2026-04-16T18:40:14Z https://datacatalogue.cessda.eu/oai-pmh/v0/oai

2ec4788faa566f9fb8c8bec6902b5f342db8b8489a38e11a6c20537e97335c64 2025-11-24T02:56:52Z language:enopenaire_data

DDI study level documentation for study 10.7802/2907 Replication data for: Gratitude in fundraising: Do "thank you in advance" and handwritten thank-you notes impact fundraising success? Replication data for: Gratitude in fundraising: Do "thank you in advance" and handwritten thank-you notes impact fundraising success? Replication data for: Gratitude in fundraising: Do "thank you in advance" and handwritten thank-you notes impact fundraising success? 10.7802/290710.7802/290710.7802/290710.7802/2907 Adena, Maja Adena, Maja Huck, Steffen Huck, Steffen Neyse, Levent Neyse, Levent GESIS Data Archive for the Social SciencesGESIS Datenarchiv für Sozialwissenschaften While almost all charities rely on a set of donor appreciation strategies, their effectiveness for the success of fundraising campaigns is underresearched. Through two preregistered field studies conducted in collaboration with a leading German opera house (N=10,000), we explore the significance of expressing gratitude and examine two different approaches to doing so. Our first study investigates the impact of a "thank you in advance" statement in fundraising letters, a common strategy among fundraisers. In the second study, we explore the effectiveness of handwritten thank-you postcards versus printed postcards, shedding light on the roles of personalization and handwriting in donor appeals. Our findings challenge conventional wisdom, revealing that neither “thank you in advance” nor handwritten thank-you notes significantly affect donor contributions.While almost all charities rely on a set of donor appreciation strategies, their effectiveness for the success of fundraising campaigns is underresearched. Through two preregistered field studies conducted in collaboration with a leading German opera house (N=10,000), we explore the significance of expressing gratitude and examine two different approaches to doing so. Our first study investigates the impact of a "thank you in advance" statement in fundraising letters, a common strategy among fundraisers. In the second study, we explore the effectiveness of handwritten thank-you postcards versus printed postcards, shedding light on the roles of personalization and handwriting in donor appeals. Our findings challenge conventional wisdom, revealing that neither “thank you in advance” nor handwritten thank-you notes significantly affect donor contributions. GermanyGermany Customers and past donors of a large German opera house who either purchased tickets within the 18 months prior to January 2023 or made donations in previous fundraising campaigns (2015–2018, 2022) cross-sectioncross-section Non-probability Sample - Purposive SampleNon-probability Sample - Purposive Sample Field/Intervention experimentExperiment.FieldInterventionFeld-/InterventionsexperimentExperiment.FieldIntervention Free access (with registration) - The research data can be downloaded by registered users.Freier Zugang (mit Registrierung) - Die Forschungsdaten können von allen registrierten Nutzerinnen und Nutzern heruntergeladen werden. http://dbkapps.gesis.org/dbkoai/oai.asp oai:dbk.gesis.org:SDN/10.7802_2907 2025-11-19 ddi:codebook:2_5