Analysing the donor behaviour of a Muslim diaspora in Australia

Diaspora communities are an important source of charitable giving to their original homelands. This study explores a Muslim diaspora's motivations behind donation-giving. A two-year donation dataset of an overseas charity organisation registered in Australia was analysed. Findings show that, overall, donations are significantly related to the prevailing consumer confidence levels (r = 0.4277). However, there was also a strong, inverse correlation (r = - 0.4376) during 2020, suggesting that the plummeting consumer sentiment during COVID-19 did not impact donation revenue. As expected, during periods of religious significance (Ramadan) across both years, donations to the charity increased substantially, with the relative effect of Ramadan calculated as over 800%. This study makes a contribution by providing insights to donor behaviour through the examination of a donation dataset. This study also uses ‘causal impact analysis’ to calculate the effect of Ramadan on donations. Results have implications for the not-for-profit sector in Australia and other countries with Muslim diaspora communities. Limitations and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

Towards a model of donor behaviour relating to mental disability charities

Purpose<br/> This paper extends and develops pre-existing "general" models of donor behaviour in order to create a fresh model useful for charities concerned with mental disability.<br/> Design/methodology/approach<br/> A comprehensive list of variables with the potential to influence donors' behaviour relating to mental disability charities was assembled and then shortened via a random forest regression. Critical variables emerging from the regression were used to construct and test a model designed to predict donors' willingness to give to a mental disability charity.<br/> Findings<br/> Certain variables commonly found in general models of giving (e.g., altruism, self-congruence) plus some variables specific to mental disability (e.g., stigmatic stereotyping, "protest" advertising) significantly affected willingness to donate.<br/> Research limitations/implications<br/> The study employed random forest regression to identify "important" variables. Alternative approaches might have revealed relevant variables not covered by the present study. Donation intention rather than actual giving was examined.<br/> Practical implications<br/> Mental disability charities need to frame their fundraising appeals in particular ways. "Protest" messages, social norms and self-congruity should be emphasised in campaigns.<br/> Social implications<br/> Effective fundraising undertaken by the UK's (numerous) mental disability charities will generate the funds necessary for charities of this type to expand and improve their services to beneficiaries.<br/> Originality/value<br/> The research presents a fundraising model specifically relevant to mental disability. It contributes to knowledge vis-à-vis fundraising for unpopular causes and lays down a framework for future research.

Preparation and Spectroscopic Characterization of Polymer-Supported Transition Metal Complexes

Novel polystyrene supported mixed Schiff base (PSCH2–LH2) and its coordination compounds with copper(II) and zirconium(IV) have been synthesized. PSCH2–LH2 has been synthesized by the reaction of chloromethylated polystyrene crosslinked with divinylbenzene (PSCH2–Cl) and the Schiff base (LH2) derived from 3-formylsalicylic acid, propylenediamine and acetylacetone. The polystyrene supported coordination compounds are of the types: [PSCH2–LCu] and [PSCH2–LZr(OH)2·DMF]. They have been synthesized by the reaction of PSCH2–LH2 and the metal salt in DMF. The coordination compounds have been characterized on the basis of elemental analyses, IR, reflectance, ESR spectral and magnetic susceptibility measurements. The shifts of the ν(C=N) (azomethine), ν(C–O) (phenolic) and ν(C–O) (enolic) stretches indicate the ONNO donor behaviour of PSCH2–LH2. The polystyrene supported Cu(II) compound is square planar and Zr(IV) compound is pentagonal bipyramidal. The coordinated solvent molecules are completely lost from metal bound coordination compound by heating them at definite temperature in an air oven for 3 h. The compound, PSCH2–LCu is paramagnetic, while PSCH2–LZr(OH)2·DMF is diamagnetic.

Life events and donor lapse in Denmark

BackgroundThe likelihood of donating blood changes over the life course, with life events shown to influence entry to and exit from the donor population. While these previous findings provide valuable insights for donor management, blood collection agencies need to be cautious about generalizing findings to other countries as blood donor behaviour is context-specific. To examine cross-country variations in donor behaviour, the repeatability of a previous Dutch study on life events and blood donor lapse is examined by using a sample of Danish donors.Study design and methodsRegister data from Statistics Denmark was linked to the Scandinavian Donations and Transfusions database (n = 152,887). Logistic regressions were conducted to examine the association between life events in 2009-2012 and blood donor lapse in 2013-2014.ResultsOf the total sample, 69,079 (45.2%) donors lapsed. Childbirth and losing a job increased the lapsing risk by 11% and 16%, respectively, while health-related events in the family (i.e., blood transfusion, disease and death) decreased the lapsing risk by 5%, 7% and 9%, respectively. ConclusionLife events are associated with donor lapse of Danish donors. These results are comparable to previous findings from the Netherlands (i.e., childbirth and labor market transitions increased lapsing risk; health-related events decreased lapsing risk), with two thirds of the associations being in the same direction. Differences between study results were mainly related to effect sizes and demographic compositions of the donor pools. We argue contextual factors to be of importance in blood donor studies.