Digital Engagement and Donation Behavior: The Role of Content Marketing and Usability in Social Crowdfunding

Social crowdfunding has emerged as a digital solution for mobilizing donations, enabling individuals and organizations to raise funds for various causes through small contributions from a wide audience. This study examines the influence of content marketing and perceived ease of use on the donation intention of millennial students in the context of technology-based social crowdfunding. Using a quantitative approach, the study surveyed 96 active undergraduate students from the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman. Data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis, with all classical assumption tests met. The results show that content marketing does not have a significant effect on donation intention (p = 0.073 > 0.05), leading to the rejection of the first hypothesis. Conversely, perceived ease of use demonstrates a significant positive effect on donation intention (p = 0.002 < 0.05), supporting the second hypothesis. Simultaneously, both variables significantly influence donation intention (F = 29.818 > 2.38; p < 0.05), with an R² value of 0.378, indicating that 37.8% of the variance in donation intention is explained by the model. These findings contribute to the development of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in the context of digital social fundraising, highlighting that while emotionally engaging content may not always drive action, platform usability plays a pivotal role in encouraging millennial participation in crowdfunding. This study offers practical implications for crowdfunding platforms seeking to improve donor engagement strategies.