Buying Products Tied to Charities Depresses Giving, New Study Finds

Title: Buying Products Tied to Charities Depresses Giving, New Study Finds

Author: Raymund Flandez

Publication: Chronicle of Philanthropy blog

Publication Date: March 31, 2011

Fund raisers have long worried about a possible downside to corporate-charity marketing deals—that people who buy a special brand of yogurt or computer or stuffed animal because a retailer promises to give a small percentage of the purchase price to a good cause will figure they have met their charitable obligation and not give as much in direct donations.

It turns out the worries are warranted, according to new research from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

People who buy so called cause-related products give a lot less in direct contributions, according to Aradhna Krishna, a professor of marketing at the school.

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