Educational fund raising

Maturing baby boomers are moving into prime giving years and, if history repeats itself, this generation will change the "philosophy of giving." These aging baby boomers will amass significant wealth either through inheritances or their successful businesses. It is therefore critical that professional fundraisers identify how to effectively communicate with the affluent members of this generation to develop them into major donors. Using a qualitative approach through in-depth interviews, this research examines characteristics and traits of baby boomers, identifying seven common themes that can be used to develop communication strategies. It concludes that affluent baby boomers demand accountability from charitable organizations and value meaningful experiences. They are focused on personal accomplishments and are deeply family oriented. Messages must be concise and delivered by those respected by the donor. High-tech media are preferred.

This study operationalized Bekkers and Wiepking's (2007, 2011) eight theoretical mechanisms that drive private giving, examining them within the context of alumni donor behavior at a selected public university in the southern region of the United States. The purpose of the study was to determine if the theoretical mechanisms that drive private giving represent distinct psychometric dimensions, and whether they are correlated with one another or essentially independent. A survey with 24 original items was created for this study, and completed by 178 alumni association member donors and non-member donors from the selected university. The study found support for six factors that are relatively independent of one another, contributing meaningfully to the overall multidimensional construct. The found factors were labeled efficacy, solicitation, reputation, values, altruism, and awareness of need as they fit reasonably well according to their original names. No differences were found between the mean response scores for alumni association member donors and non-member donors across the six dimensions. These results are beneficial for university fundraisers, alumni relations professionals, researchers in the field of philanthropy, and methodologists interested in developing instruments that measure the motivations for private giving.