Intertemporal and Cross-Sectional Substitution in Charitable Giving

Abstract

This paper focuses on two aspects of matching a project. Using aggregate data obtained from an online fundraising platform, DonorsChoose.org, Using a fixed effects regression model to control for the time invariant and unobserved characteristics of matches, we examine the effect that matching a project has on the project receiving a donation . We also aim to find out the effect that matches have on the amount of money of projects that have received funding. We expect our results to show that matching a project increases the chances of it receiving a donation. We also expect that the match has a negative effect on the amount of money raised because would be matchers modify their donation depending on the type of match. Our results support the theory of substitution between different charities.