Donation Behavior in Online Micro Charities: An Investigation of Charitable Crowdfunding Projects

Charitable crowdfunding is a burgeoning online micro charity paradigm where fund seekers request micro donations from a large group of potential funders. Despite micro charities have gone digital for more than a decade, our knowledge on individuals’ donation behavior in online micro charities (e.g., charitable crowdfunding) remains limited. To fill this gap, this study develops a model that explains individuals’ donation behavior in charitable crowdfunding. Our model was tested using data collected from 205 individuals who have read charitable crowdfunding projects. The results reveal that empathy and perceived credibility of charitable crowdfunding jointly determine a funder’s intention to donate money. Furthermore, website quality and project content quality positively influence both empathy and perceived credibility. Also noteworthy is that initiator reputation is positively related to perceived credibility while project popularity is positively associated with empathy. The findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of individuals’ donation behavior in online micro charities.