Donors’ attitude towards fundraising efforts in UAE during COVID-19 pandemic: the moderating role of ethics

Purpose - This study aims to explore the antecedents of donors’ attitudes toward fundraising campaigns to fight COVID-19 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) during the pandemic crisis. This manuscript identified how moderating effects of ethical dimensions can strengthen the relationship between trust in charity and charity projects with their attitude to raise funds to mitigate pandemic repercussions. Design/methodology/approach - This study follows a quantitative approach by administering survey instruments to collect the data from the sample of respondents. A total of 391 responses were obtained adopting snowball sampling and analyzed through structural equation modeling (SEM) to derive meaningful results for path analysis. Findings - The findings of this study indicate that certain insights need to be considered to trigger the donors’ attitude toward raising or participating in charity-oriented campaigns, especially during pandemic situations. For instance, organizing more transformable processes in charity projects and establishing more trust factors among donors is highly essential in charity activities. Similarly, promoting ethical dimensions of the donors toward supporting the vulnerable more effectively and encouraging them to participate or organize philanthropic activities certainly benefit and support this noble cause. Practical implications - This study will help the government and nonprofit organizations in devising their campaigns for raising funds. The findings of this study suggest that ethics is an important consideration and driver for donors in philanthropy-serving organizations and individuals. Originality/value - This research contributes to the literature on donation and philanthropic studies focusing on fundraising campaigns attitudes during COVID-19. This study contributes influential factors and attitudes of individuals and organizations toward charity and philanthropic service.