Monetary Contribution to a Well-Known

¶ … monetary contribution to a well-known charitable organization. Was this an exchange transaction? If so, what was exchanged? What need(s) or want(s) did you satisfy by making your contribution? Which marketing activities do managers of charitable organizations engage in to facilitate a transaction?

In this exchange transaction, there was a clear net financial gain on the part of the charity receiving the donation. However, there was also a net gain for the donor. Donating to charitable organizations is often tax-deductible. The tax deduction and the boost in self-esteem conveyed by donating money to a charity is often enough to encourage people to donate. Some people have more personal reasons to gain from making a donation to a particular charity: perhaps they hope that the organization will protect their political interests, as in the case of a feminist donating to the National Organization of Women. Or a cancer survivor or sufferer may donate to the American Cancer Society, to further research and also out of sympathy with fellow current or past sufferers.

But other incentives are common: a charity may offer t-shirts, baseball caps, or other items that bear the logo of the charity. This is useful because it rewards the donor, allows the donor to use the charity's logo to proclaim his or her altruism, yet also advertises the charity for free, whenever the donor uses the item. Charities may offer more attractive incentives for large donations: entering the donor's name in a drawing for a computer or a new car, offering access to box seats or an exclusive item that the charity possesses (the result of the generosity of another donor), or allowing the donor to have valuable 'face time' with one of the leaders of the organization (in the case of someone who wants the organization's support) are all possible motivation-boosters for giving. Donating is clearly a mutual exchange transaction. The exchange can be one of goods and services, the service of an 'experience' of a gain in self-esteem or political clout, as well as clothing or entertainment.