Enhancing charitable crowdfunding performance: the role of signaling information

Purpose This study aims to investigate how strategic signals – visual imagery, campaign updates and organizer experience – shape performance in charitable crowdfunding, an elective prosocial setting where trust and authenticity are central. It examines whether and how these signals, often studied in commercial crowdfunding, operate differently in donation-based contexts lacking material incentives. Design/methodology/approach Using multiple regression analysis, we examine 444 campaigns from Indonesia’s largest charitable crowdfunding platform, Kitabisa, in 2023. The analysis tests nonlinear effects of visual frequency, the moderating influence of dynamic updates on static visuals and the differential impact of organizer experience based on initiator type (individual vs. organizations). Findings Results reveal an inverted U-shaped relationship between the number of images and campaign performance, with benefits up to an optimal threshold but diminishing returns beyond it – consistent with cognitive load and limited attention theories. Updates, while generally positive, can attenuate the impact of visuals when both signals are intense, suggesting a substitution effect under certain conditions. Experience enhances performance more strongly for individuals, who rely on it to offset limited institutional legitimacy, than for organizations, whose inherent credibility reduces its marginal value. Practical implications Campaigners should calibrate visual use to avoid overload, deploy updates strategically to maintain engagement without diluting earlier signals and align experience-based cues with their initiator profile. Platforms can enhance campaign success by guiding optimal signal intensity and sequencing and by fostering early trust through mechanism such as timely fund allocation. Originality/value By identifying nonlinear effects, signal substitution and initiator-specific signaling dynamics, our study refines signaling theory for prosocial contexts. It advances understanding of how donors process multiple cues in charitable crowdfunding, offering a nuanced framework that differs from commercial models and contributes to both theory and practice.