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Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly
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The Impact of Professional Solicitors on Fund-Raising in Charitable Organizations

Janet S. Greenlee

Pennsylvania State University at Harrisburg, JSG7{at}psu.edu

Teresa P. Gordon

University of Idaho, tgordon{at}uidaho.edu

Donors claim that information about the fund-raising methods used by a charity is important to them, and the press periodically high lights fund-raising scandals and abuses, which fuels negative public attitudes. However, there is little systematic empirical research about fund-raising practices. This study examined professional solicitor contracts using information provided by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Bureau of Charitable Organizations. The nature of the contracts, the impact of these contractual arrangements on the amount of funds the clients ultimately receive, and the relationship between actual and predicted returns were examined. Results showed that charities using professional solicitors tended to be larger and concentrated in the advocacy, disease/disorder, and public safety subsectors. Most campaigns generated few contributions and resulted in a small return to the charity, with many charities receiving nothing from the solicitations made in their names. Solicitors compensated by fixed-fee rather than by commission generated more contributions and provided proportionately greater returns to charities.

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 3, 277-299 (1998)
DOI: 10.1177/0899764098273002
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