Bridging the Gap : The Role of the Charity in Voluntary Public Good Provision

This paper explores the role of charities in closing the gaps in information and incentives between donors and recipients at anti-hunger charities. When food insecurity rises by one percentage point, the average charity increases fundraising by roughly 0.9%. However, food insecurity reduces private contributions to these charities by at least 0.2%, after controlling for the charity's fundraising expenses. These results identify charitable fundraising as a crucial tool to overcome information and empathy gaps between donors and recipients