By Pamela O'Connor
Recent studies show that giving charitable donations directly to a friend or loved one gives more satisfaction than an anonymous donation to a worthy charity. If charity is given in a way that builds social connection, people feel happier and have a greater sense of positive feelings.
Three studies were carried out
by Lara Aknin of Simon Fraser University and colleagues from Vancouver and
Harvard business school. These studies found that pro-social spending, or
spending money on others either directly or in a charitable way provoked the
greatest level of happiness when a social connection is made during this.
Donors feel more accomplished knowing they have succeeded from the source
itself. Receiving credit from this can be seen as positive reinforcement; therefore
the chance is greater that they will donate again.
Not-for-profit organizations
are hoping to expand on this to receive bigger donations, suggesting that
recruiting advocates and helping to create more social connections could help
donors and those in need. This can also help bring about “word of mouth”
marketing if the donors are happier about advocating for a certain charity
because they also feel benefited from it.
These findings complement an earlier
research showing a positive effect from social interactions and voluntary work.
This team concludes that “putting the social in pro-social is one way to
transform good deeds into good feelings”
Source: Science Daily
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