A Decision Analysis Tool for Evaluating Fundraising Tiers

Authors:
Kevin F. McCardle;Kumar Rajaram;Christopher S. Tang
Affiliations:
Anderson School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095;Anderson School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095;Anderson School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095
Venue:
Decision Analysis
Year:
2009

Citing 1
Cited 6

Perspective on Decision Analysis Applications, 1990-2001

Decision Analysis

From the Editor...

Decision Analysis
Efficient Funding: Auditing in the Nonprofit Sector

Manufacturing & Service Operations Management
From the Editor---Decisions over Time (Exploding Offers or Purchase Regret), in Game Settings (Embedded Nash Bargaining or Adversarial Games), and in Influence Diagrams

Decision Analysis
From the Editors---Copulas, Group Preferences, Multilevel Defenders, Sharing Rewards, and Communicating Analytics

Decision Analysis
From the Editors---Brainstorming, Multiplicative Utilities, Partial Information on Probabilities or Outcomes, and Regulatory Focus

Decision Analysis
From the Editors: Probability Approximations, Anti-Terrorism Strategy, and Bull's-Eye Display for Performance Feedback

Decision Analysis

Quantified Score

Hi-index	0.00

Visualization

Abstract

This paper presents a utility function model of donors who need to determine their donation to a charity organization that structures and publishes donations by tiers. By considering the prestige associated with each tier level, our analysis suggests that a tiered scheme generates an incentive for donors to raise their donation to the next tier when the originally intended donation is close to the minimum amount for the next tier level. In addition, we develop a decision analysis tool to illustrate how a charity can evaluate the effectiveness of different tier structures. Using publicly available federal tax return data and actual donations to a private high school, we present a method to estimate the model parameters. By taking other nonquantifiable factors into consideration, our tool can guide a charitable organization to determine an effective fundraising tier strategy.