Exploring Donor Giving, Intent, and Expectations of Disaster Relief Nonprofits: The Kangaroo Island Bushfire Case

ABSTRACT In response to concerns regarding how disaster relief nonprofit organizations distribute financial donations, this paper explores individual donor giving, intent upon giving, and expectations subsequent to giving, in the context of the 2019/20 Kangaroo Island bushfires in South Australia. Adopting fundamental constructs from the theory of planned behavior, we examine why people give to natural disaster fundraising campaigns. We then compare donor intent and their expectations of nonprofits subsequent to giving, with nonprofits' actions and communication to consider how (un/met) expectations might impact on attitudes to future giving. A qualitative approach was adopted involving 14 semi‐structured interviews with individual donors (most of whom were geographically close to the disaster location), publicly available communication regarding the disaster, and e‐mail correspondence with the relevant nonprofits. Findings reveal the importance of closeness (geographical, emotional and psychological) to a range of factors influencing giving behavior. Contrary to extant literature that cautions a misalignment between donors' intent, expectations, and nonprofits' actions, this occurrence did not impact negatively on donors' satisfaction or attitudes towards future giving behavior. Implications extend to better understanding why donors give, their expectations following a natural disaster, and the multiple dimensions of donor closeness.