prior to the mailout.
Researchers worked with the Bavarian State Opera to organize a mailout designed to elicit donations to support Stück für Stück. A total of 25,000 recipients were randomly selected from the opera’s database of customers who had purchased at least one ticket to attend either the opera or ballet, in the twelve months prior to the mailing.
Each addressee was randomly assigned to receive one of six mailing treatments:
- Comparison - A straightforward request for a donation.
- Lead Donor (Signaling) - Information about an anonymous lead donor who committed €60,000 (over 400 times the average donation).
- 50 Percent Matching - An explanation of a matching scheme in which an anonymous donor would donate 50 cents for each euro donated by the recipient (up to a total of €60,000).
- 100 Percent Matching - An explanation of a matching scheme in which an anonymous donor would donate an additional euro for each euro donated by the recipient (up to a total of €60,000).
- Matching for >€50 (Non-linear Matching) - An explanation that an anonymous donor would match each donation greater than €50 by donating an equivalent sum (up to a total of €60,000).
- Additional €20 for each donation (Leveraged Matching) - An explanation that an anonymous donor would contribute an additional €20 for each donation made, regardless of the size of the donation (up to a total of €60,000).
The lead gift was actually provided by an anonymous donor and each matching scheme was implemented. The opera did not have a fundraising target in mind, and none of the mailings indicated a specific financial target. Non-German residents, corporate donors, and formally titled donors were removed from the initial pool of 25,000 resulting in a total of 22,512 addressees.
The study found that the average rate of response varied between 3.5 percent and 4.7 percent across the six mailing treatments. Providing information about the presence of a substantial lead donor nearly doubled the size of the average donation, while providing information about the existence of a matching scheme resulted in a decrease in the size of the average donation, and an offer to match donations in excess of €50 substantially increases the number of patrons donating between €51 and €60 (from 0 to 20.6 percent).
The results from each of the six treatments are summarized in the table below:
Treatment Description |
Response Rate |
Average Donation Given |
Average Donation Received |
1) Comparison |
3.7% |
74.3 |
74.3 |
2) Lead Donor |
3.5% |
132 |
132 |
3) 50 Percent Matching |
4.2% |
101 |
151 |
4) 100 Percent Matching |
4.2% |
92.3 |
185 |
5) Matching for >€50 |
4.3% |
97.9 |
194 |
6) Additional €20 for each donation |
4.7% |
69.2 |
89.2 |
Despite the frequent use of matching schemes in fundraising campaigns, the results of the study indicate that the presence of a matching scheme reduces the size of the average donation. The total amount received including the donor’s matching funds increases, but in matching schemes, the donor’s money has the undesirable consequence of diminishing the total amount of funding that recipients are willing to contribute.
