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Is It Worth It for Charities to Harass Their Donors?
Podcast

Is It Worth It for Charities to Harass Their Donors?

No Stupid Questions Podcast

Stephen J. Dubner and Angela Duckworth
Freakonomics Radio, 2022
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Eye Opening
  • Concrete Examples
  • Engaging

Recommendation

When’s the last time you got a request for money in the mail? If you’re like many Americans, chances are you’ve had several in the past week. These mailers are bad for the environment, and probably not great for your mental health, but are they good for the charities that mail them? In this episode of No Stupid Questions, Angela Duckworth and Stephen Dubner answer a listener who asks, “Why are charities spending money to annoy their donors?” Dubner and Duckworth explore whether repeated mailings and free gifts from charities inspire donors to give more.

Take-Aways

  • Charities may get more donations when they solicit donations through paper mailers, rather than through email, but repeated mailings annoy donors.
  • Research and anecdotal evidence suggests that charities might benefit from giving donors the option to receive less mail.
  • Charities sell address lists and fudge statistics, but people tend to absolve them of bad behavior because they’re charities.

About the Podcast

Stephen J. Dubner is a journalist, podcast and radio host, and the co-author of the Freakonomics book series. Angela Duckworth is the Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, the author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, and the co-host of No Stupid Questions, a podcast on the Freakonomics Radio network.

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