Our choices are influenced by conscious or unconscious memories of stimuli we’ve recently experienced. These can be sounds, smells, or sights.
We tend to accept an option we’re cued to accept or agree to, provided it seems fluent and reduces mental or physical effort.
When we don’t know the ‘right’ answer — what to do, how much to give — we’re willing to accept a suggested option provided it seems reasonable and doesn’t infringe our agency. Subtle ways to cue a default include colour, position, and phrasing.
Default donations are common in online and print appeals. Single suggestions (e.g. ‘give £10 now’) reduce agency. English National Opera primed gift levels by placing a filled-in default at the end of a suggested ask string: ‘£3, £5, £6, your gift [£4]’, So there is a suggested gift of £4 though the supporter can change it. Most often they don’t, going with the default.
Helping the supporter to choose ‘how much’ makes life easier. Doctors Without Borders offered options of $100, $250, or $500 to committed supporters. Call-outs attached to each gift clarified the impact each could have. The $250 option was also tagged with ‘most supporters give here.’
Online calculators steer supporters towards a ‘right answer’. Solar Aid allow a supporter to work out how much impact — the number of lights for beneficiaries — they’ll pay for. Islamic Relief have a Zakat calculator that tells supporters how much to contribute to meet their religious duty. See example below.
A list of three, using the Goldilocks Effect, makes the first and last in the series appear less attractive. The thinking is ‘I care about this cause more than £X, but less than £Z, so middle £Y seems like a good choice’.
For Muslims around the world Zakat is more than just charity, it’s a spiritual duty and one of the Five Pillars of Islam. It literally means “purification” or “growth” and it’s based on the belief that wealth is a blessing from God and it’s meant to be shared.
Zakat is a required form of giving. Every eligible Muslim gives 2.5% of their qualifying wealth each year to support those in need. It’s not optional — it’s an obligation, much like prayer or fasting.
Zakat creates a powerful, built-in culture of giving. Muslims often look for trusted Islamic charities to help them fulfill their Zakat correctly. These charities act as stewards, ensuring donations go to eligible recipients in a way that honours Islamic teachings.
That’s why you’ll see many Muslim-led charities ramp up their efforts during Ramadan, when Zakat giving peaks. It’s a time of reflection, generosity, and reward — a perfect moment to connect faith with action.
Zakat isn’t just a financial transfer, it’s a spiritual investment. It purifies the giver’s wealth, strengthens community bonds, and upholds the Islamic principle of social justice. Charities that frame Zakat in this way don’t just raise funds, they help believers fulfill a core part of their faith.
Would you like to add examples from UK-based Islamic charities or explore how behavioural nudges can enhance Zakat appeals?
Islamic Relief UK is one of the largest and most trusted Islamic charities in the UK. During Ramadan, their Zakat appeals are everywhere: online, in mosques or on TV. They reduce friction with tools which allow you to calculate by default the amount you should give. This boosts motivation and provides a ready answer to the question- how much should I give?
Solar Aid is a fantastic charity working to provide low cost environmentally friendly solar lighting to families in Africa. Rather like Water Aid they have a simple proposition and that is what the provision of light — much like Water Aid’s water — can make a transformational difference to a family educationally, socially and economically.
Like the Zakat calculator above they begin by assuming that people don’t know how much to give so they adopt a different approach. You enter an amount of money and you see the impact you have. This encourages donors to make a larger donation to see how much impact they can have.
You can see the calculator in action here.
