What Drives Canadians to Donate Financially Overseas? A Critical Analysis of Responding to Organizational Values vs. Strategic Marketing

As a society we are compelled by emotion. Although we can be rational beings, we often find ourselves making irrational decisions based on how we emotionally feel about certain situations. This paper critically analyzes surveyed participants responses to whether the values of a development organization or the emotional strategic marketing they utilize influence their drive to donate financially overseas. Two participant groups were surveyed, young adults aged 18-25 and middle-aged adults aged 40-60. Using two commercials outlining fictional organizations, one utilizing an emotional marketing tactic and the other a rational value-based tactic, the study attempted to discover which commercial participants were drawn to most. The analysis looked to prove that the emotional commercial would be more compelling over the value-based commercial. However, the results of the study showed that while emotionally compelling advertisements have worked in the past, the participants surveyed indicated that informative commercials showing what the organization does and where the money is going, is a higher motivator for donating to overseas organizations. Donors do not just want to know what the issues are, they want to see how the organization is going to sustainably help overcome them. Overall, the results disproved the hypothesis. However, these results are positive as they indicate that society is progressing in terms of awareness and understanding their impact and responsibility in relation to Western donations overseas. This research should help donors and organizations mutually understand each other’s desires to create more cohesive and regular donors, bridging the West with the Global South