Mobilize Donors Via Mobile Devices

Historically, people have donated more to a nonprofit when the nonprofit is local rather than geographically distant. This has been a problem for nonprofits, even if it had gone unrecognized, when collections are headquartered in an underserved area and the generous potential donors are far away.
     A remedy may be to deliver solicitations via mobile devices. A set of U.S. studies indicates this could reduce the discrepancy between local and distant sources in click-through rates and amounts contributed.
     The Villanova University, University of Miami, and University of Hong Kong researchers explain the effect in terms of freedom to travel: When using a desktop, a prospective donor feels geographically constrained, but when using a mobile device, the prospective donor feels greater freedom to move through the world. This feeling builds a social connection to distant worthy beneficiaries. In one of the researchers’ studies, participants reported that the ability to travel with the device was the most salient difference between desktops and smartphones.
     The effect was seen even within the same charity: In one of the experiments, people solicited via a desktop contributed more to local than to distant branches of Big Brothers Big Sisters. This difference was not seen when the solicitation arrived via smartphone.
     Device type specifications and geographic location details are easily available to digital marketers, allowing you to craft your donation request to blend people’s desire to help their local community with their wish to assist the less fortunate in other parts of their nation or world.
     The mobile device extends the conceptual distance of the user’s decision making. But an additional explanation for the effect is based on smartphone use feeling closer than desktop use. City University of Hong Kong and University of Florida researchers observed this when asking study participant to choose lifestyle products, chocolate truffles, wine, and charitable contributions.
     The researchers saw evidence that, compared to the owner’s desktop computer, the smartphone they own feels more personal and private, so using it directs more attention to the distinctive aspects of the self. We hold the smartphone close as we talk into it or type words and symbols. We don’t do that with a desktop computer. When using a smartphone, we narrow our attention and experience a greater sense of privacy. Consistent with this explanation, the distinctive-preference effect was weaker or disappeared if the smartphone used by the consumer in the studies belonged to somebody else.

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