Charitable Giving in Times of Covid-19: Do Crises Forward the Better or the Worse in Individuals?

Publication: Scientific journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Why did some individuals react to the Covid-19 crisis in a prosocial manner, whereas others withdrew from society? To shed light onto this question, we investigate changing patterns of charitable giving during the pandemic. The study analyzes survey data of 2000 individuals, representative of the populations of Germany and Austria. Logistic regressions reveal that personal affectedness by Covid-19 seems to play a crucial role: those who were personally affected either mentally, financially, or healthwise during the first 12 months of Covid-19 were most likely to have changed their giving behavior. The observed patterns fit psychological explanations of how human beings process existential threats. Our findings indicate that a profound societal crisis in itself mainly leads to changes in charitable giving if individuals are severely affected on a personal level. Thereby, we contribute to a better under- standing of the mechanisms underlying individuals’ charitable giving behavior in times of crisis.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1322-1344
JournalVOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations
Volume34
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

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