Give, feel, and give again — how happiness drives repeat generosity
Authored by Sam Thomas
What Aknin & Dunn’s (2012) experiment means for fundraisers and supporter marketers
When I read Aknin and Dunn’s paper, one clear, useable insight jumped out: the emotional return from giving — the happiness people feel — helps make generosity self-reinforcing. In short, people who reflect on giving feel happier, and that happiness makes them more likely to give again. That’s a concrete lever fundraisers can design for.
What the researchers did
Aknin & Dunn ran a controlled lab study where participants were asked to recall a recent spending event (either on themselves or on someone else) and then report how happy that memory made them feel. After the recall task participants were given a small windfall and asked how they would spend it — on themselves or on others. The design tested whether (a) remembering prosocial spending raises happiness and (b) whether that happiness predicts future prosocial spending.
The headline findings you need to know
Remembering giving made people happier: Participants who recalled spending on someone else reported higher happiness than those who recalled spending on themselves.
Happiness increased the chance of giving again: The happier participants felt after the recall task, the more likely they were to choose prosocial spending when offered a new windfall. The effect held across spending amounts: it was how people spent, not how much, that mattered.
The pathway is indirect — via happiness: The authors’ mediation tests show that recalling prosocial spending influences later giving primarily because it raises happiness, not because people simply want to be consistent with past behaviour.
Why this matters for fundraisers
If donors feel good about giving — and if you prompt them to remember feeling good — you create emotional momentum that nudges future generosity. That reframes stewardship from a compliance task (send receipt → done) to an opportunity to generate an emotional return that fuels repeat support. The implication is tactical and testable: design donation experiences and immediate follow-up so they boost happiness and encourage reflection.
Practical tactics you can try
Below are straightforward ideas that map to the study:
Prompt a short reflection after first gifts: Within 48–72 hours, invite new donors to answer a single micro-question: “What part of giving made you feel most proud?” The act of recalling the positive emotion is what caused happiness and connection to giving again.
Make the donation experience pleasurable and social: Use a 30–60s impact clip, a short beneficiary quote, or a photo that highlights social connection — prosocial spending creates happiness partly through social contact.
Create a tiny stewardship ritual: Ask donors to leave one sentence about why they gave, or offer a simple digital badge/thank-you they can save/share. Small rituals amplify feelings of ownership and pride.
Test reflection vs. standard thanks: Randomise new donors into a control (standard receipt + thanks) and treatment (thanks + reflection prompt + impact clip). Track second-gift rate over 3 months.
How to measure impact
Primary metric: Proportion of donors who give again within X months (e.g., 3 or 6 months).
Secondary metrics: Average second gift amount, time-to-second-gift, and a single-item self-report: “How happy did giving make you feel?” (1–7).
Process metric: :Response rate to the reflection prompt — if no one engages, your stimulus isn’t working and needs tweaking.
Limits & caveats
Sample limitations: The study used university students which is a limited, niche sample. Donor populations are different—older, more diverse—so results may vary.
Recall vs. real purchase: Participants remembered past spending rather than making new purchases in the moment. The act of remembering is central to the effect; in practice, you’ll be testing whether prompting reflection after a real gift produces the same boost.
Final thought
Aknin & Dunn give us a clear, pragmatic frame: donor happiness isn’t just pleasant — it’s a behavioural engine. By shaping the emotional return from giving, and by prompting donors to remember that positive feeling, you can create the conditions for generosity to spiral upwards. It’s not a magic bullet, but it’s cheap to test and, if it works for your audience, highly scalable.
References
Aknin, L. B., Dunn, E. W., & Norton, M. I. (2012). Happiness runs in a circular motion: Evidence for a positive feedback loop between prosocial spending and happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 13(2), 347–355. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-011-9267-5.