Knowledge Application Essay

Public funding of higher education has been declining for over a decade (McDonough,

2017), with state government funding of public higher education institutions decreasing by

almost $9 billion since 2008. Over that same 10 year period, tuition has increased by an average

of 35% at the same public institutions in an effort to sustain programs, facilities, and services

with decreased funding amounts (Mitchell, Leachman, & Masterton, 2017). However, campus

leaders have still had to cut faculty positions, reduce student services, and even close campuses

altogether due to lack of funds (Mitchell et al., 2017)

As a result, philanthropy is increasingly used to help make up the funding gap, as

demonstrated by the $43.6 billion that American colleges and universities collectively added in

revenue through donations in 2017, a 6.3% increase over 2016 (Council for Aid to Education,

2018). Alumni of institutions collectively gave $11.37 billion in 2017, over 26% of the total

donations. Giving USA (2017) additionally found that Americans gave 15% of all philanthropic

contributions in the country to educational institutions in 2016, with alumni constituting 29% of

those donors.

Scholars over the last few decades have theorized about what motivates individuals to

give their money and personal resources to philanthropic causes. Thelin and Trollinger (2014)

suggested five general thematic reasons: religion, altruism, exchange, psychosocial, and

teleological. Elliott (2006) and Prince and File (1994) both similarly suggested motivations to

giving, which for alumni include giving as a repayer (Prince & File, 1994) and giving out of

obligation (Elliott, 2006).

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Theoretical Models

Two theoretical models for motivating philanthropic behavior come from literature in the

marketing field, Brady, Noble, Utter, and Smith’s (2002) Services-Philanthropic Model (SPG),

and Arnett, German, and Hunt’s (2003) Identity-Salience Model (ISM). The SPG asserts that

deciding to donate is highly influenced by the value the donor perceives the charitable

organization’s activities provide, such as the value of their experience as a student. ISM states

that donors are more apt to donate to organizations with which they have a relationship and have

interacted, as is the case with students who remain in contact with their alma mater post-

graduation. Drezner (2015) also added to the theoretical literature by asserting that philanthropic

giving towards higher education is an example of individuals reinforcing that higher education is

a public good and that creating knowledge and educating the public is beneficial to the general

public, not just the students.

Factors that motivate alumni giving

The factors that motivate alumni donations to their alma mater universities has been well

researched over the last 30 years by many different scholars. The majority of this work has been

quantitative in nature, examining the number of donations made and the characteristics of the

individuals who made the donations. This research has shown that a number of factors influence

philanthropic giving. Factors include age (Carter & Duggan, 2011; Durango-Cohen &

Balasubramanian, 2015; Le Blanc & Rucks, 2009; McAlexander, Koenig, & DuFault, 2015;

Okunade & Berl, 1997, Skari, 2014; Weerts & Ronca, 2009; Wiepking & Bekkers, 2012), with

older alumni tending to give more (Durango-Cohen & Balasubramanian, 2015; McAlexander, et

al., 2015; Okunade & Berl, 1997), and time since graduation, with alumni further away from

graduation giving more (McDearmon & Shirley, 2009). Other factors include race, with White

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alumni being more likely to donate (Carter & Duggan, 2011; Le Blanc & Rucks, 2009; Monks,

2003), and gender (Carter & Duggan, 2011; Holmes, 2009; Le Blanc & Rucks, 2009; Sun,

Hoffman, & Grady, 2007), with studies of younger alumni indicating that women are more likely

to donate (Holmes, 2009; Sun, et al., 2007). Income also influences giving, with individuals who

earn a higher income giving more to their alma mater (Carter & Duggan, 2011; Clotfelter, 2003;

Okunade & Berl, 1997; Skari, 2011; Tsao & Coll, 2005; Weerts & Ronca, 2009), and wealthier

individuals giving more (Baade & Sundberg, 1996; Holmes, 2009). Finally, amount of student

aid or loans received affects giving, with alumni/ae who received aid giving back less to their

alma mater (Freeland, Spenner, & McCalmon, 2015; Lara & Johnson, 2014; Marr, Mullin, &

Siegfried, 2005; Meer & Rosen, 2012; Monks, 2003), as does distance from an individual’s

current place of residence and their alma mater (Holmes, 2009; Lara & Johnson, 2014;

McDearmon & Shirley, 2009; Skari, 2014), with most studies finding that alumni who continue

to live near the institution give more.

Student engagement and future giving

Additionally, research on alumni engagement and satisfaction has shown that alumni who

are kept engaged with the institution give more (Sung & Yang, 2009; Tsao & Coll, 2005; Weerts

& Ronca, 2009), and that those who are satisfied with their education from the institution are

also more apt to give (Baade & Sundberg, 1996; Gaier, 2005; Skari, 2014). A recent finding is

that students who are satisfied with student affairs on campus are also more prone to giving

(Stephenson & Yerger, 2014).

Alumni who were involved in extra-curricular (or co-curricular) activities is a subgroup

that has received less attention from researchers. A notable study conducted by Monks (2003)

found that a correlation existed between increased alumni giving and student participation in

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intercollegiate athletics, Greek life, and student government, but that a negative relationship

existed for those who participated in student clubs. Greek life participation is a recurring trend in

the research with many studies finding that participation in Greek life was a predictor of future

donations (Lara & Johnson, 2014; Marr, et al., 2005; Taylor & Martin, 1995). General student

engagement on campus has also been shown to be a strong predictor of future giving in some

studies (Rau & Erwin, 2015), but not in others (Lara & Johnson, 2014).

Former varsity student athletes

Another related subgroup of alumni are students who were formerly varsity student

athletes. The majority of research on student athlete philanthropy, including a seminal study by

Shulman and Bowen (2001), shows that former student athletes are less likely to donate to their

alma mater (Bowen & Levin, 2003; Lara & Johnson, 2014), with one study showing that only

5% of this population donates to their athletic department (Shapiro, Giannoulakis, Drayer, &

Wang, 2010). O’Neil & Schenke (2007) and Shapiro and Giannoulakis (2009) both found that

this decision not to donate back to their alma mater related to a feeling that the former student

athlete had already given back to the institution with their athletic abilities. More recent work on

this subgroup has been done by Burchette (2013), who used qualitative methods to identify

motivations for donation by former student athletes, and by Halpin (2015), who used Shapiro and

Giannoulakis’ (2009) study as a starting point. Halpin found that a former student athlete’s

experience could have a significant impact on their propensity to give, which matched Shapiro

and Giannoulakis’ finding, but he further found that former student athletes identified positive

experiences as a student as a motivation for future donations, which matched previous findings

by Monks (2003), McDearmon and Shirley (2009), and Sun et al. (2007).

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Literature gap

Through my review of existing research I have identified a gap in the literature regarding

former club sport athletes and the affect of their involvement in campus activities on their

decisions to donate back to the institution as alumni. Club sports are teams of students who play

a sport together and represent their institution in competition against other universities and

colleges. The differences between club sports student athletes and varsity student athletes are that

club athletes typically organize and fund their teams themselves with limited financial support

and administrative oversight from the institution, while varsity athletes have most aspects of

travel, coaching, game fees, and equipment and apparel paid for by their athletic department

(Matthews, 1987). Other than one study identifying that these students are typically highly

engaged while on campus (Lifschultz, 2012), little research exists on this group of students,

which is estimated to comprise over two million students across the United States per year

(Pennington, 2008), four times as many participants as National Collegiate Athletic Association

varsity athletes (National Collegiate Athletic Association, 2017).

To attempt to fill this literature gap, I am considering a mixed methods project that

involves first examining the quantitative data at one or two institutions to identify if former club

sport student athletes, as alumni, are more likely to donate, if they give more frequently, and if

they on average donate more funds per alumnus(a) than alumni at the same institution who did

not participate in club sports while they attended the institution. These three questions would be

answered using quantitative methods developed in EDRS 811, utilizing the SPSS software.

The vast majority of research on alumni giving to date has been quantitative in nature. I

am interested in answering the three questions listed above, but I am also interested in

identifying what motivators or barriers exist for former club sports student athletes to donate as

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alumni. I am similarly interested in confirming that the experience of participating in club sports

as a student was in fact a motivating factor for the alumni to donate back to their alma mater.

This phenomenological component of the study would utilize a grounded theory approach to

identify which motivations and constraints exist for former club sport student athletes in their

decisions of whether or not to donate back to their alma mater, how much to donate, and how

frequently to donate. Part of the study would also involve replicating Shapiro and Giannoulakis’s

(2009) study by utilizing their Former Student Athlete Donor Constraint Scale, which was

confirmed in Shapiro et al. (2010), and which Shapiro has been kind enough to share with me.

Through my coursework, I have recognized that I would approach a project on the

subject of alumni donations to their alma mater with a constructivist epistemological stance.

Constructivism focuses on an individual’s understanding or meaning of an event (Crotty, 2015).

In conducting a project on former club sports student athletes, I would use a constructivist

approach to understand the experience of each individual former club sports student athlete and

then see how that experience affects their motivation to donate to their alma mater. Shapiro and

Giannoulakis (2009) also used a constructivist approach when conducting their research with

former student athletes.

I am aware of the additional work that will be required in order to conduct a mixed

methods project, however, I believe the ultimate value of the information garnered from this

research will be beneficial to my collegiate recreation colleagues, student affairs professionals,

alumni and advancement staff, and most importantly future students. I look forward to producing

these valuable insights to fill the identified need.

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