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How can charities leverage the aura of celebrities?

Recent research highlights several strategies that charities can use to transform celebrity status into credibility for different charitable causes. The question is: do these opinion-leaders enable charities and associations to raise more donations? And do they influence our generosity?

03/17/2026

5 min

Celebrities, and more recently influencers, no longer simply entertain: they guide our choices. From the brands we buy to our positions on ethical issues, their influence is everywhere. They are established sources of information for many consumers.

Their influence extends beyond consumer decisions. Actors, comedians and streamers shape our generosity and the causes we choose to support. Many celebrities also highlight their commitments to charitable causes. For example, in France: Pierre Garnier with Imagine for Margo, Florence Foresti with the Fondation des Femmes, and Omar Sy with the Restaurants du Cœur. As for influencers, ZEvent 2025 made a lasting impression: in a three-day marathon on Twitch, raising more than €16.2 million thanks to celebrity figures such as ZeratoR, Kameto, and Baghera Jones.

To better understand these mechanisms, we conducted a series of studies to determine whether our perceptions of celebrities’ aura and charisma lent credibility to the cause they were supporting. We presented consumers with well-known personalities who were ambassadors for a cause and analyzed whether they had a positive impact on the perceived credibility of the causes.

Transforming aura into credibility

Our first study consisted of choosing a celebrity whose personal story was directly linked to the cause. For example, personalities such as Selena Gomez and Lady Gaga can be credible ambassadors for causes related to mental health in young people, given their experiences. The same is true of Emma Watson’s fight for gender equality, reinforced by her experience of the treatment of young women and teenagers in the film industry.

The second study was based on what researchers call the ‘meaning transfer’. In this process, symbols or values associated with a person are transferred to a product, brand or organization. In this way, a famous personality can bring their cultural aura, universe or symbolic values to a cause, even if there is no apparent direct link.

When fame becomes expertise

We carried out a test with 200 respondents to assess the impact of an ambassador’s perceived charisma on their credibility towards the cause and the number of donations generated.

We informed participants that the tennis player Andy Murray was the new ambassador for ‘Let’s Green Up!’, a fictional NGO. For one group, we emphasized his charisma in the description. For the other, we presented a more neutral description. We then measured the perceived credibility of the personality using statements such as ‘This influencer is a reliable source of information’ or ‘I can trust this person’.

Responders were then given the opportunity to propose a donation to the proposed NGO. The results are conclusive. The presence of this celebrity aura is extremely important for fundraising as it increases the likelihood of making a donation from 43% to 54%.

The role of a link to the charitable cause

Beyond their charisma, some celebrities reinforce their credibility by highlighting a personal connection to the cause they support. For example, when Mika gets involved with charities working in Lebanon, his message is stronger because it emphasizes his attachment to his country of origin.

To test this hypothesis, we conducted a second study with 402 respondents in which we varied both the charitable cause and the celebrity. We compared the effectiveness of the communication when the cause was supported by a celebrity actor well known for his charisma, Leonardo DiCaprio, and a celebrity known for her activism, Greta Thunberg. We first compared groups where these celebrities supported an environmental campaign, in line with both celebrities’ pasts, and another campaign supporting access to education. We then measured the perceived credibility of the celebrity ambassador.

When their connection to a cause is highlighted, the celebrity or influencer’s credibility with regard to the cause increases even further.

The power of symbolic transfer

However, celebrities can still lend credibility, even when they do not have personal links with a cause, by associating their symbolism or values. A comedian who lends their image to a charity campaign, or a pop singer who supports medical research, is not necessarily an expert on the subject. This process of meaning transfer, described above, allows associations & charities to reach the public indirectly, capitalizing on the symbolic capital (prestige & reputation) of the personality.

We demonstrated this via a third study with 400 respondents to test how they would react to two celebrities, Keanu Reeves and Eminem, with different levels of symbolic capital supporting an environmental cause.

The results show that a personality with higher symbolic capital is perceived as more credible, which increases their ability to leverage the public’s generosity.

This is the English version of an article that was originally published in French on the Conversation France by Thomas Leclercq (IÉSEG School of Management & LEM-CNRS 9221) Étienne Denis, EDHEC Business School et Steven Hoornaert, (IÉSEG & LEM-CNRS 9221).