Charitable organizations play a vital role in our society, as is evide
nced by their enormous economic and social impact. Yet, for many of th
em, soliciting adequate resources to carry out their mandates is a con
tinuing struggle. Confronted with a growing need for their services, f
ierce competition from other charities, and shrinking support from gov
ernment agencies, charities may turn to marketers for help in developi
ng effective promotional strategies. Unfortunately, marketing literatu
re is unable to provide meaningful guidance because scant research att
ention has hampered a fuller understanding of why people help. The aut
hors integrate relevant research in marketing, economics, sociology, a
nd social psychology to advance theoretical understanding of helping b
ehavior. They develop research propositions regarding specific promoti
onal strategies that charitable organizations can employ to elicit hel
p.