Protecting Beneficiary Privacy While Enhancing Donation Effectiveness: The Role of Face Anonymization Techniques in Fundraising

Abstract Protecting beneficiaries’ privacy in fundraising has become a common practice in real-world charitable campaigns. However, empirical research directly examining how such privacy protection influences individuals’ donation behavior remains unexplored. This research compares different face anonymization techniques (partial-face and full-face anonymization) with no anonymization on donation amount, and explores the mediating roles of empathy and credibility, as well as the moderating role of need for cognition (NFC). We conducted two studies and used ANOVA and bootstrap analysis to assess these effects. The results showed that partial-face anonymization leads to better donation amounts compared to full-face and no anonymization, with this effect mediated by empathy toward beneficiaries and the perceived credibility of nonprofit organizations. Additionally, the comparative effect of partial-face versus no anonymization is significant for donors with high NFC but not for those with low NFC. Our findings offer several implications for charitable platforms, nonprofit organizations, and beneficiaries.