Social/emotional goods
There’s a class of goods and specific economics around those goods that doesn’t seem to be recognised and taken into account enough, especially by charities asking for donations.
A donation to charity isn’t a one-way value process. There is a two-way value exchange where the charity receives money and the donor receives social/emotional capital. They feel like a virtuous member of society in return for their donation.
Perhaps what they get in return for their donation could be conceived of in the same way that physical, digital and information goods are conceived, as a social/emotional good that conforms to its own economic principles.
| Type of good | Intangible | Codified | Transferable | Replicable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Information | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Digital | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Social/emotional | Yes | No | No | No |
In-messaging donations thank you idea
With various messaging services taking or soon to be able to take payments it opens up more donations collecting opportunities for charities.
Once a donation has been made the charity could use a sticker/gif making service to generate a personalised thank you and message it to the donor.
This would be a nicer experience for the donor than a simple thank you message and would make the first charity to do it stand out in the messaging donations space.