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The Influence of Commitment, Trust, Satisfaction, and Involvement on Donor Retention

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2026

Julia Naskrent and
Philipp Siebelt
Julia Naskrent*
Affiliation:
Hochschule für Oekonomie & Management (FOM), Siegen, Germany
Philipp Siebelt*
Affiliation:
Hochschule für Oekonomie & Management (FOM), Siegen, Germany
*
e-mail: julianaskrent@yahoo.de
e-mail: philipp@siebelt.de
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Abstract

Due to certain developments in the business of fundraising, there exists an increasing necessity to theoretically and empirically analyze donor behavior. This article examines donor retention from the donor’s point of view. It concretizes four antecedents and their relationships with one another. The influencing variables investigated are commitment, trust, satisfaction, and involvement. The empirical analysis conducted in Germany among donors of four representative social non-profit organizations shows that all variables have an influence on donor retention, although some of them only indirectly.

Résumé

Résumé

En raison de l’évolution l’activité de financement, il devient de plus en plus important d’analyser le comportement des donateurs de manière théorique et empirique. Cet article examine la fidélité des donateurs du point de vue des donateurs eux-mêmes. Il consolide quatre articles précédents et établit des relations entre ceux-ci. Les variables considérées sont l’implication, la confiance, la satisfaction et la participation. L’analyse empirique, menée en Allemagne parmi les donateurs de quatre organisations sociales à but non lucratif représentatives, montre que toutes les variables ont une influence sur la fidélité des donateurs, toutefois indirecte pour certaines d’entre-elles.

Zusammenfassung

Zusammenfassung

Aufgrund bestimmter Entwicklungen im Bereich der Mittelbeschaffung besteht ein erhöhter Bedarf an einer theoretischen und empirischen Analyse des Spenderverhaltens. Dieser Beitrag untersucht die Erhaltung von Spendern aus der Sicht der Spender. Es werden vier Antezedenzen und ihre Beziehungen zueinander konkretisiert. Die untersuchten Einflussgrößen sind Engagement, Vertrauen, Zufriedenheit und Einbeziehung. Die in Deutschland unter Spendern von vier repräsentativen sozialen Nonprofit-Organisationen durchgeführte empirische Analyse zeigt, dass sich alle Größen auf die Erhaltung von Spendern auswirken, obgleich einige nur indirekten Einfluss ausüben.

Resumen

Resumen

Debido a algunos avances en las actividades de recaudación de fondos, existe una necesidad cada vez mayor de analizar el comportamiento de los donantes desde el punto de vista teórico y empírico. En este artículo se analiza el tema de la conservación de donantes desde el punto de vista del propio donante. Concretiza cuatro antecedentes y su relación mutua. Las variables influyentes investigadas son el compromiso, la confianza, la satisfacción y la implicación. Los análisis empíricos realizados en Alemania entre donantes de cuatro organizaciones sociales sin ánimo de lucro representativas demuestran que todas las variables influyen en la conservación de los donantes, aunque algunas lo hacen solo indirectamente.

Keywords

Influencing variableDonor loyaltyFactors for maintenance of financial supportLatent variableStructural equation modeling

Information

Type
Original Paper
Information
Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations , Volume 22 , Issue 4 , December 2011, pp. 757 - 778
Copyright
Copyright © International Society for Third-Sector Research and The John's Hopkins University 2010

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