Giving to Matthew, Emily, Jose, or Maria: A Field Study Examining the Impact of Race and Gender on Donation Requests

Across the world, many individuals, organizations, and communities rely on the charitable contributions of others to meet critical needs. However, receiving aid can be challenging if donors discriminate against solicitors based on their demographic characteristics. We examined the potential impact of two of such characteristics, namely, the solicitor’s race and gender, by soliciting contributions from 162 dentist offices through phone calls, manipulating race (Latino/White) and gender (male/female) of the caller. We analyzed differences between race and gender on the likelihood of receiving donations and interpersonal interactions rated by blind coders. Logistic regression results revealed Latinos were significantly less likely to receive donations than Whites, and women were marginally more likely to receive donations than men. Multivariate analysis of variance results indicated, however, that Latinos received significantly better interpersonal treatment than Whites. Results show support for Patronization Theory extended to the solicitation context. Implications of these findings and future directions for research are discussed.