Examining the Influence of Prominent Donors on Nonprofit Organizations

Corporate sponsorship is an often-used fundraising strategy for nonprofit organizations and is considered to be a “win-win” situation for the sponsoring company as well as the nonprofit. While prior research suggests that corporate sponsorship can positively affect the sponsoring company, little research to date has investigated the impact of such sponsorships on the nonprofit, particularly when it is the nonprofit that is communicating the existence of the sponsorship. We address this question and examine the impact prominent donors such as corporations and foundations on people’s perceptions of and willingness to support nonprofit organizations. Results from one experiment suggest that revealing corporate sponsors may, under certain conditions, negatively affect a nonprofit’s effort to garner financial support from the general public.

Citation:

Christine M. Bennett, Hakkyun Kim, and Barbara Loken (2007) ,"Examining the Influence of Prominent Donors on Nonprofit Organizations", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 34, eds. Gavan Fitzsimons and Vicki Morwitz, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 358-360.