The role of socially rich photos in generating favorable donation behavior on charity websites

While online retail sites succeed in reinforcing perceptions of human warmth on their websites thanks to more and more interactive technologies, the charitable sector cannot, for lack of human, technical and financial resources, make use of such technologies. This research paper demonstrates the potential of a simple tool: the socially rich photo. Although the literature has extensively documented how photos impact visitor behavior in online environments, research in the context of donations through charity websites is rare and has provided contradictory results. By focusing more closely on the role of the individual represented in such photos (the recipient of a donation versus the donor), our studies, conducted in France, offer additional insights on the subject as well as managerial advice for organizations.     

Relevance of Fundraising Charities’ Content-Marketing Objectives: Perceptions of Donors,Fundraisers, and Their Consultants

Many fundraising charities invest heavily in content marketing, often using consultants to direct their content-marketing efforts. Thus it is vital to establish whether certain key aims of content marketing suggested by literature in the field actually match the aspects of content marketing deemed most important by charity donors. This paper examines the significance attached by samples of charities, donors, and content-marketing consultancies to four possible major objectives of content marketing—the attainment of high–search-engine-results-page rankings, image enhancement through impression management, the stimulation of public perceptions of organizational transparency, and the creation of messages that “go viral.” Several major differences in perceptions emerged among the three groups, with substantial implications for how fundraising charities should manage their content-marketing programs and activities. Charity managements need to consider carefully and critically the possible returns on large-scale expenditures intended to pursue the putative aims of content marketing that are routinely advocated by practitioner and academic literature.     

政府主导型慈善事业发展的弊病及其对策

政府主导型慈善事业虽然曾发挥了它应有的作用,但是目前却制约了我国慈善事业的发展,因此本文首先从政府主导型慈善事业的特点出发,指出了政府主导型慈善事业存在的主要弊病,并分析其形成原因,在此基础上,进一步提出完善和促进我国慈善事业发展的对策建议。     

Trust and accountability in UK charities: Exploring the virtuous circle

Public trust and confidence in charities is essential for the achievement of their missions. However, recent evidence suggests that trust in UK charities has been damaged, potentially affecting charities' and the charity sector's sustainability and effectiveness. This paper constructs accountability as an important means of developing, maintaining and restoring trust in charities. Through a series of interviews with charity managers, it investigates the public and private mechanisms used in discharging accountability to, and building trust with, charities' main stakeholder groups. The paper identifies the use of a wide range of mechanisms, often highly tailored to particular stakeholders' perceived information needs, which are seen as critical in this process. It is argued that the use and interplay of these can create a ‘virtuous circle’ of accountability and trust, where each reinforces the other. It is argued that where this is achieved, trust in individual charities, and the sector as a whole, can be enhanced.     

慈善组织公信力重塑视阙下会计信息披露机制存在的问题及成因研究

会计信息披露机制作为解决慈善组织信息透明度不足、重塑慈善组织公信力的制度选择,在实施过程中存在一系列问题,阻碍了会计信息披露机制功能的有效发挥。为此,在对会计信息披露机制与慈善组织公信力关系进行分析的基础上,对慈善组织会计信息披露机制存在的问题及其成因进行了深入研究,以期对会计信息披露机制的构建提供一些启示。     

New development: Transparent impact reporting in charity annual reports—benefits,challenges and areas for development

The effect of charitable activities on beneficiaries and society is at the heart of what charities exist to do, and stakeholders’ reasons for engaging with charities. Reporting publicly and transparently on this impact can form the basis of improved effectiveness, accountability, legitimacy and trust: potentially securing stakeholders’ ongoing support and engagement. However, significant challenges to transparent impact reporting are also acknowledged. This article explores these possible benefits, and challenges and highlights areas for development in practice and research.     

会计信息披露机制——提升慈善组织公信力的路径选择

近年来若干标志性负面事件的发生，导致我国慈善组织面临前所未有的公信力危机，其根源在于会计信息披露机制缺乏导致的信息透明度不足。鉴于此．在对慈善组织公信力与会计信息披露机制的关系进行深入研究的基础上，提出慈善组织会计信息披露机制是提升慈善组织公信力的路径选择。     

Negotiating for survival: Balancing mission and money

The impetus for prioritising money over mission in charities is increasingly pertinent as public sector austerity progresses in the UK. Mid size charities – who are heavily reliant on grant funding - have experienced proportionately greater challenges to austerity than larger entities. A substantial part of accountability efforts in mid size charities are directed towards funders, where funder imposed frameworks and measures may direct charity attention away from social mission towards funder needs, causing mission drift. Four charity case studies and grant funder interviews were conducted to investigate how charities can pursue social mission in a challenging funding environment. This paper shows that charities can protect social mission despite high dependence on grant funding, but also provides evidence of susceptibility to mission drift in cases where the balance between money and mission changes. Charity accounting systems display notable funder influence. A resource dependence perspective is utilised to highlight the complexity in assessing dependence of charities in a challenging environment and demonstrates the extent of funder influence in accounting and performance systems in these charities. However, charities employ strategies to cope with external requirements, enabling them to retain mission focus.     

Accounting for promises: The impact of SFAS No. 116 on charities

SFAS No. 116, Accounting for contributions made and contributions received, issued in 1993, requires that nongovernmental organizations, both proprietary and nonprofit, recognize unconditional promises to give as current period revenue. This study examines whether charities—organizations that rely heavily upon contributions—are affected by SFAS No. 116 adoption along two dimensions: whether an accounting effect exists, and whether a subsequent economic, or behavioral impact is felt by charities reporting positive adjustments to net assets when adopting SFAS No. 116.First, this study documents the effect of SFAS No. 116 adoption on receivables, and considers whether increases in pledges that result from adoption persist in post-adoption periods. The evidence suggests that the accounting effect of SFAS No. 116—that is, the recognition of unconditional pledges—persists in the post-adoption regime.Second, the economic effect of SFAS No. 116 is considered by examining, for charities affected by adoption, whether cash contributions decline in post-adoption periods, whether fundraising increases, and whether reliance on cash contributions decreases in post-adoption periods. Results indicate that cash contributions decrease, that fundraising increases, and that reliance on cash contributions decreases for these organizations.     

Unveiling the role of identity accountability in shaping charity outcome measurement practices

Internationally, charities are grappling with the challenges of measuring their service outcomes for accountability purposes. This study employs recent developments in institutional theory to examine the role of identity accountability in shaping these outcome measurement practices. Semi-structured interviews with staff and managers in two New Zealand charities are drawn on to understand their perceptions and experiences of outcome measurement. The findings reveal that charity actors engage in institutional work aimed at discharging both identity accountability and upward accountability via their outcome measurement practices. However, they face challenges in achieving and balancing these two forms of accountability. Policy-practice and means-ends decoupling result, creating the potential for mission drift and other unintended consequences of outcome measurement practices.