Subsidizing Charitable Contributions in the Field: Evidence from a Non-Secular Charity

This paper reports results from a field study comparing the effects of rebates and matching subsidies for charitable contributions. The study was conducted in conjunction with Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota, a religiously affiliated social services charity. The field experiment has three main treatments: a baseline with no subsidy, a rebate to donors of a portion of their contribution to the charity, and an equivalent matching contribution. Within each subsidy treatment there are two rates of subsidy: 20 and 25 percent rebates and 25 and 33 percent matches. We report results that for the most part validate prior laboratory experiments. These results suggest that replacing the current tax rebate system with a matching program of equal cost could increase total giving to charitable organizations.