Donor Support from Research Impact Storytelling in Nonprofit Science Campaigns: Panel Analysis

Abstract

The landscape of scientific research funding has increasingly shifted toward private philanthropy, necessitating that nonprofit science organizations develop highly effective communication strategies to attract and retain donor support. Among these strategies, research impact storytelling has emerged as a predominant method for translating complex scientific discoveries into compelling narratives that resonate with lay audiences. Despite its widespread adoption, empirical evidence quantifying the longitudinal effectiveness of specific narrative elements on donor behavior remains critically scarce. This paper addresses this substantial gap by employing a comprehensive panel analysis to evaluate how variations in research impact storytelling predict ongoing donor financial support. Utilizing a longitudinal dataset encompassing donor transaction histories and corresponding campaign communications over a multi-year period, this study operationalizes storytelling metrics through advanced computational text analysis. The research investigates the differential effects of human-centric narratives versus purely discovery-centric narratives, alongside the temporal dynamics of donor engagement. Findings indicate that campaigns emphasizing tangible, human-level impacts yield significantly higher donor retention rates and increased average gift sizes over time compared to traditional, data-heavy scientific reporting. Furthermore, the panel data approach successfully controls for unobserved individual heterogeneity among donors, providing robust causal inference regarding the efficacy of narrative transportation in philanthropic contexts. The insights derived from this study offer critical theoretical advancements in the psychology of charitable giving and provide actionable frameworks for science communicators and nonprofit administrators seeking to optimize fundraising campaigns in an increasingly competitive philanthropic environment.