Individual Giving to Support Cultural Heritage

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze patterns of private individual giving to cultural heritage institutions in Italy. Based on the emerging economic literature on prosocial behavior, we carried out a survey to assess individuals’ willingness to donate to museums and heritage organizations according to different conditions and set of incentives. Our findings reveal that the intrinsic motivations and accountability of the recipient institutions may be more effective drivers of charitable giving than the usually proposed fiscal incentives. The results provide avenues for future empirical research and policy suggestions for fundraising by cultural institutions.

Keywords: Charitable giving, cultural heritage, prosocial behavior

JEL Classification: D11, D12, H4, Z1