A theory of impact philanthropy

This article develops a new model of altruism called impact philanthropy. An impact philanthropist is someone who wants to personally 'make a difference.' While that motive is straightforward, its logical implications are significantly different from other models of philanthropy. For example, the contributions of other donors can reduce an impact philanthropist's charitable fulfillment. As a result, cooperation among impact philanthropists can reduce aggregate giving. In addition, impact philanthropy can lead to a codependent relationship between givers and receivers in which both benefit from the other. Finally, the model suggests a conflict between charitable organizations and its donors concerning the allocation of charitable gifts. In particular, a charitable organization prefers to spread a donor's contribution across many goods, whereas a donor prefers to target his or her contribution at a specific good. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.