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Incentives

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Submitted By GianniB
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The practice of offering incentives for charitable acts is incredibly common, from tickets to baseball game for cancer research, to school projects to raise funds for a new building. The use of motivation to incentivise donations is undeniably effective, but is it still charitable when it becomes an ethical question? When does the focus diverge from philanthropy to materialism? Randy Cohen of The New York Times Magazine hosts a weekly column called “The Ethicist”, in which people ask ethical questions to which Cohen bears his answer. In April of 2003, a reader of his asked him a similar ethical question:

“At my school, various clubs and organizations sponsor charity drives, asking students to bring in money, food, and clothing. Some teachers offer bonus points on tests and final averages as incentives to participate.Some parents believe that this sends a morally wrong message,undermining the value of charity as a selfless act. Is the exchange of donations?”
While in many instances, the use of incentives may diminish or mitigate the value of charity, employing their use in charitable acts in an ethical way is entirely circumstantial. The use of incentives to encourage charitable acts exists as a way to spread awareness and maybe lend a hand for a benevolent cause. There are an astounding amount of charities that seek to carry out incredible, benign feats, but receive less than enough funding to arouse an appreciable difference.

With that, these charities may utilize incentives to allow change to occur. Galas and fundraisers are incredible ways to raise awareness and money for a charitable cause. A useful example of this is humble bundle.com, a website that sells video games and books for charity. When donating, the donator yields complete power of where their money goes, be it developers, authors, or charity of your choice. Ergo, although the use of motivation for charitable acts may raise an ethical question, their effectiveness in certain contexts is undeniable and could be considered ethical and charitable.

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