More Than a Mascot? The Effect of Conversational Mascots on Donations for Nonprofit Organizations

Donations are a crucial funding source for nonprofit organizations (NPOs), but soliciting donations can be challenging in the digital age. Conversational agents (CAs), such as chatbots, can be a promising tool for NPOs to inform individuals about the organization and ask for donations. This study investigates how designing a CA to resemble a brand's mascot (a conversational mascot) changes donation behavior. Our theorizing and research are based on brand personality and anthropomorphism theory. Based on a three-condition online experiment (machinelike CA, humanlike CA, and conversational mascot), we found that a conversational mascot increases social presence and trust and fosters donation behavior. Our findings suggest that conversational mascots can be a powerful tool for NPOs to increase donation behavior. This study contributes to the research on the role of CAs in non-profit fundraising. It highlights the importance of considering the human-likeness and brand embodiment of CAs in their design and implementation.