Bridging the Gap: The Role of the Charity in Voluntary Public Good Provision

Abstract This paper investigates how donors to food assistance charities respond to exogenous changes in recipients’ unmet needs. When food insecurity rises by one percentage point, the average food assistance charity increases fundraising by 0.9 %. Without this response, private contributions would have fallen by at least 0.2 %. These results are consistent with a model in which economic inequality simultaneously raises the donor’s marginal benefit of giving and reduces their awareness of the recipient’s circumstances. Charitable fundraising plays a key role in maintaining the charity’s revenues at a time when they are most needed.