Voluntas (2011) 22:518545

DOI 10.1007/s11266-010-9172-2

ORIGINAL PAPER

Encounters with Philanthropic Information: Cognitive

Dissonance and Implications for the Social Sector

Ava R. Therkelsen

Published online: 21 December 2010

International Society for Third-Sector Research and The Johns Hopkins University 2010

Abstract Using interviews with senior level employees in the social sector, I
analyze the interactions between organizations and individual potential and existing
donors. I recommend a reevaluation of the sectors use of what I term agents of
philanthropy, as well as a reconsideration of the hesitation to introduce philan-
thropic giving to individuals and corporations. To support this assertion, I conduct a
thematic content analysis of The New York Times to show how the transference of
philanthropic information affects the cognitions and subsequent actions of readers.
Using this analysis, I show how individuals may be primed for charitable giving if
only these opportunities were presented. The design and focus of this research
addresses what I have perceived as oversights in philanthropic research to date: the
exclusion of psychology theory, an overemphasis on the conscious, stated motiva-
tions of donors, and the lack of interdisciplinary work on prosocial behaviors.

Resume A partir dentretiens realises avec des employes senior du secteur social,
janalyse les interactions entre les organisations, les potentiels individuels et les
donateurs existants. Je recommande une reevaluation de lusage que fait le secteur
de ce que jappelle les agents de philanthropie , ainsi quune remise en question
de lhesitation a introduire le don de nature philanthropique aux individus et
entreprises. Pour soutenir cette affirmation, je mene une analyse thematique de
contenu du New York Times afin de montrer comment la diffusion dinformations
dordre philanthropique influe sur la cognition et les actions consecutives des lec-
teurs. Jutilise cette analyse pour montrer comment des individus peuvent etre
amenes a effectuer un don de charite si lopportunite leur est simplement suggeree.

A. R. Therkelsen (&)
College of Liberal and Professional Studies, University of Pennsylvania,
3440 Market Street, Suite 100, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3335, USA
e-mail: Avaterk@gmail.com

A. R. Therkelsen
Tides Foundation, P.O. Box 29903, San Francisco, CA 94129-0903, USA

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Le concept et lobjet de cette etude abordent ce que je percois comme ayant ete
neglige a ce jour dans les etudes concernant la philanthropie : lexclusion de la
theorie psychologique, la trop grande importance donnee aux motivations consci-
entes, declarees des donateurs, et le manque de travail interdisciplinaire concernant
les comportements pro-sociaux.

Zusammenfassung Mit Hilfe von Befragungen gehobener Mitarbeiter im Sozi-

albereich analysiere ich die Interaktionen zwischen Organisationen und individu-
ellen potentiellen und existierenden Spendern. Ich empfehle eine erneute
Beurteilung der Nutzung der ,,Agenten der Philantropie, wie ich sie bezeichne,
seitens des Sozialbereichs und eine nochmalige Inaugenscheinnahme der zogerli-
chen Einfuhrung des philantrophischen Spendens bei Privatpersonen und Unter-
nehmen. Zur Unterstutzung dieser Aussage fuhre ich eine thematische Analyse der
New York Times durch, um darzulegen, wie die Ubermittlung philantrophischer
Informationen die Wahrnehmung und das folgliche Handeln der Leser beeinflusst.
Mittels der Anlayse zeige ich, wie Personen eventuell zu wohltatigen Spenden
bereit waren, wenn ihnen nur die entsprechenden Gelegenheiten dazu prasentiert
wurden. Der Aufbau und Schwerpunkt dieser Studie befassen sich mit den Faktoren,
die meiner Meinung nach in der philantrophischen Forschung bis heute ubersehen
wurden: die Auerachtlassung der psychologischen Theorie, eine Uberbetonung der
angegebenen, bewussten Motivationen der Spender und das Fehlen interdiszi-
plinarer Arbeiten zu prosozialen Verhaltensweisen.

Resumen A la luz de las entrevistas con empleados veteranos del sector social,
analizo la relacion entre las organizaciones y los donantes individuales, tanto pot-
enciales como existentes. Recomiendo reevaluar el uso que hace el sector de lo que
denomino agentes de filantropa , as como un replanteamiento de las dudas
existentes a la hora de presentar las donaciones filantropicas a personas y socied-
ades. Para apoyar esta afirmacion, realizo un analisis del contenido tematico de The
New York Times para demostrar como la transferencia de informacion filantropica
afecta la cognicion y las posteriores acciones de los lectores. Partiendo de este
analisis, demuestro que es posible preparar a las personas para hacer donaciones
caritativas si se presenta la oportunidad. El diseno y el enfoque de este estudio
aborda lo que, a mi entender, son descuidos en la investigacion filantropica hasta la
fecha: la exclusion de la teora psicologica, un enfasis excesivo en las motivaciones
conscientes declaradas de los donantes y la falta de trabajo interdisciplinario en
comportamientos prosociales.

Keywords Philanthropy
Newspapers
Cognitive dissonance
Social sector

The enormity and vitality of the social sector in the United States has prompted
scholarly attention in psychology, sociology, behavioral economics, marketing and
management strategies for nonprofits and others, with each discipline contributing
to the expanding knowledge about individual prosocial behaviors. However, the

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work of each discipline has historically been conducted in isolation. This work is
unique in that it takes an interdisciplinary approach towards giving behaviors:
applying psychological theory to a media analysis in order to advance philanthropic
research. Since individual contributions and fees make up the majority of nonprofit
asset bases in the United States (Blackwood et al. 2008), understanding the donor to
nonprofit relationship is imperative for the social sectors continuation.
Through strategic interviews with senior level employees in the social sector, I
analyze how the sector is cultivating and encouraging philanthropy among existing
and potential donors through the use of agents of philanthropy. Agents of
philanthropy are any individual or group of individuals who acting on their own
accord or at the encouragement of an employee of the social sector, promotes or
reintroduces the idea of charitable behavior to an individual. As a result of these
interviews, I advocate for a reevaluation of the ways that the sector utilizes agents of
philanthropy, as well as a reconsideration of the sectors hesitation to present
opportunities for charitable giving. I specifically advise the introduction of
charitable giving to individuals or corporations regardless of whether the person
or organization has expressed an explicit interest in giving. In other words, the
hesitant approach to introduce charitable giving among individuals needs to be
removed. I am not advocating that all individuals or corporations be solicited for
giving, as limited resources and time make targeted approaches appropriate, but I do
forewarn of the detriment of not introducing philanthropy to an individual simply
because there is an uncertainty about how the person will respond. Though this
statement may be received critically, I support this assertion by conducting a
thematic content analysis of The New York Times1 to show how individuals may be

1
To apply a psychological theory to better understand how information influences reader responses, I
chose a medium in which individuals had frequent, yet unobtrusive encounters: a newspaper. The
coverage philanthropy receives in newspapers educates readers about philanthropic work, impacting the
individuals perception and understanding of the social sector. Media coverage of the social sector can
dispel or propagate myths about the sector, impact political agendas and debates, communicate the
sectors accomplishments and needs, and create an understanding of the large narrative that governs the
sectors work (Jacobs and Glass 2002; Egger 2006; Hale 2007). Medias capability to shape individuals
perceptions of and possibly the direction of the social sector requires our best understanding about the
presentation of philanthropic information in these texts. While some may argue that newspaper readership
is on the decline, The New York Times paid circulation is still robust: its weekday edition averages
1,039,031 copies and its Sunday edition averages 1,451,233 (ABC Publishers Statement 2009). A
newspaper was also selected as the printed material for analysis due to the historic and on-going
correlation between newspaper reading and income level (Schramm and White 1949; Doolittle 1979;
National Opinion Research Center 1997). My selection of a specific newspaper for analysis was
influenced by a variety of media consumption survey and report materials. I first consulted the Forbes
2008 list of Americas Richest Counties (Woolsey 2008), and Business Weeks Americas 10 Wealthiest
Towns (Gopal 2008), revealing that the New York Metro area and the Washington DC Metro area were
disproportionately represented in both studies. By analyzing circulation data (Audit Bureau Circulation
website) for these areas to determine the most subscribed to and individually bought papers, I narrowed
the choices to: The Washington Post and USA Today (DC metro area) and The New York Times (NY
metro area). I used The Mendelsohn Survey of Affluent Consumptions Patterns, an internationally
recognized media and marketing survey operating since 1958, to assess whether these publications were
read by the wealthy, finding that The Washington Post was not listed in the survey thus eliminating it
from selection (Mendelsohn Survey of Affluent Consumption Patterns 2008). Reader market income
demographics for USA Today (Audit Bureau Circulation 2004) and for The New York Times (Audit
Bureau Circulation 2007) showed that although USA Today had a higher circulation among residents in

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ready to engage in charitable giving without a conscious or previously expressed

interest.
Drawing from content analysis techniques, I analyzed the theme of philanthropy
in The New York Times. I focused on two philanthropic themes in particular:
individual action towards the sector and the overall need of the sector or specific
organizations. I conducted a search of Times Topics and archival articles on
Philanthropy on The New York Times website. To maintain a current and
manageable amount of information, I focused on articles published between August
1, 2008 and August 1, 2009.2 The articles were classified into the following groups:
Individual Contributors, Events, Gift Narratives, Need of the Sector, Organiza-
tional/Individual Profiles and Economic Recession. These groups were further sub-
grouped (Table 1). The appearance of each relevant theme was recorded for each
article, with as many relevant themes recorded as was necessary. A scale relative to
the prevalence or importance of each theme was not recorded.
Applying Leon Festingers theory of cognitive dissonance3, I assert that four
specific characteristics pertaining to both the overall layout of the publication and
the particular content of the articles are likely to arouse dissonance in a reader: the
frequency of the information, the specificity of the information, the diversity of
the informations locations and the inclusion of explicit instructions for giving. The
inclusion of psychological theory was deliberately chosen to address its historic

Footnote 1 continued
Washington, DC (Audit Bureau Circulations 2004), The New York Times reader market had a higher
income level: an average household income of $106,982 for the weekday edition and an average of
$109,011 for the Sunday edition (Scarsborough New York Release 2008). Due to high circulation rates in
wealthy geographic locales, and circulation that is specific to increased levels of wealth, I chose to focus
on The New York Times.
2
Though unpredictable, this research was extremely context relevant. The specific time period of my
research, as the country was in the middle of an economic downturn and then an economic crisis, may
well have impacted my findings. Economic impact on the social sector and the greater call for its services
during the economic crisis (Lenkowsky 2008), and predictions regarding donor responses during this time
(Ottinger 2008) dominated philanthropic publications. The frequency of information about the social
sector in The New York Times may be directly affected by the economic crisis because as economies
worsen, the need for the services provided by the sector tends to rise (Ottinger 2008). The economic
downturn may also have primed readers to respond to these materials in ways that would not be evident
during economic booms. For example, readers may feel overloaded in dealing with their own finances and
may be less receptive to information about others needs. The economic crisis may have influenced the
content of the articles, making them more likely to have a thematic focus of how the philanthropic work
fits into a greater narrative on economic conditions. Future work could conduct analyses of printed
materials and predicted reader responses in various markets and economic conditions. Similarly, the
geographic focus of the selected publication may have made the results specific to the geographic locale
of the New York Metro area. Using this works content analysis as an example, future work could look at
philanthropic coverage in a local publication and correlate this coverage to actual charitable giving levels
in the area.
3
Cognitive dissonance theory asserts, two elements are in a dissonant relation if, considering the two
alone, the obverse of one element would follow from the other (Festinger 1957, p. 13). For example, for
a person who is a smoker (cognition 1: I am a smoker), when he or she encounters information that touts
the harms of smoking (cognition 2: Smoking is bad for your health), the individual experiences cognitive
dissonance (Festinger 1957). Inconsistent cognitions are psychologically averse, and result in a motivated
state, meaning that a person will work to reduce the dissonance and reinstate cognitive consistency
(Festinger 1957; Harmon-Jones and Mills 2000).

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Table 1 Number of articles by content type

Number of articles

Individual donors
Famous people
Obituary 1
Profile on giving behavior 32
Interview 4
Criticism/lawsuit/negative press 15
Not famous people
Obituary 1
Profile on giving behavior 26
Interview 3
Criticism/lawsuit or negative press 1
Vehicles/ways to contribute
Explanations and terms 9
Specific instructions on how to give/where to find information 15
Advice for donors 8
Events
Photos of event 7
List of names of attendees 7
Reporting of occurrence/narrative of event 12
Benefit events held by famous person 11
Benefit events held by non-famous person 1
Benefit events held by organization 8
Schedules and ticket orders 5
Event to award/honor philanthropists 2
Gift narratives
Individual Monetary gift announcement by famous person 22
Individual gift-in-kind announcement by famous person 4
Individual gift from benefit of sale/concert of famous person 4
Individual Monetary gift announcement by not famous person 30
Individual gift-in-kind announcement by not famous person 9
Individual gift from benefit of sale/concert of not famous person 0
Individual Monetary gift announcement by anonymous 4
Individual gift-in-kind announcement by anonymous 1
Individual Monetary gift announcement by corporation 23
Individual gift-in-kind announcement by corporation 11
Individual Monetary grant announcement of nonprofit 10
Individual gift-in-kind announcement of nonprofit 1
Individual Monetary grant announcement of foundation 30
Individual Monetary grant given by government 7

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Table 1 continued
Number of articles

Need of the sector

Individual
Individual need 20
Individual profile 14
Interview 8
Organization/nonprofit
Specific need 18
Organization profile 7
Interview 0
Specific call for gifts/instructions for giving 3
Foundation
Specific need 1
School/educational
Specific need 6
School profile 2
Interview 0
Specific call for gifts/instructions for giving 0
Sector as a whole
How to help/where to give 14
Statistics 7
Neighborhood/specific location need
Specific/general need 6
Neighborhood profile 0
Specific call/instructions for giving 0
Foreign country need
Specific need 11
Foundation profile 1
Nonprofit profile 4
Organizational/individual profiles
Corporation
Specific philanthropy profiles 13
Critiques/lawsuits/negative press 6
Planned or current improvements/status 5
Inner workings/status/advisory articles 1
Foundation
Profile 39
Criticisms/lawsuits/negative press 6
Planned or current improvements/status 15
Inner workings/status/advisory articles 7
Nonprofits/leaders of nonprofits
Profiles 60

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Table 1 continued
Number of articles

Lawsuits/negative press 18
Planned or current Improvements 14
Inner workings/status/advisory articles 11
Organizations tied to philanthropy (advisors, training facilities, educational institutes, financial, etc.)
Profile 18
Lawsuits/negative press 2
Planned/current improvements/status 6
Individual (s) (non-donor)
Profile 14
Lawsuits/negative press 9
Interview 4
Planned/current improvements/status 0
Sector as a whole
Description of current practices 28
Statistics: giving 18
Statistics: need 5
New directions 41
Critiques/negatives 21
Economic recession
Predicted impact of giving patterns relative to economic circumstances
Of individuals 10
Of foundations 6
Of nonprofits 14
Of corporations 4
Of schools/educational institutions 1
Of government funding 7
General statistics 5
Total 47
Actual Impact on Giving relative to economic circumstances
Of individuals 22
Of foundations 11
Of nonprofits 21
Of corporations 10
Of schools/educational institutions 4
Of government funding 6
General statistics 4
Total 78
Need of the sector relative to economic climate
Individuals 10
Organizations 10
Nonprofits 11

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Table 1 continued
Number of articles

Foundations 3
Schools/educational institutions 2
Government 3
General statistics 9
Total 48

exclusion in philanthropic research.4 My research particularly draws from later

revisions to Festingers original theory that assumes the presence of a self-concept
(Aronson 1968; Steele 1988). In these later revisions, the individual holds a positive
self-concept, considering herself to be capable, moral and predictable (Aronson
1968; Steele 1988). For my research, dissonance is aroused from a threat to the
individuals positive perception of self.
To make the claim that an individuals encounter with philanthropic themed
material has cognitive and behavioral consequences, I first look at the preexisting,
necessary conditions of a reader that make dissonance arousal more likely. I then
expand on how the frequency and specificity of information, the diversity of the
information locations and the explicit instructions for giving, make the production
of dissonance likely, using previous knowledge about dissonance theory to support
my claims. After establishing the likelihood of dissonance arousal, I analyze what is
specific to the concept of philanthropic behavior and the informations presentation
in The New York Times that make it more likely the individual will engage in
behavioral rather than attitudinal changes. Finally, after establishing that behavioral
change will be the likely mode of dissonance reduction, I discuss why this is
relevant to the social sector at large. What I conclude is that hesitation among
organizations to approach individuals or corporations for charitable giving could be
detrimental to the organization. As the content analysis will show, individuals may
be primed for charitable giving, but the opportunities to engage in those behaviors
are not arising. In view of such a finding, the final part of this research discusses

4
Philanthropic research has undergone an expansive and comprehensive evolution, though psychological
theory has never taken a prominent place in the field. The few works that do incorporate psychology are
limited in their scope. This research addresses the limitations of these previous studies by looking at
thematic representations of philanthropy as a whole in a specific publication and drawing connections
between the importance of dissonance creation and reduction to on-going and future practices of the sector.
For example, this work advances Farmers idea of the psychological contract, by considering the
psychological effects and subsequently the behaviors of individuals directly resulting from organizational
practices, to monetary contributions not only volunteer behavior (Farmer and Fedor 1999, Thompson and
Stuart Bunderson 2003). Additionally, this research supports Waters research on crisis fundraising, a more
recent study on the role of cognitive dissonance in crisis fundraising that analyzes the formation of
dissonance upon encountering information about the event, the likelihood of avoidance of the material, the
method of consonance restoration through a donation and the importance of including instructions for
giving with the crisis coverage (Waters 2009). This research will use many of Waters findings as support
for its own claims, though it differs from Waters research in significant ways: This work is not exclusively
focused on coverage of crisis fundraising but rather the sector as a whole, and this research conducts an
in-depth analysis of one major publication rather than an analysis of various media mediums.

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how organizations can better create opportunities for philanthropic giving among
individuals and how agents of philanthropy play vital roles in these presentations.
Since agents are capable of being the conduit for organizations, I also suggest how
organizations can create the most effective and mutually beneficial relationships
between itself and these agents. To begin, I first look at the current uses of agents of
philanthropy among the organizations.

Current Uses of Agents

Interviews were conducted at three types of organizations: a basic needs based

organization (a homeless shelter I will call Safe and Sound), a non-basic needs
organization (a research Institute hereafter known as The Physics Center) and a
Community Foundation (aka The Community Foundation Interview 2009). Each
organization was utilizing agents in some capacity. Agents included either an
individual, such as a friend or a financial advisor, or a group of individuals, such as a
club or association. At times agents were proactively sought by the organization,
and at others, agents approached organizations independent of their asking. An
individual agent may interact with an individual potential donor, such as a friend
talking to a friend, or an individual agent may interact with a group of potential
donors, such as a religious official giving a sermon to a congregation.
Existing donors who encouraged their friends to give were the most commonly
used individual agents among the organizations. These existing donors, for example,
may form member committees that focus on the identification of new supporters or
the retention of existent donors, or may participate in an organizations Guest
Friend program whereby the individual sponsors two other individuals as his or her
Guest Friends for a year (The Physics Center Interview 2009). Existing donors may
also host events for the organization, providing the organization with an invitee list
(Safe and Sound Interview 2009). Due to the nature of the originally, the minimum
amount to set up a Donor Advised Fund is $10,000 and contributors to Community
Foundations receive tax-exemptions at the time the fund is created, The Community
Foundation is more likely to use financial or wealth managers as individual agents
rather than friends (The Community Foundation Interview 2009). The Community
Foundation works with wealth managers, financial advisors, attorneys and estate
planning attorneys by providing materials on The Community Foundation to these
individuals, and encouraging them to introduce The Community Foundation to
individuals who have the financial capacity to set up a Donor Advised Fund or who
may benefit from immediate tax-exemptions (The Community Foundation Inter-
view 2009). The Physics Center also collaborates with financial and estate planners
by holding meetings between these individuals and financial officers of the
organization (The Physics Center Interview 2009). The Planned Giving officer of
The Physics Center gives materials to financial and estate planners and encourages
them to suggest the organization if a client is considering planned giving. Besides
friends and financial advisors, the individuals on the Board of Trustees of an
organization serve as individual agents. Strategies regarding the use of members of
the Board of Trustees as agents are influenced by these individuals increased

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financial capacities. As an asset to the organization, Board members were matched

with potential donors of similar financial standing (Safe and Sound Interview 2009;
The Physics Center Interview 2009). Their ability to secure larger contributions
from certain individuals, garnered a selective use of Board Members (Safe and
Sound Interview 2009; The Physics Center Interview 2009).
Agents of philanthropy also include formal and informal groups of individuals
who introduce philanthropy to other group members. For example, Safe and Sound
utilizes formal group agents, such as the United Way, and less formal group agents,
such as fraternal organizations or clubs, to introduce charitable giving to potential
donors (Safe and Sound Interview 2009). Much of the time, these smaller clubs have
a member who learns about Safe and Sound through its affiliation with the United
Way. For instance, employees who give through United Way and are introduced to
Safe and Sound, may later suggest Safe and Sound to other organizations or clubs in
which he or she is a member. There are also unsolicited informal group agents, such
as a garden club who holds an annual fundraiser and donates the proceeds to Safe
and Sound. Safe and Sound is also involved with religious organizations to promote
philanthropy and their organization, and the Executive Director may speak about the
organization at the invitation of a local synagogue or church (Safe and Sound
Interview 2009). As seen in the examples above, agents of philanthropy are capable
of encouraging philanthropy among individuals and giving to specific organizations.
Subsequently, the hesitation to introduce charitable giving to individuals or the
reluctance to utilize agents of philanthropy can have detrimental effects.
The most averse to the use of agents was The Community Foundation. The
Community Foundation believed that using existing donors to encourage their
friends to make contributions was putting too much pressure on donors and that to
actively ask donors to do such a thing was considered tacky (The Community
Foundation Interview 2009). More detrimental than a reluctance to utilize agents,
however, was the organizations general hesitation to introduce philanthropic giving
to individuals. The Community Foundation did not suggest increases to existing
donors level of giving, did not approach businesses to encourage corporate
philanthropy or employee giving, and did not generally makes its organizations
work known to the community (The Community Foundation Interview 2009). The
uncertainty regarding how a person would respond to the introduction of charitable
giving was also prevalent in practices at Safe and Sound and The Physics Center.
For example, both organizations were more likely to invite individuals to events and
focus on cultivating or soliciting individuals who had a previous history of
charitable giving (Safe and Sound Interview 2009; The Physics Center Interview
2009). To reiterate, I do not advocate carelessly using an organizations resources or
time in order to solicit everyone possible. However, I do maintain that a hesitation
to introduce charitable giving to individuals, or an overly selective approach of
potential donors, may have negative consequences for organizations. Individuals
that might have made contributions if the opportunity arose will never do so unless
organizations present this opportunity. To support the assertion that individuals may
be ready and primed to engage in charitable behaviors, I now analyze how the
transference of philanthropic information through The New York Times may have
cognitive and behavioral consequences for individuals giving behaviors.

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Thematic Content Analysis of The New York Times

After completing the thematic content analysis of The New York Times, I concluded
that there were four specific characteristics pertaining to both the overall layout of
the paper and to the specific content of the articles that are likely to arouse
dissonance in readers: the frequency of the information, the diversity of the
informations locations, the specificity of the information and the inclusion of
explicit instructions for giving. Dissonance arousal is more likely when there are
certain preexisting conditions in readers. These conditions are a positive self-
concept, contact with an outside entity or person who reminds the reader of his
current or past charitable behaviors or lack thereof, and a positive regard for the
social sector.
This work assumes the presence of a self-concept among readers and a positive
self-concept, self-esteem and self-regard at that. This assumption draws from Elliot
Aronsons self-consistency theory and C.M. Steeles self-affirmation theory which
both state that dissonance is aroused from a threat to the self or a contradiction
between ones important beliefs and behaviors (Aronson 1968; Steele 1988).
Similar to Aronson and Steele, I assume a positive self-concept, meaning that an
individual strives to maintain a sense of self that is competent and moral, as well as
consistent, stable, and predictable. Dissonance occurs when an individual engages in
a behavior that leaves her feeling stupid, confused or immoral. For example, using
Festingers smoker example, what produces the dissonance is not the inconsistency
of the action of smoking and the cognition that smoking is harmful, but rather that
the inconsistency threatens the individuals perception of self-integrity, since he is
foolish for smoking or unable to control his behaviors (Steele 1988). My researchs
discussion of dissonance arousal is only applicable if one assumes the reader to have
a positive self-concept that becomes threatened when new cognitions do not align
with previous or current behaviors.
Since Aronson asserts that dissonance is aroused when a person is made aware of
an inconsistency between a held belief and a behavior, it is necessary that readers
are made aware of their current or past charitable behaviors. The deliberate selection
of The New York Times helped to ensure that readers were reminded of their
incongruent behaviors, since the reader market of this particular paper are of a
higher income level: an average household income of $106,982 for the weekday
edition and an average of $109,011 for the Sunday edition (Scarsborough New York
Release 2008). Wealthy individuals are more likely to be solicited for charitable
giving5 making these individuals more acutely aware of their charitable behaviors.

5
Of wealthy households, 98.2% contribute money to charity, compared to 70% of all American
households, and wealthy individuals donations amounted to $285 billion in 2006 (Preston 2009;
Di Mento 2007). Wealthy individuals have the ability to substantially impact the social sector, since they
have more discretionary income and financial capacity to give, circle with other potential donors, benefit
from tax benefits, and have the means to create and give continued support to charitable projects
(Schervish 1997). Individuals with higher incomes make monetary contributions more frequently than
people with lower incomes who are more likely to contribute time or volunteer (Murphy 2001), and have
the financial capacity to make recurring or major gifts to the social sector that are capable of guiding
social or policy direction in the sector (Schervish 1997; Murphy 2001).

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Table 2 Frequency of articles by date range

Time period Number Number Average articles
of articles of days per day

August 1, 2008October 31, 2008 73 92 0.79

November 1, 2008December 31, 2008 76 61 1.25
January 1, 2009March 31, 2009 46 90 0.49
April 1, 2009May 31, 2009 40 61 0.66
June 1, 2009August 1, 2009 31 61 0.33
Total number of articles 193 365

The importance signaled by the frequency of philanthropic information in The

New York Times, combined with the positive thematic framing of this information,
makes it more likely that readers will develop positive cognitions regarding
philanthropy when encountering these texts. Borrowing from media consumption
research, philanthropy becomes an important topic to readers when it is more
frequently encountered in the publication (McCombs 2004). This first-level
agenda signals to readers what topics are significant by presenting these topics
more often (McCombs 2004). Philanthropic themed information in The New York
Times frequently appeared, with an average of 1.25 articles per day for the period of
August 1, 2008 through August 1, 2009 (Table 2). While the frequency of this
information signaled its relative importance to readers, the positive framing of the
information creates a positive regard for the sector among readers.
Affective framing in The New York Times was generally positive, a conclusion
that is congruent with previous studies on medias presentation of United States
nonprofits (Hale 2007). Affective framing influences the media consumers
emotional perceptions of and connections to media objects, and are measured as
positive, negative, or neutral based on how the object is portrayed (Hale 2007,
p. 467). Since philanthropic material was more likely to be positively portrayed in
the publication, it can be concluded that the reader is more likely to develop a
positive regard for the social sector. These conditions in a reader are integral to my
discussion of the arousal of dissonance.

Frequency of Information

The frequency of philanthropic information presented in The New York Times is

directly related to the likelihood that a person will be reminded of his or her past
charitable behaviors. The frequency of information refers to the number of times or
number of days that philanthropic themed material appeared in The New York
Times. During the period between June 1, 2009 and August 1, 2009, duration of
61 days, philanthropic material appeared the least often: only 31 articles appeared,
or an average of 0.33 articles per day (Table 2). Philanthropic themed articles were
most prevalent between November 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008, a total of
61 days, a period in which 76 articles appeared (an average of 1.25 articles per day).

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On 1 day alone, November 11, 2008, 30 articles included a philanthropic theme.

Additionally, The New York Times ran recurring philanthropic themed sections in
the paper, including: Evening Hours (usually pictures and names of attendees at
benefits and events), Philanthropy: [Place] (example Philanthropy: Newark)
(Schweber 2008), Arts Briefly (usually a gift announcement to a cultural
organization), Giving, How to Help: Finding Food Banks in your Area (this
section only ran in November), Charity, The Neediest Cases (this section ran
November through January), and Giving Back: [Place] (example Giving Back:
Roosevelt) (Widenkeller 2008).
The frequency of philanthropic information in The New York Times increases the
likelihood that an individual will encounter this information and increases the
number of distinct encounters. The more often a reader encounters philanthropic
material, the more likely it becomes that during one of these distinct encounters the
reader will question his own philanthropic involvement, therefore making him
aware of his transgressions in past or current behavior. Dissonance arises due to
inconsistencies between existing knowledge, opinions, or cognitions and the
individuals behavior. In other words, the person holds cognition 1 I know x (or
I know there is a need for charitable giving) and cognition 2, Knowingly, I do
not do x, (or Knowingly, I do not make donations) which are psychologically
inconsistent (Festinger 1957). The more examples of past failures that are brought to
mind or the more inconsistent cognitions made accessible, the more dissonance that
is aroused (Festinger 1957). The lack of control over the information that a reader
encounters suggests that a momentary dissonance can easily arise.
While dissonance may be viewed as a momentary affair, the repetitive and
frequent encounters with the dissonance causing stimuli in The New York Times
may translate into deeper rooted doubts about ones positive self-concept that
eventually become an extreme psychological inconsistency that must be acted upon.
The frequency of these encounters does not allow the reader to actively forget the
dissonance arousing information, a possible mode of dissonance reduction
(Festinger 1957). By repeatedly encountering the philanthropic material, the reader
cannot impart this forgetting strategy.
The importance and prevalence of frequent encounters has practical implications
to for individuals encounters with agents of philanthropy. The informality of an
agents interaction with an individual makes them able to present charitable
behavior often to the individuals and in informal settings. These frequent encounters
present charitable giving as the first encountered behavior to an individual. This
presentation is vital because a person may eventually learn to cope with the
experienced dissonance, or she will reduce dissonance through other means that are
encountered before prosocial behavior. For example, if a person is presented with an
ego-enhancing opportunity prior to the opportunity for a helping behavior,
dissonance will be reduced enough that a person will be less likely to engage in
the prosocial behavior (Dietrich and Berkowitz 1997). The informality of
interaction between an agent and an individual is best exemplified in the use of a
friend as an agent. This friend is able to introduce philanthropy in a casual setting at
various points of the individuals life: over lunch, during coffee, on the phone, etc.

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Those informal settings may be more effectively used to influence empathetic

concerns and therefore action (Einolf 2008).
Future work could elaborate on this idea of the awareness of past transgressions,
and build specifically on Aronsons work on hypocrisy theory, which states that a
conscious and acknowledged awareness of past transgressions is necessary to
experience dissonance (Aronson 1999). For example, studies could be conducted on
whether a public declaration of pro-philanthropy attitudes is a prerequisite for the
assurance of philanthropic contributions. Specifically in the context of corporate
philanthropy, studies could look at whether public declarations of pro-philanthropic
attitudes correlate to an increased likelihood of corporate philanthropy, and if so,
how can these stances be elicited from corporations? The possibilities of the
application of the hypocrisy theory to corporate philanthropy are plentiful.
As seen above, the frequency of information makes it more likely that individuals
will question their own charitable behaviors, increasing the likelihood that people
will encounter an inconsistency between their attitudes and behaviors and thus
experience dissonance. If, however, these encounters result in dissonance, a person
may try to reduce the dissonance by invalidating these new cognitions. Readers may
try to reason away dissonance by severing or not accepting the philanthropic
informations ties to their social, physical, and psychological reality, or may simply
not accept the information as factual. The specificity of the information presented in
The New York Times articles grounds the dissonance causing stimuli in reality, and
therefore removes the possibility of invalidation.

Specificity of Information

The specificity of information refers to descriptors such as; donor names; donation
amounts; profiles on donors, recipients, organizations and companies; statistics
regarding the amount of services received and services needed; and quotations and
pictures of donors and recipients (Table 1). The specificity of information arouses
dissonance by creating empathy in readers, a feeling that is inconsistent with ones
own behaviors. Information specifics exacerbate dissonance by grounding the
information in reality, therefore removing the possibility of rationalization as a
mode of dissonance reduction. Finally, the specificity of information constructs
clear, vivid models of prosocial behavior that may influence the behaviors of the
observers.
The specifics of the information communicate a normative behavior and who is
propagating that behavior. In other words, the information provides a definition of
the socially appropriate behaviors and the consequences of particular actions (Catt
and Benson 1977). Dissonance arises when a reader judges his own behavior against
the normative standards and finds his behavior incongruent. This judgment is more
likely to occur when the reader perceives the profiled donors as peers or other
respected individuals, or feels an in-group identification with the donors profiled.
While much work has been conducted on in-group and out-group identity issues
regarding a donors relationship to a possible recipient (Sturmer et al. 2005;
Winterich et al. 2009), my research differs in that it focuses on in-group identity as

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the relationship between the reader (a possible donor) and the participants (existent
donors) portrayed in the articles. Though The New York Times was selected for
analysis due to its high circulation rates among individuals of high net worth, it is
also likely that readership is economically and socially diverse. The donors profiled
in the articles reflect the heterogeneity of readership. The articles highlight a gamut
of donors to the social sector: famous individuals (Abrams and Jonathan 2009) and
not famous individuals (Hodara 2008); wealthy donors (Wyatt 2008) and not
wealthy donors (Patterson 2008); and children (Dominus and Susan 2009) and
senior citizens (Widenkeller 2008). This variety of presented participants increases
the possibility of in-group or self-identification among various readers with the
subjects in the articles. The greater the likelihood of in-group identification between
the readers and the individuals profiled in the articles, the more likely that
dissonance will be aroused, since the self-concept is threatened when readers
measure their own actions against this relevant criterion. This criterion also signals
to readers that they will be unlikely to garner popular support for the creation of new
cognitions that are inline with their current behaviors.
The specific information about recipients of the social sectors services are likely
to encourage empathetic feelings in readers, which when combined with an
awareness of ones lack of charitable behavior, are sufficient to arouse dissonance.
Such a conclusion is consistent with previous psychological findings stating that
dissonance can arise from either a lack of behavior or simply a feeling (Harmon-
Jones et al. 2003). My work defines empathy as a generated mental state rather than
a stable predisposition or personality trait. Using this definition, empathy is likely to
be created in readers when recipients of the social sector are no longer perceived as
abstractions but human beings. By providing specifics on individual recipients,
these people become more personal to the reader. For example, in The Neediest
Cases series, a profile of an individuals need is given, complete with the
individuals background story, current living situation and quotes and pictures.
These specifics engulf readers in the personal details and lives of recipients of the
sectors services, furthering a readers empathy. As empathetic feelings increase, so
too will the experienced dissonance (Harmon-Jones et al. 2003).
Most importantly, the tie to reality that is created by the specifics of the
information removes the possibility of rationalization as a mode of dissonance
reduction. Prior to these encounters, readers may have been able to rationalize their
inaction towards the sector by believing, for example, that its services were not
needed or that many of their peers did not participate. The specifics in the articles
make the rationalization of inaction unlikely because it situates the need of the
sector and the participants in the sector in a clearly constructed reality.
While the specificity of the information on donors in The New York Times
presents physically absent models of charitable behavior, agents of philanthropy
serve as physically present ones. Agents of philanthropy model philanthropic
behavior, further serving as clarification for socially appropriate behaviors. The
observation of both physically absent (donors in articles) and physically present
models (agents) engaging in prosocial behavioral has been found to lead to
increased likelihood for charitable donations in observers (Reingen 1982; Grusec
et al. 1978).

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Thus far, this research has shown how the frequency and specificity of
information arouse dissonance in a reader. It must now address whether a reader is
capable of avoiding this information or continuing to justify their inaction towards
the sector, both strategies that would reduce the dissonance without addressing the
original stimuli. The diversity of the informations locations makes avoidance
unlikely, while the inclusion of explicit instructions for giving further decreases the
probability of justification.

Diversity of Information Locations

When readers experience dissonance, one would expect them to avoid dissonance-
causing stimuli and actively seek out new consonant cognitions. If individuals do try
to use avoidance, the diverse locations of philanthropic information throughout the
paper make such avoidance unlikely. The balance between negative and positive
articles regarding philanthropy, sometimes each position simultaneously found
within one article, makes it difficult for readers to distinguish between dissonance
producing and consonance producing articles. The uncertainty of whether an article
will increase or decrease dissonance provokes readers to continue to read these
articles. Avoidance is also unlikely since the information in the articles has utility to
readers. These articles provide readers with important information on the economic
and social climate of the communities in which they live.
Philanthropic information was included in various sections of the paper, making
it unlikely that readers will be able to avoid this information without an active and
laborious effort. Information on philanthropy appeared in 38 distinct sections
throughout the paper in the course of the year. These sections included: Dining
Calendar (Fabricant, Benefits, 2008a), National Briefing: Philanthropy (Strom,
Childrens Hospital, 2009a), Sports Business (Sandomir 2009), Urban Studies
(Dworin and Caroline 2009), or Wealth Matters (Sullivan 2009) for example. These
diverse locations make it difficult for a reader to predict what articles or sections are
going to include philanthropic information. Though a reader may actively avoid a
section called National Briefing: Philanthropy, he may not expect to encounter
philanthropic themed material in the Sports Business or Dining Calendar
section. Since philanthropic information is applicable to various sections and
therefore located throughout the paper, readers are unlikely to be able to avoid this
information.
The balance between negative and positive articles regarding philanthropy makes
avoidance less likely because a reader may not be completely sure whether an
article is going to increase her dissonance or restore her consonance. This
uncertainty may encourage readers to continue to read these articles in the hopes of
finding consonant information. Negative press includes such themes as the reporting
of lawsuits, the mismanagement of funds, criticisms of particularly individuals or
organizations, and criticisms of current practices in the sector as a whole. Examples
of negative press are articles such as; National briefing/West: California: Agency
Investigated (The Associated Press 2008) about a basketball player who used
donated money for personal means; The Congressman, the Donor and the Tax

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Break (Kocieniewski 2008) which explains how government officials created tax
loopholes for companies who made campaign donations; Five Convicted in
Terrorism Financing Trial (Kovach 2008) concerning five people convicted of
having used U.S. based nonprofit organization to raise money for Hamas; and As
Detroit Struggles, Foundations Shift Mission (Strom, Detroit, 2009b) highlighting
what Detroits non-profit sector is doing in times of recession and how past practices
no longer work. Similar to how positive framing of philanthropy creates positive
cognitions regarding the sector, these negative articles could justify a persons
inaction towards charitable behavior and therefore restore consonance in the person.
These articles could reduce dissonance by adding the consonant cognition that the
sector is not worthwhile of the readers contributions or that it mismanages its
resources. Often, however, both negative and positive information about the social
sector appeared simultaneously within one article. For example, in Donations with
Dividends, while critiquing the rise in transaction-based philanthropy, which gives
commodities in return for donations, the article positively reports on the work of
these organizations (Jacobs and Deborah 2008). The balance between positive and
negative information makes it more likely that a reader would not avoid all material
regarding philanthropy since she may be searching for consonant information.
Lastly, the philanthropic information in The New York Times has utility to the
individual reader because these articles provide information on societys economic
status and future viability, and reflect collective values and identities. Functioning as
a part of a triad that involves the government and business sectors, the social sector
serves a crucial role in our economy, holding $3.4 trillion in assets in 2006
(Blackwood et al. 2008) and contributes to community life by creating a space to
identify and discuss collective issues (Himmelstein 1993). Previous psychological
research on cognitive dissonance concluded that avoidance of dissonance causing
material is unlikely when the material has utility to the individual (Aronson 1968).
Ultimately, the concept of avoidance has real-world applications to practices in the
social sector. If an individual is using avoidance as a means of dissonance reduction,
it becomes imperative that sector practices introduce or reinforce philanthropy at
various points and junctures in a persons life. Agents of philanthropy are capable of
these flexible and various presentations.
Building on the frequent introductions of philanthropy already discussed, by
using a diverse range of agents, organizations can present charitable giving to
individuals in a variety of physical settings, as well as in differing economic and
social mindsets. The receptiveness of an individual to the idea of philanthropy may
change depending on what he or she is engaged in at that moment. For some
potential donors, they may be more likely to listen to advice from friends in a casual
setting such as over coffee. For others, they may be more open to information from
professionals and in moments when they are already considering finances, such as in
meetings with wealth planners. These varied introductions help to reduce the
likelihood of avoidance, as well as introduce the material in different settings and
mindsets.
As dissonance is created by the frequency and specificity of information, and
avoidance of this material becomes less likely due to the diversity of the
informations locations, it follows that one must consider whether an individual can

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continue to rationalize inaction towards the sector. An individual may continue to

justify inaction by contending that the personal costs of action and the personal
expenditure of energy is too great to engage in prosocial behaviors. The explicit
instructions for giving remove these barriers to action, make charitable contribu-
tions the easiest mode of dissonance reduction, and therefore eradicate the
possibility of rationalizing inaction.

Explicit Instructions for Giving

The explicit information in The New York Times articles refers to advice for donors,
explanation of terms and charitable vehicles, instructions on how to give or where to
find more information, schedules of events or benefits, and ticketing information.
Examples of articles that include explicit instructions are: Donors Leave the
Details to a Fund (Fabrikant 2008c), which explained the benefits of Donor
Advised Funds and how they work; How to Help in Westchester (2008), which
gave specific contact information on Food Banks in Westchester, New York; In
Uncertain Times, Donors Hold Back (Rosen 2009), an article on advice to donors
on how to continue giving in the economic crisis; Raising Children who Care in
Times that Need It (Tugend 2009), which included specific instructions for where
to find more information on mentioned nonprofits and how to promote philanthropy
to children; and Books for Books (and other school stuff) (Fabricant, Books,
2008b), which contained a link for a schedule and ticket orders for a benefit. By
including giving instructions and ways to find more information, these articles
remove the barriers that may have previously been used by readers to justify their
inaction towards the sector.
Barriers are perceptions created by individuals to rationalize their inaction and
could include reasoning such as: the individual does not know where to give, it is
too time-consuming to research what organizations are worthy causes, or the
individual does not know enough about the various types of ways to give and so is
afraid she may jeopardize her own financial security. By presenting precise
instructions and information on giving, these barriers are removed. With their
removal, the individual loses the ability to rationalize inaction and dissonance is
amplified. These instructions present a clear opportunity for the individual to engage
in a behavioral change. These instructions, moreover, present charitable behavior as
the mode of reduction that comes at the least personal cost to the individual. By
including information on immediate ways to make contributions such as website
links, phone numbers or mailing addresses, the articles remove the personal cost of
time and research in finding worthy organizations. Articles about smaller donation
amounts (Haughney and Christine 2009), articles that include information on the
various vehicles for charitable donations (Rosen 2009) and the ways to continue to
make donations effectively even in times of economic crisis (Lipton 2008), refute
the idea that charitable giving is too costly in terms of monetary resources. Agents
of philanthropy can also be used in the simultaneous presentation of need and the
means to make donations. In what I describe as collaborative asks, or the idea of
an agent and an employee of the social sector working together to present charitable

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giving to an individual, agents present the need of the organization while the
employee presents the specific means to make a donation. I will elaborate on
collaborative asks in suggested practices for the sector below.
This research has explored how the frequency and specificity of information, the
diversity of the informations locations, and the explicit instructions for giving, all
serve to arouse or exacerbate dissonance in a reader. Once aroused, dissonance can
be reduced by either a behavioral or attitudinal change by the individual. This work
now examines why attitudinal changes are unlikely to occur and why behavioral
change, namely a charitable contribution, will be the favored mode of dissonance
reduction.

Behavioral Change as the Favored Mode of Dissonance Reduction

Behavioral change, I argue, will be the favored mode of dissonance reduction

among readers rather than attitudinal changes. An attitudinal change regarding the
social sector would inadvertently threaten the perceived competency of the
individuals self, since this cognition would have to arise in the face of conflicting
information presented in the articles. Previous methods of attitudinal change, such
as hardening social values or self-convictions and a reaffirmation of unrelated self-
traits, will not be valid reduction methods when the original dissonance causing
material is related to philanthropy or prosocial behavior. Furthermore, self-
identification of the reader to individuals in the article invalidates the option of
discrediting the source of the information. Not only are attitudinal changes less
likely to occur, but also behavioral changes are more likely to occur. Behavioral
change comes at the least perceived cost to the individual, is the most available
mode of dissonance reduction and is the easiest mode to enact. For these reasons,
behavioral change is likely to be the chosen mode of dissonance reduction.
When philanthropic material is encountered, the individual holds two competing
cognitive elements: the first regarding the social sector and the second relating to the
opinion of the self. The magnitude of importance of prosocial behavior as a well-
proscribed norm and the magnitude of importance of the self as moral and
competent makes both of these cognitive elements highly resistant to change. If an
attitudinal change were to occur, this research assumes that readers would change
their position on the social sector before they denounced their positive self-concept.
However, an attitudinal change regarding the social sector would inadvertently
threaten the perceived competency of the individuals self, since this cognition
would have to arise in the face of conflicting information from the articles.
The positive self-concept of the reader, particularly the fact that she believes
herself to be competent, knowledgeable, and rational in incorporating data and
making informed decisions, seriously impedes the creation of cognitions about the
sector that are in disagreement with the information in the articles. To remove or
change a dissonant cognition, a person must alter his or her knowledge about the
cognitions or reframe the cognitions. For instance, a reader may try to reframe the
cognition about the worth of the social sector by concluding that the sectors
services are not necessary. As the reader is forming this new cognition, she is

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encountering contradictory information about the sectors services in the articles.

The specificity of the information in the articles provides data and evidence that
directly oppose this new cognition and grounds this contradiction in reality. During
the period of this study, the need of the sector became patently visible since it was
providing vital services to those being affected by the economic crisis (Lenkowsky
2008; Ottinger 2008). In The New York Times, articles abounded regarding the
predicted impact on giving patterns relative to economic circumstances (47 total),
the actual impact on giving relative to economic circumstances (78 total) and the
need of the sector relative to the economic climate (48 total) (Table 1). Since an
attitudinal change would require the formation of a new cognition that threatens the
self-concept, it is unlikely the reader will choose this mode of reduction.
The affirmation of unrelated self-traits to restore the overall self-integrity, a mode
of reduction presented in Steeles self-affirmation theory, will not reduce dissonance
in a reader because the original dissonance causing stimuli is related to prosocial
behavior. In previous studies, the unrelated self-attribute has been seen as a
prosocial behavior itself. For example, in studies were a participant was given the
choice to address the dissonance causing cognition or affirm an unrelated one, the
unrelated trait related to a philanthropic behavior, such as helping the blind (Steele
1988) or giving money to the homeless (Aronson 1999). In my research, by contrast,
the affirmation of these supposed unrelated traits, prosocial behavior, are actually
related to the original dissonance causing cognition, the lack of prosocial behavior.
By reaffirming a self-attribute of prosocial behavior, as the above examples suggest,
these attributes are actually related to the original behavioral discrepancy, which is
more likely to increase dissonance arousal. Positive feedback on self-traits that are
relevant to the discrepant act have been found to cause an increased need for the
individual to confront the implications of the behavior (Stone and Cooper 2000).
Furthermore, previous experimental research has found that when given the
opportunity, a person favored directly addressing the cognition causing dissonance
rather than affirming an unrelated positive self-attribute (Stone and Fernandez
2008). Similarly, the idea of hardening attitudes towards social values in response to
a threat on self-integrity (McGregor et al. 2001) draws the focus back to the original
dissonance causing cognitions: a social issue (social sector as worthwhile) and the
self (positive self-concept). This method of reduction is invalidated when the
dissonance is related to philanthropic behaviors, since it heightens convictions
related to the original stimuli.
Dissonance reduction can also occur by devaluing the opinion involved or the
source of the information (Festinger 1957). It is doubtful that the reader would
discredit the information source, The New York Times, due to the general, measured
credibility of the paper: it ranks #1 among 129 Print and Broadcast Media measured
in the U.S. Opinion Leaders Study in Overall Reach, Reach of Regular
Readers and Reach of Opinion Leaders, as well as being described as
influential, objective, credible, and enjoyable (Erdus Morgen Opinion
Leaders Study 20082009). The in-group identification of readers with donors
profiled in the paper makes the individual less likely to discredit the supporting
opinions of this information: the donors profiled. As discussed, the presentation of
diverse donor types ensures that in-group identification arises among various

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readership bases. In-group identification may also arise due to geographic proximity
of the reader to the individuals or organizations profiled. Philanthropic material
spanned the entire New York metro area and beyond, profiling organizations in
areas such as New Jersey (How to Help in New Jersey 2008), Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania (Klein and Julia 2008) and Detroit, Michigan (Strom, Detroit, 2009b).
By self-identifying with the donors profiled, a reader is less likely to discredit their
opinions since this denouncement is a reflection on the reader himself. Without the
possibility of discrediting these opinions, a reader may try to change the opinions of
the group to align with her own, yet the lack of control a reader has over his physical
or social environment invalidates this attitudinal change. For readers to change their
environments to be concordant with their own cognitive elements, they must have
sufficient control over these environments (Festinger 1957). The positive associ-
ation of philanthropic behavior as a well-embedded, well-proscribed norm of
American society makes it unlikely that readers would be able to change this social
reality or to create new cognitions in others that are consistent with their own. Thus
far, this work has shown why the unlikelihood of attitudinal changes makes
behavioral change the favored mode of reduction. Behavioral changes themselves
have characteristics that further support their use as the more probable path of
dissonance reduction.
The simplest way to change a cognitive element regarding a behavior is to
change the behavior itself, thereby bringing present and future behaviors inline with
ones attitudes and beliefs. A reader experiences dissonance because she is
simultaneously aware of her inaction towards the sector (a cognitive element
regarding a behavior) and believes that the sector does good and worthwhile work
that should be contributed to (an environmental element). Festinger stated that when
dissonance is between a cognition about environmental knowledge and a cognition
about behavior, dissonance could be eliminated by changing the behavior to be
consonant with the environmental element (Festinger 1957).
A behavioral change, particularly a charitable donation, is the mode of
dissonance reduction that comes at the least personal cost to the individual and is
the most available and easiest mode to enact. A donation can be viewed as a one-
time commitment, rather than a definite, long-term commitment on the part of the
individual. I should be clear, however, that I am not advocating check-book
philanthropy or philanthropy purely based on monetary contributions. Donors
should be encouraged to get involved in the processes of an organization and
support the organization beyond purely financial contributions if possible. If a
donation is originally viewed as a singular, isolated event, organizations can build a
more durable, longer lasting relationship based on this encounter. Monetary
contributions have been found to be the preferred type of charitable behavior, over
volunteering or time contributions, since they are often viewed as straightforward
approaches to expressing sympathy (Lee and Chang 2007). In the nascent study of
contributions as consonance restoration modes, Waters found that a monetary
contribution did indeed reduce the feelings of dissonance in an individual (Waters
2009).
In applying cognitive dissonance to a content analysis, I have theorized how new
cognitions about the sector and the potential and desire for behavioral changes can

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manifest in individuals. Such theoretical discussion has substantial practical

importance for the social sector: it is advantageous to the sector to provide
opportunities for behavioral changes regardless of previous charitable behavior or
explicitly stated interest on the part of the individual. The next section provides
examples of both how these opportunities can be better presented and what
organizations can do to make the relationship between agents and the organization
more effective.

Suggestions for Future Practices

Create Opportunities for Charitable Involvement

Introducing philanthropy to individuals is not an evasive process, and the creation of

opportunities for charitable involvement can be achieved by making information
available. For example, the Community Foundation was hesitant to introduce
corporate giving to businesses since they were unsure about the business receptivity. I
suggest that the Foundation could develop a systematic approach, segmenting the
businesses into a hierarchical order based on characteristics such as business field,
amount of assets, profits or number of employees, and with this new strategic
schedule, introduce corporate philanthropy to many businesses over time. Corporate
philanthropy could also be introduced to many businesses at once, by leading a session
on philanthropy during local business conferences for example. While we cannot
force individuals or corporations to make charitable donations, we can make
information about giving more readily available. For instance, all employee
handbooks could indicate how to enroll in payroll deductions and include the link
to set up these deductions on the companys internal website. The internal website
could include information on donor advised funds and links to external websites for
more information. Making information on charitable giving accessible to the public is
equally important in affecting the probability of philanthropic participation. When
questioned how The Community Foundation strives to make what they do understood,
I was informed, you cant really, to the general public (The Community Foundation
Interview 2009). When asked how information is made available to the public, the
response was, people dont understand what a Community Foundation is (The
Community Foundation Interview 2009). Without regular communication to the
public regarding The Community Foundations work, the likelihood of encouraging
charitable giving among these members is drastically reduced.

Create Relationships Between Agents and Organizations

You have heard what good work they [Safe and Sound] do: we would really
appreciate you considering making a gift. They cant get that out of their
mouths! They just cant get it out! (Safe and Sound Interview 2009).
The greatest practical drawback to using agents of philanthropy is the difficulty
or reluctance these individuals have to make a hard ask, or a specific, explicit ask,

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for a donation (Safe and Sound Interview 2009; The Physics Center Interview
2009). Additionally, agents are individuals with their own distinct lives and
schedules independent of the organization and its agenda. By having to work
through the agent, the onus is on the organization to make sure that actions are
completed and to follow-up on these results (The Physics Center Interview 2009).
These drawbacks can be addressed if a relationship is created and maintained
between the agent and the organization. To create the most effective relationship,
the agent must be supported adequately by the organization, the relationship must be
mutually beneficial to both the parties, and the organization must work on sustaining
these relationships.
Agents require intensive support that communicates the organizations strategies
and justification for these procedures. When organizations communicate clear and
well-researched strategies, agents gain confidence in their role. For example, agents
should be provided with briefing and research documents on individual prospects
that outline information such as the prospects contributions to other organizations
or the prospects interest, and clearly communicate why the organization feels that
approaching this individual for a particular donation amount is appropriate. Since
friends are already hesitant to ask for money (Safe and Sound Interview 2009; The
Physics Center Interview 2009), in the least they should be assured that the decision
to ask, and the amount of the ask, is within the bounds of the individual prospect.
The Physics Center already provides this type of information to committee members
who ask donors for increased contributions (The Physics Center Interview 2009).
Supplying agents with scripts or examples of how to introduce charitable giving to
their friends provides the agent with information on how to best enact their role.
It is best to use agents in ways that reflect the organizations understanding of the
comparative resources among agents. Organizations would do well to be mindful of
agents financial capacities to ensure the most effective pairings between agents and
prospects. Understanding how certain agents operate in various social settings, such
as group versus individual meetings, can also help organizations create informed
strategies behind their use of agents. Finally, organizations should be cognizant that
the agent is not merely a resource for the organization, but that the relationships
should be mutually beneficial to ensure longevity.
By creating mutually beneficial relationships between agents and the organiza-
tion, the organization increases the likelihood of a more durable and successful
relationship. Agents benefit from these relationships because they are able to
provide better services to their own clients. For example, The Community
Foundation finds that by working with financial planners and advisors, these
individuals are better able to facilitate a need of their clients (The Community
Foundation Interview 2009). If a client needs to make a charitable contribution for
tax purposes, setting up a donor advised fund is an effective way to do this. When an
accountant suggests this option, The Community Foundation benefits from the set-
up of the fund, and the manager benefits from being able to provide a solution to the
client. Agents also benefit from the creation of networks and the facilitation of
information exchanges. For example, The Physics Centers Chief Financial Officer
held an informal session on investment options and strategies that was attended by
area financial planners. This event was advantageous to the financial planners since

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it was a networking and educational opportunity, and it was beneficial to The

Physics Center because it provided them a chance to give these individuals
information about the organization, possibly enlisting them as agents. Finally,
agents can benefit from the recognition they receive from helping the organization.
Organizations could honor donors or agents who provide substantial levels of
support to the organization. Something as simple as a letter of gratitude for a person
who recommends another possible donor recognizes the agents services. Mutually
beneficial relationships are simply one of the ways that agents of philanthropy may
be used more effectively by the social sector.
For organizations to implement the use of agents the most effectively, the
organization must have a clear selection process in choosing agents, and must be
aware of the level of support each agent will require and whether this support is
feasible given the organizations financial and staff resources. Organizations should
determine the number of agents that can be properly supported, each agent requires
time and resources of the organization as discussed above, then create a selection
process to find agents who would be most beneficial to the organization. The quality
of agents, rather than the quantity of agents is paramount. Organizations could
consider whether they want to determine a minimum contribution level to the
organization prior to supporting an agent. For example, an organization may want to
invest their resources in cultivating the head of a committee or the chairman of the
Board of Trustees as an agent rather than a $50 level contributor. There could be a
gradient of support contingent on the agents level of commitment to the
organization. The selection process of agents should also consider whether the
utilization of one agent comes at the cost of another, and what the benefits or
detriments of that decision would be for the organization. For example, Safe and
Sounds involvement as a United Way member agency prohibits them from
approaching corporations about giving. Safe and Sound, whose income from
corporations was never substantial, is better served as a member of United Way than
from having the ability to solicit corporations. Strategic planning for how to create
cooperation among various agents is also of concern to organizations. Agents should
not be isolated from each other, but have a collaborative existence. It would help
organizations to have clear plans for how to encourage interactions between agents,
such as hosting informational events that are of interest to these agents to encourage
inter-agent conversations. The selection process for agents, the intended levels of
support, and the ways to encourage collaboration among agents would ideally be all
considered carefully and clarified by organizations prior to enlisting these
individuals and groups.
Organizations can create opportunities for agents to show rather than to tell of
their involvement and commitment to the organization, thereby removing the
complication of involving agents in hard asks. For example, by encouraging an
agent to host an event, it is the persons involvement with the event that
communicates her support to the organization. Agents could also be encouraged to
show their support by writing articles for the organizations Newsletter or
submitting quotes or pictures to be included in the organizations publications.
Organizational practices should emphasize the supportive actions of donors. For
instance, donors who have increased their giving or made a number of recurring

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gifts should be marked as such in Annual Reports. In some ways, the demarcation of
individuals into Giving Circles, or dividing donors into groups based on the amount
of their gifts, already makes explicit individuals level of support to the
organization. Since Giving Circles usually do not include an amount of the gifts
given in each particular category, it is implied that it is the separation into these
categories, not the actual amount of the gifts, is what is truly important about this
process. Another way to bypass agents hesitancy to make hard asks is to implement
collaborative asks, meaning that an agent and an employee of the organization
work in tandem to present the idea of philanthropy and the organization to an
individual. There are multiple benefits to this type of ask: it removes the pressure
from the agent, it presents the method of giving simultaneously with the need, and it
provides agents the opportunity to exhibit their commitment to the organization. In a
collaborative ask, the agent discusses his or her own commitment to the
organization, and then the employee of the organization provides the details of
the donation process. For instance, an agent may introduce the idea of planned
giving to a friend over lunch, while the employee of the sector would provide the
financial and administrative details regarding the types of vehicles or trusts available
to the individual. This example was actually drawn from the interview with The
Physics Center, who though acknowledges that this type of procedure is best, is not
actually implementing it at the organization (The Physics Center Interview 2009).
For relationships between agents and organizations to be operating in their highest
capacity, it is time that these practices are actually implemented.

Conclusion

The creation and maintenance of effective interactions between the social sector and
potential and existing donors is paramount to the sectors continuation and success.
Through interviews with senior level employees in the social sector, this work
highlights the ways that the sector interacts with potential and existing donors by
utilizing agents of philanthropy. Such use of agents and the general hesitation to
introduce charitable giving to individuals need to be reevaluated. I advocate that
individuals and corporations be presented with the opportunity to engage in
philanthropy regardless of an expressed, explicit interest or previous history of
charitable giving. In applying the theory of cognitive dissonance to a thematic
content analysis of The New York Times my research vivifies how the transference
of philanthropic information affects the cognitions and consequently the behaviors
of individuals. Through this analysis, I illustrate how individuals may be primed for
charitable giving, supporting the necessity of creating opportunities to engage in
charitable behavior. I then offer suggestions as to how the sector can better create
these opportunities. Specifically, I detail how to build more effective relationships
with agents: by giving them adequate support, sustaining mutually beneficial
relationships, and clarifying strategies for a selection process and levels of intended
support prior to the enlistment of agents. By investigating how the transference of
information has cognitively significant effects on individuals philanthropic
behaviors, this work advances psychologys understanding of prosocial behaviors.

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Contributing to work done in media studies, this research evolves beyond the scarce
amount of content analyses that have previously been conducted on philanthropy,
where studies have tended to focus primarily on international publications or
analyze how organizations resources, types and journalists perceptions affect their
level of media exposure (Deacon et al. 1995; Hale 2007; Jacobs and Glass 2002).
Lastly, by providing a practical application, this researchs theoretical findings are
particularly relevant to philanthropic researchers and employees of the social sector.
My work highlights the mutual relationship that exists between the social sector and
individual donors; it does so specifically by contributing to discussions about the
importance of current practices in the social sector in the creation of individual
cognitions and possible attitudinal or behavioral affective responses. Only through
this type of in-depth, multidisciplinary work can we expect to better understand the
operations of the social sector, an understanding that will ensure its continued
vitality and vibrancy.

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