{"title":"Crowdfunding as Digital Philanthropy: The Impact of Altruism, Responsibility, and Community Engagement on Backer Behavior","authors":"Joanna Adamska, Urszula Mrzygłód","doi":"10.1002/nvsm.70054","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/nvsm.70054","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study investigates the psychological and social factors that shape backer behavior in crowdfunding, conceptualized as a digitally mediated form of philanthropy, comparing social and commercial campaign contexts. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory and Social Identity Theory, it explores how altruistic behavior, philanthropic responsibility, and community engagement influence both intention and actual participation. Based on a survey of 467 experienced crowdfunding backers, results show that community engagement consistently predicts intentions in both campaign types, while altruism significantly drives support only for social projects. Notably, altruism indirectly influences support for commercial campaigns through community engagement, indicating that prosocial motivation translates into action when socially validated. Philanthropic responsibility moderates these relationships—diminishing the role of community in social contexts but enhancing it in commercial ones. These findings further suggest that engagement functions as a credibility and trust-building mechanism in digital environments, where social signals reduce uncertainty and enable backers to act on altruistic intentions. These also highlight distinct pathways through which values-driven motivations influence crowdfunding behavior and offer guidance for designing transparent and trustworthy resonant campaigns.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":100823,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing","volume":"31 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147668982","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Transitioning From the Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing to the Journal of Philanthropy","authors":"Rita Kottasz","doi":"10.1002/nvsm.70055","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/nvsm.70055","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This editorial announces the transition of the <i>Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing</i> to the <i>Journal of Philanthropy</i>, marking a strategic repositioning as an interdisciplinary social science journal. The name change reflects the journal's evolution beyond its marketing roots to encompass the full breadth of philanthropy research across sociology, psychology, ethics, organisational behaviour, communication studies, and digital anthropology. The editorial outlines the journal's strategic priorities: expanding special issues mostly via our Dialogues Series, deepening collaborations with civil society and other philanthropy associations, and leading debates on what matters to our readership most: donor behaviour, digital fundraising and grant-making. It also clarifies the temporary dual listing in Web of Science and Journal Citation Reports resulting from the name change, and affirms the journal's commitment to being an interdisciplinary, inclusive, practice-driven and impactful intellectual home where rigorous research meets applied insight.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":100823,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing","volume":"31 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147668983","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Of Titans and Terraria: Exploring and Conceptualising Philanthropic Foundations Through the Lens of Metaphors","authors":"Tobias Jung","doi":"10.1002/nvsm.70053","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/nvsm.70053","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Addressing ongoing calls for a more robust understanding of philanthropic foundations, this paper uses metaphor analysis to map and analyse analogical metaphors on foundations—metaphors that make a direct comparison between philanthropic foundations and another domain—put forward in academic and non-academic discourse. Based on a thematic analysis of 109 metaphors, ten overarching clusters are identified that portray foundations as <i>influence</i>, <i>inexplicit</i>, <i>inertia</i>, <i>indulgence</i>, <i>inadequate</i>, <i>insulated</i>, <i>intelligence</i>, <i>insecurity</i>, <i>individual</i>, and <i>image</i>. Moving beyond established critiques of foundations' characteristics, practices, and roles, these reveal recurring tensions in foundation discourse. The paper shows how metaphors operate as evaluative and sensemaking devices that articulate and stabilise ambiguities surrounding foundations without resolving them, demonstrating how metaphor analysis offers both a systematic approach to understanding foundations' complexities and a reflective lens for engaging with them.</p>","PeriodicalId":100823,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing","volume":"31 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/nvsm.70053","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147615033","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Money Attitudes Driving Charitable Bequest Intentions: Understanding Legacy-Gift Segments to Inform Nonprofit Communication Strategy","authors":"Russell N. James III, Claire Routley","doi":"10.1002/nvsm.70052","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/nvsm.70052","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study examines how various money attitudes and demographic factors influence individuals' stated likelihood and intended estate share for a charitable bequest in a future will. Principal components analysis of U.S. survey responses to 29 items capturing money-related attitudes identified four key money-attitude factors: Money-as-Status, Financial-Anxiety, Financial-Planning, and Bargain-Seeking. Regression analyses revealed that Financial-Planning and Bargain-Seeking related positively to the likelihood of leaving a charitable estate gift, whereas Money-as-Status significantly predicted the percentage share of the estate allocated to charity. Additional demographics, especially having no children, further explained increased intentions to give. The money-attitude dimensions that guide charitable bequest participation intentions differ from those that guide charitable bequest magnitude intentions. This provides important implications for understanding effective legacy giving communications. For example, emphasizing tax benefits may appeal to Bargain-Seeking attitudes and has also proven empirically effective. Emphasizing financial, retirement, and tax planning oriented charitable options may appeal to Financial-Planning attitudes. Finally, the common features of very large estate gifts (e.g., named endowments and foundations) match with appeals to Money-as-Status attitudes. These findings can help nonprofit professionals design targeted strategies to increase charitable giving from estates.</p>","PeriodicalId":100823,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing","volume":"31 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/nvsm.70052","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147567782","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
John Sweeney, Darius M. Moore, Micol Werner, Jeremy S. Rossman, Mina Halpern, Esther Majaliwa, Wesler Lambert, Cinaiya Stubbs, Gary W. Harper
{"title":"Re-Envisioning Global Health Partnerships in Times of Decreasing Foreign Aid From the U.S. and Other High-Income Countries: The Child Thrive Coalition","authors":"John Sweeney, Darius M. Moore, Micol Werner, Jeremy S. Rossman, Mina Halpern, Esther Majaliwa, Wesler Lambert, Cinaiya Stubbs, Gary W. Harper","doi":"10.1002/nvsm.70048","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/nvsm.70048","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Massive cuts to global foreign aid by the U.S. and other high-income countries have disrupted the global health ecosystem necessitating new models of collaboration and presenting an opportunity to replace inequitable partnership models, historically predominant in international development. This article presents the Child Thrive coalition as an innovative approach to address child and adolescent health inequities in low- and middle-income countries. The Child Thrive coalition builds on localization efforts to center equity in global health partnerships and to transfer power to communities in order to affect community-level change that addresses both the immediate impacts of child and adolescent health inequities as well as the structural factors that maintain disadvantaged socioeconomic and political environments.</p>","PeriodicalId":100823,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-02-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/nvsm.70048","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147323843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Lessons Learned: Individual Charitable Giving and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017","authors":"Brian L. Johnson, Vicky R. Johnson","doi":"10.1002/nvsm.70047","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/nvsm.70047","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The general sentiment of the charitable community toward the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 at the time of its passing seemed despondent. Due to individual income tax changes, the TCJA was set to produce tens of billions of projected charitable donation losses. Interestingly, current data show that total individual giving is on track with amounts before the TCJA's implementation, and overall giving has exceeded pre-TCJA levels, setting records along the way. This study attempts to explore this phenomenon and more by broadly analyzing how individual income taxation, itemization, donors, and donations changed during the TCJA's tenure. Researchers, lawmakers, and charitable leaders may use this study to be better prepared in their decision making when new tax legislation is enacted.</p>","PeriodicalId":100823,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146091109","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Digital Users Perceptions of Philanthropic Donations Across Social Media and Institutional Websites","authors":"Yuni Rimawati, Hamidah, Ardianto","doi":"10.1002/nvsm.70046","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/nvsm.70046","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study explores the types of online information that effectively drive donations, building on previous research that has largely focused on disclosure practices and platform adoption. The study employed an open-ended survey. Our respondents were netizens, digital users, who had donated after seeing posts from philanthropic organizations on social media. Of the 585 respondents, 78% visited the organization's website before donating, while 22% donated directly based on social media posts without further investigation. Website users seek confirmation of credibility, legality, program details, and transparency in fund distribution. On the other hand, netizens who donated directly based on social media posts without searching the philanthropic organization's website were motivated by trust formed by perceptions of institutional credibility, transparency, empathy, and religious values.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":100823,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2026-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145987095","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Crowdfunding for Chronic Diseases in the Global South: A Novel Development or Insidious Reproduction?","authors":"Edward Narain, Matthew Wade, Tarryn Phillips","doi":"10.1002/nvsm.70036","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/nvsm.70036","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Inspired by Lukk and colleagues' analysis of crowdfunding as a re-entrenchment of inequalities in the North American context, this response applies the same questions to the Global South, focussing on medical crowdfunding for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Fiji. Grappling with an under-resourced health system, Fijians with medical complications from NCDs are resorting to crowdfunding platforms to help raise funds for lifesaving treatments. Far from being a novel development, we explore how the need for Fijians to crowdfund for survival emerges from neo-colonial inequalities. We argue that crowdfunding represents another layer of problematic aid, undermining the autonomy of Fijians, the accountability of governments and the ability of the Fijian healthcare system to care for its citizens. Significant cultural considerations emerge as crowdfunding platforms travel from Global North to South contexts, including the mismatch between neoliberal individualised campaigns versus communitarian values, the risk of eroding traditional cultural giving practices, and the privileging of the Western gaze. Finally, we reflect on the differential flows of vitality and toxicity, and how crowdfunding exacerbates inequality by distracting us from genuine upstream solutions.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":100823,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing","volume":"30 S1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145479924","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Is Crowdfunding Charity? Exploring Contemporary Meanings of “Philanthropy”","authors":"Vincci Li","doi":"10.1002/nvsm.70037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/nvsm.70037","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Over the course of nearly a decade, a strong body of academic research has emerged showing that the benefits of personal crowdfunding via GoFundMe and similar platforms are neither as easily attained nor as evenly distributed among users as many would hope. In this response to Lukk et al.'s (2025) article “Disrupting Philanthropy? A Reality Check for Digital Crowdfunding,” I extend the authors' discussion of the harmful effects of the for-profit crowdfunding industry on equality, campaigner/beneficiary autonomy, and the spread of misinformation by examining how crowdfunding has shifted the meaning(s) ascribed to “philanthropy” in Western societies.</p>","PeriodicalId":100823,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing","volume":"30 S1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/nvsm.70037","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145479926","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"On Curiosity and Judgement: Crowdfunding in Diverse Contexts","authors":"Ellen A. Stewart","doi":"10.1002/nvsm.70039","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/nvsm.70039","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>In this commentary response to Lukk et al. (2025), I argue that we should understand crowdfunding as an assemblage of platforms, donors and recipients that might offer different advantages and disadvantages dependent on the broader system context it takes place within. Drawing on my knowledge of health-related crowdfunding, I discuss examples of collective or civic crowdfunding and highlight especially significant scholarship around crowdfunding for gender-affirming healthcare for trans people. Exploring the ambiguities of these broader examples of crowdfunding complicates the task of reaching definitive judgements of the phenomenon as a whole but opens up valuable new lines of inquiry about what it does, for whom, and in what contexts.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":100823,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing","volume":"30 S1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145479922","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}