The research notes are published quarterly. Previous editions can be found at the Member Portal.

 

Issue XI: June 2025

 

The Compassion Fade Effect: Does Showing Fewer or More Beneficiaries Increase Donations?

Author(s): Dominik S. Meier – Center for Philanthropy Studies, University of Basel; The Gradel Institute of Charity, New College, University of Oxford

Provided by: Vuk Vukovic from KU Leuven

Previous research suggests that donors give more to smaller beneficiary groups when exposed to a single donation request but prefer larger groups when comparing multiple requests. However, these findings come from laboratory studies, raising questions about their applicability in real-world fundraising. How does the number of people in a photo impact fundraising success on the GoFundMe crowdfunding platform?

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Creating and Evaluating a New Framework for Understanding Changes in Volunteer Administrative and Management Practices

Author(s): Jeffrey Brudney – University of North Carolina | Lucas Meijs – Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University | Philine van  Overbeeke – Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University; The Gradel Institute of Charity, New College, University of Oxford

Provided by: Katy Adams from Heidelberg University

There is a lack of certainty around the necessary tasks of volunteer management. Investigating a new framework reveals the particular impact of third-party involvement and the need for further research. Can differences in how volunteer practitioners vary in their approaches to management be adequately represented within a simple framework?

 

Do Beliefs About the Government Affect Charitable Giving?

Author(s): Bouke Klein Teeselink – King’s College London, Yale School of Management | Georgios Melios – London School of Economics and Political Science

Provided by: Lucy Pfliger from France générosités

Traditional economic theory suggests that government-provided welfare and public goods can substitute for those provided by charities, a concept known as the crowding-out effect. This theory suggests that an increase in government spending will lead to proportional decreases in private charitable donations. Hence, economists have long explored if, and how, public spending reduces charitable donations. In this article, the authors explore a new type of crowding-out by examining how individuals’ political alignment with the government, rather than just government spending itself, affects charitable giving patterns.

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Making the Tea or Making it to the Top? How Gender Stereotypes Impact Women Fundraisers’ Careers

Author(s): Beth Breeze – University of Kent | Elizabeth J. Dale – Grand Valley State University

Provided by: Anh P. Nguyen from Happier Me

In a female-dominated profession, women fundraisers still face gender stereotypes, discrimination, and harassment, affecting their hiring, promotions, and credibility. This research explores structural barriers, gendered expectations, and their impact on career progression and leadership in philanthropy. Which forms of gender-based stereotyping and harassment do women fundraisers experience? How do gendered expectations shape leadership opportunities and professional credibility in philanthropy? What actions can be taken to dismantle barriers for women fundraisers?

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Exploring Gender Difference in Charitable Giving: The Dutch Case

Author(s): Arjen de Wit – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam | René Bekkers – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Provided by: Fiona Watson

This study explores gender differences in giving behaviour in the Netherlands and how values, finances, solicitation and social pressure impact giving behaviour. The study helps practitioners to understand the factors influencing women’s giving. Does gender impact giving behaviour in the Netherlands and do values, finances, solicitation and social pressure exert an influence?

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Inscribing Impact Measurement Practices in the Making of Moral Markets

Author(s): Guillermo Casasnovas– Universitat Ramon Llull – Esade | Lisa Hehenberger – Universitat Ramon Llull – Esade | Kyriaki Papageorgiou – Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Provided by: Ricardo Marques from RosaJumi, Associação de Ação Social/Stone Soup Consulting

The interest in the study of moral markets has gradually grown, anchored by the need to include social and environmental issues in traditional markets. This study reinforces this relevance. The authors problematize the lack of standardized tools for measuring impact. Likewise, the values and objectives of the actors are part of the measurement processes shaping the structures and dynamics of impact investment.

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Investigating Turnover Intentions During Organizational Change: The Role of Negative Appraisals, Psychological Contract Violation, and Resistance to Change

Author(s): Marlene Walk – Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg | Amanda J. Stewart – North Carolina State University, Raleigh | Kerry Kuenzi – University of Wisconsin-Green Bay

Provided by: Jonathan Gunson

The study investigated to what extent and how negative change appraisals employees had amid the pandemic (October 2020) are related to intentions to leave the organization about a year after the start of the pandemic (April/May 2021). This article proposed resistance to change as an important construct to further understand the mechanism linking psychological contract violation to turnover intentions.

 

How the ‘NGO Halo’ Increases Risk of Unethical Practices

Author(s): Isabel De Bruin Cardoso – Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University | Marco Meyer – University of Hamburg | Muel Kaptein – Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University

Provided by: Konstantina Koutsoupia

This research outlines how idealising various aspects of NGOs, from overarching mission and moral code down to its very people – a phenomenon defined as the ‘NGO halo’ – contributes to justified unethical behaviour. Through its data and ensuing results, the research challenges the prevailing assumption that NGOs are intrinsically moral and addresses their ethical management practices.

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Cross-sector Collaboration by Endowed Foundations: Organizational Identity Matters

Author(s): Petra T. van Aken – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam | Margit G. J. van Wessel – Wageningen University & Research

Provided by: Christin Bohnke from Give Something Back to Berlin

The article explores why Dutch endowed philanthropic foundations, despite their financial independence and unique potential for impact, rarely engage in cross-sector collaboration with government, corporations, or nonprofits. Using organizational identity theory, the authors show that these foundations’ sense of autonomy and founder-related values often leads them to prioritize independent action over collaboration, even when partnerships could enhance their impact.

 

Middle-Class Volunteers: A Stable Backbone of Swiss Civil Society?

Author(s): Oto Potluka & Georg von Schnurbein – Center for Philanthropy Studies, University of Basel

Provided by: Aleksandra Belina from Good Network Foundation & Klon/Jawor Association

Many people believe that the middle class is the main group involved in formal volunteering. But as the middle class shrinks under economic pressures, is volunteering shrinking too? Is the middle class at risk of becoming less involved? To find out, the authors looked at data from the Swiss Volunteering Survey, which collected responses from over 5,000 people in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2019. They wanted to see if the middle-class’s involvement in volunteering has changed over time.

 

Managing Social Impact Bonds: Intermediary Work and Designing Institutional Infrastructure

Author(s): Danielle Logue – University of New South Wales (UNSW) | Markus A. Höllerer– University of New South Wales (UNSW) & WU Vienna University of Economics and Business | Stewart Clegg – University of Sydney | Reinhard Millner – WU Vienna University of Economics and Business | Jonas Jebabli – Munich Reinvestment Partners

Provided by: Beatriz Sanz-Corella

Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) have gained traction over the past decade as a financial instrument enabling cross-sector collaboration to address complex social challenges. Though often praised for their innovation, data-driven methods, and focus on outcomes, SIBs are mostly seen through a financial or contractual lens. This article shifts attention to a crucial yet often overlooked player: intermediary organizations. How do intermediaries work to navigate and manage complexity in cross-sector collaborations, and what types of institutional infrastructure do they design in the process?

 

 

 

About the ERNOP Research Notes Most academic research on philanthropy is underutilised, while on the other hand, there is a need for practitioners to learn from academics. Given limited resources within the academic and philanthropy community, academic insights should be used as much as possible. However, practitioners rarely have time and access to the work published in academic journals. Besides, not all content of academic papers is relevant for practitioners. At the same time, academics often do not have time and/or skills to make their work accessible for practitioners and, what’s more, they get little rewards for doing so as the number of individual publications is often too limited to build a constituency. Therefore the European Research Network On Philanthropy (ERNOP) –  the academic network of philanthropy researchers in Europe – develops the ERNOP Research Notes. The Research Notes are an initiative by ERNOP and endorsed by the European Fundraising Association (EFA), Philanthropy Europe Association (Philea), the Centre for European Volunteering (CEV) and Impact Europe.

 

More information about the Research Notes can be found here.