'TIS THE SEASON TO GIVE TO CHARITY, AND CHARITABLE GROUPS TRY TO BENEFIT

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- If Ebenezer Scrooge were put in charge of the holiday season (before the ghosts of Christmas got to him, anyway), places such as food banks and shelters for the homeless would be in trouble.

The charitable organizations that operate these kinds of services have cycles of solicitation. Their fund-raising efforts tend to be lowest in the summer and highest during the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas, according to Mary Tschirhart, assistant professor of public and environmental affairs at Indiana University. Tschirhart studies the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations.

Donors often cite the holiday season's sentiment for helping other people as their reason for making charitable contributions, Tschirhart said. People are in a gift-giving mood, and this mood extends to strangers as well as friends.

That includes our furry and feathery friends as well. "Animals tug at people's heartstrings," she said, and organizations working for the humane treatment of animals often step up their fund-raising efforts during the holiday season.

"Also, this is a time when people may return to their religious roots. For example, people who go to church once a year often go at a religious holiday," she added. Their religion instructs them to give to others, and they feel more religious during the holiday season.

The irony is that many people make donations to such agencies at Thanksgiving and Christmas and then forget about them in January and February, when hungry and homeless people and animals are also in need of assistance. This is hard on the charitable groups that are trying to help, Tschirhart said.

Guilt may be used as a motivator for giving, particularly around Thanksgiving. Donors tend to be more responsive to requests for help to feed the hungry when they are planning or enjoying their own holiday feasts. Guilt may also play a role if requests for donations include free materials, because those who don't make a donation may feel guilty about using the materials. But regardless of whether a donation is sent, using the envelope seals, address labels and greeting cards serves to increase public awareness of the group's name and mission, she pointed out.

When a nonprofit organization is trying to gain long-term, year-round support, emphasizing the positive act of helping others tends to work better than playing on guilt, she said.

An additional factor having nothing to do with sentiment or religion is that at the end of the year some people are thinking about tax deductions, she noted.

One problem for groups seeking donations from the public during the holiday season is the increased competition for people's attention, Tschirhart said. Mailboxes overflow with holiday greeting cards and advertising, and the phone rings more often. People who feel overwhelmed by the clamor may be less inclined to consider a group's appeal for donations or even miss it altogether.

For this reason, some kinds of nonprofit organizations prefer to wait until fall or spring for their major fund-raising campaigns, such as public radio and television stations. "In the fall, for example, people's minds are on school, and they are more likely to respond to an appeal by a nonprofit organization offering educational programs," she said.

For more information, call Hal Kibbey, Office of Communications and Marketing, 812-855-0074 or 812-855-3911,hkibbey@indiana.edu