6. Increasing Legitimacy and Donations: A Call to Apply Institutional Theory to Nonprofit Fundraising

Why do people donate to some organizations but not others? Why do different countries consider different causes to be worthy of their philanthropy? In the United States, donations from individuals sum up to 71% of total philanthropic contributions to nonprofit organizations. Research on strategies to increase individual giving has identified techniques that provide incremental growth, but do not explain the large differences in support to different types of nonprofits or specific programs within nonprofits (i.e., educational vs. religious, established vs. startup, unrestricted vs. restricted support). While the link between legitimacy and fundraising results is widely acknowledged (Fogal, 2005; Gronbjerg, 1993). Understanding nonprofit funding. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass), the study of legitimacy by institutional theory scholars provides a promising framework from which to study these differences and posit interventions to increase legitimacy. Conversely, nonprofit fundraising presents an ideal field in which to test some of the assumptions of legitimacy theory. This essay is meant as a call to action for cross-pollination among researchers in both fields.