ارائه فارغ التحصیلان در کالج هنرهای لیبرال کوچک: شواهد از اهدا کنندگان منسجم و گاه به گاه

This study observed the financial giving of alumni at a small, private liberal arts college covering a 23 year period of consistent (longitudinal) and occasional donors. After observing historical characteristics of donors, college officials have a greater probability of accurately predicting future alumni gifts. Key determinants of alumni giving for both consistent and occasional donors are as follows: volunteering for the college, major in a social science division, language school attendance, residence in states with alumni chapters, and employment within the financial sector. Additionally, alumni with relatives who have attended the college, and alumni who have played a varsity sport during college, are two groups very likely to donate. Our study suggests that Alumni Offices may benefit from rating donors' giving potential (and subsequently focusing on these individuals), extensively publicizing reunions, and by targeting those who volunteered during their college years. Among occasional donors, Alumni Offices may want to target males, fraternity/sorority members, and alumni who are close to retirement.

This study observed the financial giving of alumni at a small, private liberal arts college over a 23-year period. After observing historical characteristics of donors, college officials have a greater probability of accurately predicting future alumni gifts. For both consistent (Sample A) and occasional (Sample B) donors, our research identified the following characteristics of alumni as some of the most important to donating: volunteering for the college, major in the social science division, language school attendance, residence in states with alumni chapters, and employment within the financial sector. Additionally, alumni with relatives who have attended the college and alumni who have played a varsity sport during college are two groups very likely to donate. The efforts of the alumni office seem to be fruitful in terms of rating potential donors, and also in arranging major reunions. Focusing on a longitudinal sample (Sample A) provides valuable insights into life-cycle behavior of alumni giving. Interestingly, gender and membership in Greek fraternities are statistically insignificant for consistent donors. Since consistent donors are only a minority, the alumni office should also focus on sporadic donors and encourage them to give more frequently. Sample B (occasional donors) gives slightly a different story than Sample A. The role of gender and membership in Greek fraternities is indeed statistically significant for occasional donors. One other area of marked difference is the donation profile of shorter duration for occasional donors relative to consistent donors. Based on our results, alumni offices may benefit from the following policies. Careful ranking of alumni giving potential is crucial, and alumni offices should continue (or start) the practice of rating potential donors. Reunions, both five year and major, are times of increased giving from alumni; thus, extensive publicizing of reunion events may encourage greater participation. alumni offices should target those who volunteered during college. Among occasional donors, alumni offices may want to concentrate on male donors and those who are members of Greek fraternities or sororities. Since occasional donors have a shorter duration of giving than consistent donors, alumni offices may benefit from focusing on occasional donors prior to their retirement years.