Sad vs. Happy Photos in Fundraising: Research Summary Table

Compiled by Gary Henricksen, Five Maples Development Communications

This table summarizes published research on the use of sad vs. happy facial expressions, image valence, and photo-message congruence in charitable advertising and fundraising appeals. Direct Mail Applicability rates each study’s relevance to the specific context of printed direct mail appeal letters sent to an organization’s own donors and prospects. Most studies tested simple online advertisements shown to convenience samples (students, MTurk workers) with no prior relationship to the organization — a fundamentally different context from a multi-page letter with a story, personalized ask strings, and a reply card going to someone on your mailing list.

This list was compiled through research on Google Scholar, by following citation trails on publisher sites, and by reviewing papers that cite or are cited by the most relevant studies. I am not an academic researcher; I am a practitioner of direct mail fundraising. This list may have important omissions, but I believe it covers most of the interesting academic research relevant to happy vs. sad photos in fundraising appeals."

Studies are listed in chronological order. Paper titles link to the published source.
41 studies reviewed (updated May 2026).

Study	What Was Tested	Key Finding	Direct Mail Applicability
Using Positive vs. Negative Photographs for Third-World Fund Raising Dyck & Coldevin, 1992, Journalism Quarterly	Positive vs. negative vs. no photo in actual direct mail appeal letters sent to 45,000+ donors on World Vision Canada’s list.	Positive vs. negative vs. no photo in actual direct mail appeal letters sent to 45,000+ donors on World Vision Canada’s list. Response rates essentially identical across conditions (7.1–7.3%). Positive photo yielded modestly higher average gift ($48.55 vs $45.90). Negative photo was extreme (malnourished child).	HIGH (with caveats). The only academic study using real direct mail to real donors. But extreme negative photo, non-significant response rate differences, and modest average gift difference limit generalizability to most US nonprofits.
Use of Images in Charity Advertising: Improving Donations and Compliance Rates Burt & Strongman, 2005, Intl J of Organisational Behaviour	Emotional intensity of images in charity ads; children vs. adults; negative vs. positive emotions. Lab experiments.	Images of children generated strongest emotional reactions. Negative-emotion images generated significantly larger donations of money, items, and time.	LOW. Lab setting with ads, not letters. But supports using photos of children and confirms photos generate emotional response.
Should Persuasion Be Affective or Cognitive? Haddock et al., 2008, Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin	Whether individuals’ need for affect vs. need for cognition influences receptivity to emotional vs. cognitive persuasive messages.	People high in need for affect respond better to emotional appeals; people high in need for cognition respond better to fact-based appeals.	INDIRECT. Not about photos, but explains why some donors respond to emotional images and others to data. Supports using both in a letter.
Framing Charity Advertising: Influences of Message Framing, Image Valence, and Temporal Framing Chang & Lee, 2009, J of Applied Social Psychology	Interaction of message framing (positive/negative), image valence (positive/negative), and temporal framing (short/long-term) in child poverty ads.	Image–message congruence enhances effectiveness, especially when both are negative. Short-term frame helps negative message + negative image; long-term frame helps positive message + positive image.	MODERATE. Supports matching photo to message tone. An urgent appeal (short-term) pairs well with a need photo; a stewardship piece (long-term impact) pairs well with a happy photo.
The Face of Need: Facial Emotion Expression on Charity Advertisements Small & Verrochi, 2009, J of Marketing Research	Effect of sad vs. happy vs. neutral facial expressions in charity ads for children’s cancer research. Lab studies with simple ads.	Sad faces increased sympathy and donations via emotional contagion. 50% more participants chose to donate when shown a sad face. But among those who donated, the gift amount was the same regardless of the photo — “there is no main effect of expression on donation amount.” Effect diminished when participants engaged in deliberative processing (i.e., read more information). Too-intense sadness may cause helplessness or seem phony.	LOW-MODERATE. Foundational study, but tested simple ads on students. The key caveat: deliberative processing (reading a letter) reduces the facial expression effect. The entire effect was at the donation-decision margin, not gift size.
Examining the Effects of Photographic Attributes on Sympathy, Emotions, and Donation Behavior Baberini, Coleman, Slovic & Västfjäll, 2015, Visual Communication Quarterly	Effects of expression (sad/happy), gaze (direct/averted), and number of subjects (one/two) in photos on sympathy and donation.	Sad imagery was associated with greater sympathy, moral engagement, and willingness to donate. Participants exposed to happy faces did not generate significantly greater happiness compared to sadness.	MODERATE. Supports sad photos for sympathy. Confirms direct gaze and single subject are important — both applicable to direct mail photos.
Inspire Me to Donate: The Use of Strength Emotion in Donation Appeals Liang, Chen & Lei, 2016, J of Consumer Psychology	Whether combining strength emotion (inspiration) with sadness is more effective than sadness alone or strength alone in donation appeals.	Combining strength and sadness was more effective than either alone. Strength emotion inspires people to donate via an “inspiration-helping” pathway, distinct from the empathy pathway.	MODERATE. Supports the story arc approach: show the problem (sadness) AND the possibility of change (strength/inspiration). A photo showing determination or resilience — not just suffering — may be most effective.
Do Cold Images Cause Cold-Heartedness? The Impact of Visual Stimuli on the Effectiveness of Negative Emotional Charity Appeals Choi, Rangan & Singh, 2016, J of Advertising	Whether exposure to cold-temperature images (ice, snow) before viewing charity ads reduces effectiveness of sad appeals, via loneliness.	Exposure to cold images increased feelings of loneliness, which reduced sympathy and donation in response to negative emotional appeals.	LOW. About environmental context effects, not photo choice. But a reminder that the overall visual environment of the letter matters — a cold, clinical design may undermine an emotional appeal.
The Effects of the Facial Expression of Beneficiaries in Charity Appeals and Psychological Involvement on Donation Intentions Cao & Jia, 2017, Nonprofit Mgmt & Leadership	Sad vs. happy beneficiary photos moderated by psychological involvement with charities. Online ad for St. Jude’s shown to MTurk participants.	Low-involvement participants: sad photos increased donation intent. High-involvement participants: happy photos worked better. Mediated by perceived donation efficacy.	LOW. MTurk participants paid $0.60; much younger and lower-income than typical donors; simple online ad with no story, no ask amount. Direct mail recipients are almost always psychologically involved with charities, which might favor happy photos — but the transfer is weak.
The Charity Beauty Premium: Satisfying Donors’ ‘Want’ Versus ‘Should’ Desires Cryder, Botti & Simonyan, 2017, J of Marketing Research	Whether donors choose beautiful but less needy recipients over less attractive but needier ones.	Donors intuitively prefer beautiful recipients (“want”) but believe they should support needier ones (“should”). Deliberation steers choices toward needier recipients.	MODERATE. Relevant to photo selection: an attractive, well-composed photo may draw more intuitive engagement. But in a letter where donors read and reflect, perceived need becomes more important.
Toward an Optimal Donation Solicitation Fajardo, Townsend & Bolander, 2018, J of Marketing	Donor-related vs. organization-related information in solicitations. Four field experiments.	Donor-related appeals (“you can make a difference”) drive the decision to donate; organization-related appeals (“we are effective”) drive donation amount. Presenting both simultaneously can backfire.	INDIRECT. Not about photos per se, but suggests captions should emphasize the donor’s role (“because of you”) rather than organizational achievements.
The Influence of Image Valence on the Attention Paid to Charity Advertising Alonso Dos Santos et al., 2017, J of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing	Effect of positive vs. negative image valence on attention (eye-tracking + EEG) and donation intent. Pilot study with 40 participants viewing NGO ads.	Negative images attracted significantly more attention (fixation count, fixation duration, and EEG attention scores) than positive images. But no connection was found between attention level and intention to donate. Women showed greater willingness to donate regardless of image valence.	LOW (severe limitations: N=40, single-electrode consumer EEG, Chilean university students, pilot study). But the attention-vs-intention disconnect is important: a photo that grabs attention doesn’t necessarily generate giving.
Should Donation Ads Include Happy Victim Images? The Moderating Role of Regulatory Focus Zemack-Rugar & Klucarova-Travani, 2018, Marketing Letters	Interaction of happy/sad victim images with promotion- vs. prevention-focused ad messaging.	Happy victim image + promotion-focused message (“gains are occurring”) uniquely increased donation intentions via perceived response efficacy. Other combinations did not show the same boost.	MODERATE. Supports using happy/impact photos with forward-looking, gain-oriented messages (“your gift is making this possible”). Aligns with donor stewardship and impact reporting.
Request Framing Moderates the Influence of Affective Images on Charitable Giving Genevsky, Knutson & Yoon, 2018, 6 studies + single-paper meta-analysis	Whether request framing (opportunity vs. threat) moderates the effect of affective images (happy vs. sad faces) on donation. Six studies including lab, online, hypothetical and real incentives, willingness-to-pay and forced-choice paradigms.	Meta-analysis: neither image valence nor message framing alone had a significant main effect on donations. Only the interaction (affective match) was significant. Positive image + opportunity framing = most effective. Negative image + threat framing = second best. Mismatches reduced giving. Positive arousal mediated both matched conditions — even the negative-negative match generated positive arousal via processing fluency.	HIGH. The most important study for understanding why prior research appeared contradictory. Explains that the question isn’t “sad or happy?” but “does the photo match the framing of the message?” Most appeal letters use opportunity framing, which pairs best with positive photos.
Dressed to Impress: The Effect of Victim Attire on Helping Behavior Carvalho, Hildebrand & Sen, 2019, J of the Assn for Consumer Research	Whether a victim’s clothing (neat vs. disheveled) affects perceived need and helping behavior.	Well-dressed victims were perceived as less needy, reducing helping. Effect was weaker for physically attractive victims.	MODERATE. Practical implication for photo selection: the person’s appearance should be consistent with the need described. An overly polished photo may undermine the appeal’s urgency.
The Effect of Children’s Facial Expressions on Donations in the Context of Child Sponsorship Versus One-Time Donation Jang, 2019, Advances in Consumer Research	Sad vs. happy children’s faces in one-time donation vs. child sponsorship (ongoing relationship) contexts.	Sad faces led to more one-time donations (to relieve personal distress). But in ongoing sponsorship, the preference for sad-faced children disappeared — donors avoided future distress from repeated exposure to sad images.	HIGH. Directly relevant: annual fund donors are in an ongoing relationship, not a one-time transaction. Supports happy photos for renewal appeals where donors.
Effect of Emotional Victim Images in Prosocial Advertising: The Moderating Role of Helping Mode Li & Atkinson, 2020, Intl J of Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Marketing	Happy vs. sad child images moderated by helping mode (direct donation vs. cause-related product purchase).	Consumers were more willing to help when viewing happy children vs. sad children. The happy-image advantage was attenuated when participants could buy a cause-related product instead of donating directly.	MODERATE. Supports happy photos for direct donation appeals. Notes that “reactance to excessively traumatic marketing campaigns” has shifted some findings toward happy images.
A Smile – The Key to Everybody’s Heart? The Interactive Effects of Image and Message in Increasing Charitable Behavior Pham & Septianto, 2020, European J of Marketing	Matching emotional image (happy/sad child) with message type (recognition/“thank you” vs. request/“please donate”).	Greater donations when: sad child + request message, or happy child + recognition message. Sad + request evoked sympathy; happy + recognition evoked hope.	HIGH. Directly applicable: appeal letters (request messages) may pair well with sad/need photos. Stewardship and impact pieces (recognition/thank-you messages) pair well with happy photos.
Sad but Smiling? How the Combination of Happy Victim Images and Sad Message Appeals Increase Prosocial Behavior Septianto & Paramita, 2021, Marketing Letters	Whether combining a happy victim image with a strong sad message appeal promotes prosocial behavior. Four studies across Indonesia and USA.	Happy image + sad message increased donations by boosting perceived outcome efficacy — donors could more easily envision positive change. Addresses the tension between showing need (message) and showing dignity (image).	MODERATE. Supports the story arc approach: text describes the need (sad), photo shows the possibility (happy). But tested with simple ads, not letters.
How Donor’s Regulatory Focus Changes the Effectiveness of a Sadness-Evoking Charity Appeal Choi & Park, 2021, Intl J of Research in Marketing	How donors’ regulatory focus (promotion vs. prevention) moderates response to sad appeals. Multiple studies including real donations.	Prevention-focused donors (cautious, vigilant) gave less in response to sad appeals because sadness triggered perceptions of manipulative intent and helplessness. Promotion-focused donors were not affected. Happy and guilt appeals were unaffected by regulatory focus.	MODERATE. You can’t segment by regulatory focus in direct mail, but the finding that sad photos trigger manipulation suspicion in cautious donors is a real risk. Happy photos avoid this risk entirely.
The Effect of Sequential Structure in Charity Advertising on Message Elaboration and Donation Intention Bae, 2021, J of Promotion Management	Whether a sadness-then-happiness sequence in a charity ad increases elaboration and donation intent. Eye-tracking study.	A negative-to-positive sequence increased cognitive elaboration (measured by eye-tracking), evoked positive emotions and empathy, and increased receptivity. Empathy mediated the effect.	HIGH. Directly supports the story arc in fundraising letters: start with the problem (sad), end with the solution (happy). The sequence matters more than any single photo.
The Interaction of Facial Expression and Donor-Recipient Eye Contact in Donation Intentions Tong et al., 2021, Frontiers in Psychology	Whether direct eye contact between the person in the photo and the viewer moderates the effectiveness of happy vs. sad expressions.	With direct eye contact: happy faces generated stronger emotional intensity and higher donation intent. Without eye contact: sad faces were more effective.	HIGH. Fundraising letter photos typically feature direct eye contact. This study suggests that when the person in the photo looks directly at the donor, a happy expression may be more effective.
Nonprofit Organization Advertising on Social Media Lim, Bouchacourt et al., 2021, J of Consumer Behaviour	Role of personality traits and advertising appeals (emotional vs. informational) in nonprofit social media ads. Bandwagon effects.	Personality traits moderate responses to different appeal types. Emotional appeals don’t universally outperform informational ones; it depends on the viewer.	LOW. Social media context, not direct mail. But reinforces that no single emotional approach works for all donors.
A Study on the Influence of the Facial Expressions of Models on Consumer Purchase Intention in Advertisements for Poverty Alleviation Products Zhou, Zheng, Chen & Yu, 2021, Personality and Individual Differences	Interaction of facial expression (positive/negative) and message framing (gain/loss) in ads for poverty alleviation products. Three studies examining purchase intention and the mediating role of consumer guilt.	Negative expressions improved purchase preference for poverty alleviation products via guilt. However, the combination of loss-framed message + negative facial expression did NOT further improve purchase intention compared to other groups — a partial contradiction of the simple match hypothesis.	LOW. About product purchase intention, not charitable donations. Chinese market context. But the finding that the negative-negative combination didn’t outperform is noteworthy — it suggests the match effect may not hold universally, particularly when guilt is the primary mechanism.
The Salience of Children Increases Adult Prosocial Values Wolf et al., 2022, Social Psychological & Personality Science	Whether making children salient (through tasks or visual exposure) increases prosocial motivation in adults. Eight experiments plus a field study.	Exposure to children increased prosocial values and donation behavior — even for causes unrelated to children. The effect was not moderated by gender, age, or contact with children.	INDIRECT. Not about sad vs. happy, but supports using photos of children in appeals regardless of cause. Children’s faces activate prosocial motivation broadly.
Facial Expressions of Beneficiaries and Donation Intentions: Effects of the Number of Beneficiaries Li & Yin, 2022, J of Retailing & Consumer Services	Interaction of facial expression (sad/happy) and number of beneficiaries (single/multiple) in charity ads.	Sad face + single person = most effective. Happy face + multiple people = most effective (but with an inverted U-shape as numbers increase). Mediated by perceived donation efficacy.	MODERATE. Supports using a single person for need/sad photos and small groups for impact/happy photos. Consistent with the identifiable victim effect for sad images.
Motivating Charitable Giving: The Interaction of Affective Images and Goal-Framing on Donation Intention Lee, 2022, HKU Thesis	Interaction of happy/sad images with gain/loss message framing. Also examined gender differences. N=526.	Sad images were more effective overall. For males, loss-framed messages amplified the effect of sad images. For females, message framing did not interact with image valence.	LOW. Online experiment with students. But the gender finding is interesting — male donors may be more responsive to sad/urgent combinations.
How Affective Displays and Self-Construal Impact Consumers’ Generosity Mesler & Simpson, 2022, J of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing	Interaction of sad/happy displays with self-construal (independent vs. interdependent). Field study (Kiva.org) and lab experiment.	Happy displays most effective for independent self-construal (individual identity focus). Sad displays most effective for interdependent self-construal (relational identity focus). Mediated by empathy and efficacy.	LOW. Self-construal is not a segmentable variable in direct mail. But adds to the picture: there is no universally “better” valence.
The Impact of Facial Emotional Expression on the Effectiveness of Charitable Advertisements: The Role of Sympathy and Manipulative Intent Kang, Leliveld & Ferraro, 2022, J of Behavioral Decision Making	Whether sad-faced images evoke not only sympathy but also perceptions of manipulative intent. Five studies, N=2,141.	Sad faces increased sympathy AND inferences of manipulation. These two effects worked in opposite directions, producing a null net effect on donation. Sad faces reduced attitude toward the ad. Effect was stronger when the image was prominent.	HIGH. Large, well-powered study. The manipulation-perception finding is critical for direct mail: if a sad photo triggers suspicion, it undermines trust. This is especially risky for organizations whose donors already feel solicited frequently.
Look Behind Me! Highly Informative Picture Backgrounds Increase Stated Generosity Caserotti et al., 2022, Frontiers in Psychology	Whether background detail in a charity photo (e.g., medical equipment in a hospital room) affects perceived tangibility, impact, and donations.	More background detail increased perceived tangibility of the cause, which increased perceived impact, warm glow, and donation amount. The background tells part of the story.	HIGH. Directly relevant to photo selection: a photo with contextual background (a clinic, a classroom, a shelter) helps the donor understand and believe in the need. Don’t crop out the environment.
Exploring the Role of Facial Emotional Expressions in Charitable Giving De Roni, 2023, PhD Dissertation, Univ. of Padua	Sad vs. happy vs. neutral child photos using validated database. Also tested single vs. comparative evaluation and used eye-tracking.	Happy child received higher donations than neutral; no difference between neutral and sad. In comparative evaluation, sad child donations improved via increased perceived efficacy. Looking longer at a sad child decreased perceived efficacy.	MODERATE. Challenges the assumption that sad always wins. Happy outperformed neutral. Extended viewing of sad images reduced perceived efficacy — a concern for letters where donors spend more time with the photo.
How Facial Expressions of Recipients Influence Online Prosocial Behaviors He & Meng, 2023, J of Social Computing	Big data analysis of facial expressions and textual emotions in crowdfunding projects on Tencent Gongyi platform.	Positive emotions attracted more donors. Negative emotions resulted in higher per-donor donation amounts. Effects varied by contextual conditions.	LOW. Online crowdfunding in China, not direct mail. But the split finding (happy = more donors, sad = larger gifts) is interesting and may apply to different appeal goals.
The Effect of Severe Imagery in Advertising on Charitable Behavior and the Moderating Role of Social Closeness Sung, Septianto & Stankovic, 2023, J of Consumer Affairs	Whether severe/graphic health imagery increases donations, and whether social closeness (thinking of family) moderates the effect.	Severe imagery only increased donations when paired with high social closeness. Without it, severe imagery reduced donations via disgust. Empathy drove the positive effect; disgust drove the negative.	MODERATE. Don’t use graphic or disturbing photos unless the letter establishes a personal connection first. Supports the advice that intensity of sadness can backfire.
Pictures Depicting Physical Self-Help Increase Charitable Giving Perez, Munichor & Buskila, 2023, J of Business Research	Whether photos showing recipients engaged in physical self-help (actively doing something to improve their situation) affect donations differently than passive victim images.	Photos showing physical self-help increased donations via an inspiration pathway, distinct from the empathy pathway triggered by passive suffering images. Effect was attenuated when self-help behavior seemed inappropriate for the situation.	HIGH. Directly supports the story arc approach and showing agency. A photo of someone actively working to improve their life — a student learning, a patient in rehabilitation, a farmer harvesting — inspires giving more than passive suffering.
Crying Victims Deserve More? How Victim Image, Facial Expression, Entitativity and Victim Story Impact Charity Advertising Persuasiveness Lee, Chang et al., 2024, Intl J of Advertising	Interaction of facial expression, number of victims, group entitativity (perceived unity), and victim stories in charity ads.	Effects depend on complex interactions among multiple variables. Victim stories can shift the relative effectiveness of sad vs. happy images.	LOW-MODERATE. Complex interactions make simple rules impossible. But supports the idea that the story context around the photo matters as much as the photo itself.
The Baby Animal Effect in Wildlife Conservation Advertising Baek, Yoon & Kim, 2025, J of Advertising Research	Whether baby animals (vs. adults) increase empathy, conservation intentions, and donation in wildlife charity ads.	Baby animals generated more empathy and stronger conservation intentions. Promotion-focused participants responded more strongly. Prevention-focused participants showed no preference.	LOW. Wildlife-specific. But for animal welfare nonprofits: baby animals work. Regulatory focus finding echoes Choi & Park (2021).
Comparing Disgust and Sadness: Examining the Interaction of Emotion and Information in Charity Appeals Kemp, 2025, J of Social Marketing	Disgust vs. sadness imagery, alone or with cause information, on empathy and donation.	Adding information reduced empathy when paired with sad images (replicating Small & Verrochi’s deliberation finding). Disgust images + information maintained empathy. Sad images alone still outperformed.	MODERATE. Reinforces the key tension for letters: the more text a donor reads alongside a sad photo, the less the sad photo’s emotional effect. Information + sadness = diminished impact. This is a fundamental problem for sad photos in content-rich direct mail.
Framing Beneficiary Photos to Elicit Donations in Online Medical Crowdfunding Wang, Guo & Wu, 2025, Information Technology & People	Emphasis and equivalency framing of healthy vs. unhealthy beneficiary photos in crowdfunding. Photo sequence effects.	Showing both healthy and unhealthy photos was more effective than unhealthy alone. Unhealthy-first sequence generated more sympathy than healthy-first. Sympathy and perceived need both drove donation intent.	MODERATE. Supports using both before/after photos in a letter. The sequence matters: show the need first, then the impact. Aligns with the story arc.
(Mis)alignment Between Facial and Textual Emotions and Its Effects on Donors’ Engagement Behavior in Online Crowdsourcing Platforms Yazdani, Chakravarty & Inman, 2025, J of the Academy of Marketing Science	Whether misalignment between facial emotion in photos and textual emotion in crowdfunding descriptions affects donor engagement.	Textual and visual emotions have been studied separately; misalignment between them affects donor behavior in ways not predicted by studying either alone.	MODERATE. Reinforces that photo and text must tell a coherent story. A happy photo with desperate text (or vice versa) may confuse or undermine the appeal.
Affordances of Altruism: How Visual Cues and Message Framing in Donation Boxes Influence Giving Behavior Cillo et al., 2025, SHS Web of Conferences	Positive vs. negative visual framing and gain vs. loss message framing on physical donation boxes for animal welfare. N=60 undergraduates.	Negative images generated more donations than positive. Message framing had no significant effect. No interaction between visual and message framing.	LOW. Physical donation boxes with undergraduates, not direct mail. Small sample. But adds to the “sad wins” column for low-involvement, impulse giving contexts.
Keep Bright in the Dark: Multimodal Emotional Effects on Donation-Based Crowdfunding Performance Guo, Wang, Wu & Wu, 2026, British J of Psychology	How verbal (text) and visual (facial image) emotion valence in crowdfunding project descriptions affect donation performance.	Emotional valence expressed in text and images interact to affect crowdfunding outcomes. Alignment between text and image emotion influences donor response.	LOW. Online crowdfunding context. But supports the recurring finding: text and photo must be emotionally aligned.

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