Cassandra Chapman

Dr Cassandra Chapman has a PhD in the psychology of charitable giving. She is now an Associate Professor and ARC Future Fellow (commencing 2027) at The University of Queensland.

Cassandra came to academia after almost a decade working in nonprofits. Informed by this experience, her research focuses on donor psychology and fundraising. She uses diverse methods to understand when and why people are willing to help one another. These insights have implications for how charities communicate and raise money. Cassandra often works with nonprofits to design and deliver research. She also shares research insights for fundraisers on her website www.donorpsych.org.

Cassandra’s research has won national and international research awards. Notable awards include the AFP Early Career Emerging Scholar Award (AFP, 2023), the Skystone Partners Prize for Research on Fundraising and Philanthropy (AFP, 2020), and the Gabriel G. Rudney Memorial Award for an Outstanding Dissertation in Nonprofit and Voluntary Action Research (ARNOVA, 2019). Cassandra has also published over 45 articles in leading international journals. She recently served as Associate Editor of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly (2022-2025) and continues on their Editorial Board (2025-).