Picture this: A person is so outraged by a company's actions that instead of writing a complaint, they write a check to a charity that stands in direct opposition. Their donation isn't just about doing good. It's about making a point.

This is the world of retributive , a form of giving where justice and punishment, not generosity, are the driving force. And thanks to new research by Ivey Ph.D. candidate Ethan Milne, we're beginning to understand just how powerful—and personal—this kind of giving can be.

The study is published in the Journal of Marketing Research.

The Tweet That Sparked a Thesis on Retributive Philanthropy

What began as a casual scroll through Twitter turned into the foundation for Milne's research. It was just after the 2016 U.S. election, and a curious story was gaining traction: more than 80,000 people had donated to Planned Parenthood, in Mike Pence's name, using his Indiana home address. Soon, the then-Vice President-elect was flooded with thank you letters from the reproductive health organization he strongly opposed.

"If you know anything about Mike Pence or Planned Parenthood," Milne said, "they probably wouldn't get along."

What struck Milne wasn't just the volume of donations, but the intention behind them. People weren't giving out of support alone; they were giving as a form of protest. A way to send a message. A form of punishment, cleverly wrapped in philanthropy.

Milne knew he had stumbled onto something promising. When he shared his observations with his thesis advisers—marketing professors Miranda Goode and Kirk Kristofferson—they agreed. Together, they began digging deeper, and a new kind of charitable behavior was formally named: retributive philanthropy.

Milne, Goode and Kristofferson later published the  on retributive philanthropy and its potential to reshape nonprofit strategy.

When Wrongdoing Drives Donations

To unpack this emerging trend, Milne and his advisors took a multi-method approach, drawing from interviews, real-world donation data and a series of lab experiments. Across every method, one insight held true: Retributive giving only takes hold when people believe someone has done something wrong—intentionally, and unapologetically so.

"Consumers don't want to punish people who've made honest mistakes," Milne explained. "But if someone knowingly crosses a line? There's nothing like a common enemy to fuel retributive philanthropy."

Read the full article about retributive philanthropy by Stephanie Baum and Robert Egan at Phys.org.