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This paper replicates and refines the finding that subsidies for charitable contributions of a rebate type are less effective than matching subsidies. A survey based field experiment with health charities was conducted among a national sample representative of the Dutch population on key demographic characteristics. The greater effectiveness of matching subsidies found in laboratory experiments is replicated. Also some evidence is provided on why matches are more effective than rebates. Matches attract a larger pool of donors, in part because donors expect more people to make donations and “join in.” Matches also increase the amount contributed among the higher educated, higher income households and larger donors. Subsidies of either type do not decrease subsequent giving in a campaign for tsunami relief. The experiment could not test whether the greater effectiveness of a matching subsidy is due to a change in the donor’s attention to the benefits of a donation to the cause. This explanation should be tested in future research. The findings imply that a given budget available to subsidize charitable contributions can be used more effectively if the subsidy is framed in the form of a match than in the form of a rebate. Nonprofit organizations can use this insight in the design of fundraising campaigns. For governments the finding suggests that the effectiveness of current subsidies for charitable contributions can be enhanced by matching them rather than providing a deduction in the income tax, which works as a rebate.

Purpose – This study seeks to answer the question of whether donations to the Dutch Heart Association are a form of solidarity of the healthy with the sick. In doing so, I test hypotheses on the origins of charitable donations in awareness of need in conjunction with dispositional empathic concern, social networks and own health.

Methodology – I report probit, tobit and multinomial regression analyses on data from the Giving in the Netherlands Panel Survey (2002–2004; n=1,246) on donations to the Dutch Heart Association and other health charities.

Findings – I find that experience with cardiovascular diseases is associated with a higher likelihood of donating to the Dutch Heart Association, especially among those with higher levels of empathic concern and social responsibility, and among those who are not in excellent health themselves. Support for the Dutch Heart Association comes from those who are aware of the need for contributions and more easily imagine themselves in a situation similar to those of heart patients.

Research limitations/implications – The results confirm the role of empathic concern, explore the role of own health and seem to reject the role of ties to family members. The study is limited to the Dutch Heart Association. Future research should test whether these results can be generalized to donations to other charitable causes.

Originality/value of chapter – This study contributes to our knowledge on charitable donations, revealing new insights on the influence of awareness of need.

The purpose of this study is to determine how self-driven (intrinsic motivators) and monetary incentives (extrinsic motivators) are mediated by an effort to affect fundraising outcomes. This integration sheds light on crowding out between the two types of incentives as well the drivers of fundraising outcomes, specifically effort and donations.

A field experiment is conducted over a two-month period, involving an online fundraising campaign with over 300 volunteers assigned to one of five different incentive conditions. A special website was created to monitor fundraiser efforts. Fundraisers filled out pre- and post-study surveys.

While high monetary incentives result in the greatest immediate increase in funds raised, they crowd out future intentions to volunteer once incentives are withdrawn. Mediation analyzes show that fundraiser effort fully mediates the effect of intrinsic motivators and partially mediates the direct effect of extrinsic motivators on funds raised.

A major limitation of field experiments is the lack of control, resulting in higher variation. However, while a more controlled experiment will reduce this variation, this goes at the expense of lower external validity.

Results indicate that – at least in the short run – monetary incentives can result in higher fundraising outcomes. However, this goes at the expense of a reduction in future volunteering once the incentives are withdrawn.

This study examines whether extrinsic or intrinsic motivators have a greater impact on funds raised and whether extrinsic motivators crowd out future intentions to volunteer. Different from previous research in which effort is a latent variable, the effort is directly observed over time.

Demotion is sometimes recommended as an instrument for extending older workers' labor force participation. There is, however, very little research on the effects of demotion on employees. The purpose of this paper is therefore to investigate these effects, and to test whether they differ for older and younger workers.

The data come from a biannual panel study among employees working in health care or social services. There were 45 cases of demotion among older employees (aged 45 or over) and 62 cases among younger employees in the data set. The control group consisted of 7,727 cases in which there had been no change in function.

Employees who were demoted had more feelings of exhaustion prior‐to the demotion than employees who did not change function. The demotion only reduced the levels of exhaustion in the case of older employees who moved to a less physically demanding position. Satisfaction with job content decreased regardless of age group or changes in physical workload.

The number of demotions was relatively small. There was no information on the reasons for the demotion. Therefore, we could not test whether the effects of demotion vary according to the reason for the demotion.

In light of the results of this study, employers who are considering demoting an employee should check carefully whether there are other suitable options that have fewer negative consequences for the employee.

There is very little empirical research on the effects of demotion – this paper fills some of the gaps.