At just 2 percent of the United States GDP, charitable giving packs an impressive punch in doing good both domestically and abroad. Americans give over $300 billion each year to charity, and well over $200 billion of that comes from individuals — not corporations. While the reasons that people give can be couched in personal experience or a desire for some tax relief, a host of other motives abound as well. Here is a closer look at seven lesser-known reasons why people give to charitable causes and foundations.

The Story

Being told a moving story about someone’s plight, efforts, accomplishments or courage can be surprisingly motivating when it comes to giving money. While the reasons people give to some causes and not others is notoriously complex — just ask anyone who works in fundraising in the non-profit sector — when people connect emotionally to a cause, the odds that they will give of their resources to help that cause skyrocket.

A Desire to Help

Most people want to contribute meaningfully to the world around them, whether their efforts are large and public or on a smaller, neighborhood scale. When that desire to be of help or service is confronted with a problem that is either solvable through a better allocation of resources or potentially solvable given enough money, research and time, it’s common for people who are inclined to be helpful to reach for their wallets, volunteer their time or donate a boat or car. The simple belief that their resources could help someone else inspires meaningful action.

It Feels Good

While it may not jive with the heroic ideal many people want to hold regarding charity, the truth is that giving feels good. In fact, the economist James Andreoni, when he was studying why people give to charitable causes, discovered that most people experience a “warm glow” after donating to a charity or helping someone else. While Andreoni’s “warm glow” is temporary, physical and mental health benefits follow it and prove to be much more long lasting. So, when someone says they give because it feels good, not only are they right, but that good feeling actually translates into real benefits for the giver, too.

Tangible Benefits

Many organizations that rely on the generosity of others give tangible benefits to donors as a way of expressing gratitude and as an incentive. The types of benefits provided can range from coffee mugs and tote bags with the organization’s logo emblazoned across them to VIP tickets to special events, plaques or even buildings named after a donor who’s been especially generous. While they aren’t often acknowledged by the giver as a primary reason for donating, tangible benefits are nevertheless very important in motivating people to donate.

Karma

Some people give to charitable organizations as a somewhat superstitious way to keep from tempting fate. By donating, say to cancer research, the hope is that they can keep cancer at bay through their good deed. While it may seem a bit odd, this appeal to both the negative and positive sides of karma contributes handily to the coffers of many charitable organizations.

Shared Morality

According to a study conducted in 2012, when an organization’s moral vision for the world lines up with a potential donor’s political affiliation, that donor is much more likely to give to that organization. Whether it’s a belief that saving the rainforests is essential to the preservation of the human race and planet as a whole, or a belief in free enterprise being the backbone of democracy, your political affiliation’s effects on your moral compass will show up in your charitable giving.

Social Pressure

Social pressure is a surprisingly strong factor when it comes to giving. Whether it’s because your friends goaded you into joining them for a 5k to raise funds for autism research or your brother asked the family to donate money to promote alternative fuel development instead of giving him birthday presents this year, social pressure often creates a scenario where people find themselves giving to a cause or participating in one simply because the people in their lives are doing so.

Giving to charity is part of the American way of life. Whether you give to a cause because your best friend asked you to or because you want good seats at your local university’s home basketball games, your money, time and other resources all promote your desire for the world to conform more closely to your ideal. From children having enough to eat to slowing lemur habitat loss, giving to charity — regardless of what motivated the giving — accomplishes a wide variety of meaningful ends.