The conceptualization of the consumer as one who not only does and thinks but also feels has gained increased attention from both academics and practitioners alike in recent years. To better understand the effectiveness of advertisements as well as the consumer motivation for giving, one needs to look at the elements of the ads themselves, the pre-existing emotional states in which the ads were received, as well as the interaction of these two together. This study is the first to assess the differential impact of combining pre-existing emotional states (guilt and pride) with opposing persuasion appeals on consumer motivation to participate in a prosocial behavior. In this study, I propose four competing hypotheses and then perform a 2 (incidental guilt vs. incidental pride) X 2 (guilt appeal vs. pride appeal) experimental design to provide support in favor of one of the hypotheses. The results of this study demonstrate that using positively valenced emotions vs. only negatively valenced emotions is one successful approach to rethinking the pathway to charitable contributions. The findings of this research contribute to the existing literature on affect, persuasion, and prosocial behavior, as well as provide important guidance for practitioners in terms of copyright, messaging, targeting, and promotion.