People who indicate their support for a charity in a public way actually donate less than those who support it privately, according to recent research into ‘slactivism’.

The University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business
tested the propensity of people to donate or volunteer, having previously made a token gesture of support, such as signing a petition in either a public or private way or joining a Facebook group or displaying badge.

In one test participants who were given a free poppy to display then donated $0.34 on average, compared to an average donation of $0.86 for those who were given the poppy in a concealed envelope. Those that had not been offered a poppy gave an average $0.15.

Kirk Kristofferson, co-author of The Nature of Slacktivisim: How the Social Observability of an Initial Act of Token support Affects Subsequent Prosocial Action, which is published in the Journal of Consumer Research, warned: “Charities incorrectly assume that connecting with people through social media always leads to more meaningful support.

“Our research shows that if people are able to declare their support for a charity publicly in social media it can actual make them less likely to donate to the cause later on.”

He added: “If charities run public token campaigns under the belief that they lead to meaningful support, they may be sacrificing their precious resources in vain. If the goal is to generate real support, public facing social media campaigns may be a mistake.”

Looking good vs agreeing with a cause

The researchers suggest that this is because people who make a public display of support do so to satisfy an “impression-management need”, meaning they want to appear charitable to others.

Those that do so under private conditions are making the token gesture because it is a cause that they are morally aligned with it, and are therefore more likely to make a more substantial contribution when asked at a later date.

To mitigate the effect of ‘slacktivism’ the report suggests that when it engages people in a token act they also reinforce the “value alignment” or reason the individual supports the cause at the point of making the token gesture of support.

Charities could do this by social media content drawing attention to the charity’s values and showing how these fit with the supporter’s own set of beliefs.

Pink washing

The report identifies the prevalence of pink used by breast cancer charities, which has particular resonance for the UK market given Breast Cancer Care’s recent break-away from the pack and adoption orange, as potentially detracting public focus from the cause.

It said: “We find that engaging in these forms of public support activates a desire to present the self in a positive light, and once this desire is satisfied the token act may not lead to increased support for the cause.”

In the November issue of Fundraising magazine Andy Harris, director of fundraising at Breast Cancer Care, talks about the charity’s move away from pink.