(There’s an unstated assumption here that the motivation is to do something they wouldn’t have done anyway This assumption may very well be correct.) This sounds like a possible flaw in how things work, even if they don’t work quite like that.
Very good point—I hadn’t considered this aspect in my original question. Cash donations may not ONLY cause a behavior that wasn’t previously motivated by the recipient, it may also act via a mechanism of letting the recipient follow their preferences (which they’ve shown to be aligned with your altruistic desires) with fewer outside constraints.
Donating money to a food bank may not (only) motivate employees to distribute food any more than they otherwise prefer; it may make them more able to focus on their preferred amount of food-distribution.
Put another way, some of it may be more like UBI for people performing activities you support, than for direct motivation of those activities.
Patreon*, Pay what you want, and maybe Humble bundle are sometimes an example of this.
*Though occasionally, it is argued that such means may have negative effects on production or quality/bias/etc., in general or in specific cases, sometimes relating to rewards.
Very good point—I hadn’t considered this aspect in my original question. Cash donations may not ONLY cause a behavior that wasn’t previously motivated by the recipient, it may also act via a mechanism of letting the recipient follow their preferences (which they’ve shown to be aligned with your altruistic desires) with fewer outside constraints.
Donating money to a food bank may not (only) motivate employees to distribute food any more than they otherwise prefer; it may make them more able to focus on their preferred amount of food-distribution.
Put another way, some of it may be more like UBI for people performing activities you support, than for direct motivation of those activities.
Patreon*, Pay what you want, and maybe Humble bundle are sometimes an example of this.
*Though occasionally, it is argued that such means may have negative effects on production or quality/bias/etc., in general or in specific cases, sometimes relating to rewards.