Are Peter and Jim More Capable Directors Than Myung‐Hun and Young? Experiments on Donations, Volunteering Intentions, and Evaluations

ABSTRACT

Asian leaders remain underrepresented in US nonprofit leadership and continue to face challenges in securing resources and building capacity. Drawing on discrimination theories and symbolic representation, the research employs online experiments to test how the race of a nonprofit executive director influences public perception and involvement. Using East Asian male names and two types (cause‐oriented and service‐oriented) of nonprofits, we find that respondents' evaluations and involvement intentions vary by executive director's race and nonprofit type. In particular, the East Asian director condition received higher evaluations of trustworthiness and effectiveness, while behavioral intentions remained largely unchanged, except for a marginally lower willingness to volunteer in the service‐oriented nonprofit. These results suggest that positive evaluations do not necessarily translate into corresponding behavioral intentions. The findings highlight the distinct challenges faced by East Asian‐led nonprofits and offer both theoretical and practical implications, along with directions for future research.