Browsing by Subject "fundraising"

Now showing 1 - 10 of 14
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A thematic analysis of fundraiser characteristics in high-quality major donor fundraising relationships in US higher education
    (Wiley, 2023) Shaker, Genevieve G.; Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
    As nonprofits increasingly rely on large contributions, skillful major gift fundraisers are more important than ever. In contrast to the vast research on donor motivations, there are few examinations of fundraisers or fundraising relationships. This study responds to nonprofits' interest in understanding beneficial fundraising strategies and to the lack of empirical literature with the question: From the donor perspective, what characteristics do fundraisers demonstrate within high-quality major giving relationships? This exploratory, interview-based project used a codebook thematic analysis approach based on HEXACO personality theory to review participants' reflections about fundraisers. The 20 participating donors had given between USD\10,000 and USD\40 million to select colleges and universities in the US Midwest region. This study confirms much of what fundraisers believe to be important to major gift donors, with added nuance about the complex form of professionalism donors appreciate. The fundraiser characteristics show several dual emphases, including on field expertise and interpersonal acumen, attention to donor concerns and institutional interests, patience with the gift-making process and ability to facilitate its progression, and attention to ethical practice and empathetic interactions. The study shows the inner workings of the major giving relationship fundraising paradigm, reveals how societal perceptions of fundraisers are relevant for understanding donor preferences, and provides a framework for fundraisers to assess and enhance their interactions with major donors.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Breaking the isolation: fundraisers, informal support groups, and professional growth
    (2018-11) Shaker, Genevieve G.; Nathan, Sarah K.; Janin, Pat D.; O'Connor, Heather A.
    Although understanding of the fundraising profession is growing, less is known about fundraisers working in smaller nonprofits, with limited access to professional associations. In this grounded theory study, we conducted focus groups with fundraisers who created an informal professional association. Literature has indeed shown that such associations can provide self-regulation, knowledge diffusion, and professional identity–similar to that offered by larger, formal associations. Our objective was to explore why, when, and how fundraisers in small organizations form and use informal associations for professional growth and confidence. We created a model/theory describing one group’s process with implications for supporting the profession.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Comparative Study of Indiana University Foundation and Peking University Education Foundation: Why they are different and what to learn?
    (2010-07-19T20:29:06Z) Xu, Zheng; Burlingame, Dwight F.; Plater, William Marmaduke, 1945-; Lenkowsky, Leslie, 1946-
    The thesis made a comparative study of two university foundations, namely Indiana University Foundation, the United States, and Peking University Education Foundation, China, from a historical approach. Many theories influenced the author’s thinking about the issues, such as nonprofit organizations, elite philanthropy, and civil society. The paper seeks to: (1) make an overview of the development of the two foundations; (2) analyze and compare their differences in nature, structure, and fundraising practices, etc.; (3) examine the underlying reasons which may involve social, political, economic and legal factors; and (4) explore the future development of university foundations in China. In an era of accelerated globalization, the boom of diaspora giving and growth of nonprofits set the stage for the development of philanthropy in China. While continuing to draw from the extensive experiences of its American counterparts, the Peking University Education Foundation needs to reflect on its own actual situation and explore a road tailored to Chinese-style university foundations.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Crowdfunding in a not-so-flat world
    (Oxford, 2020-07) Breznitz, Shiri M; Noonan, Douglas S; School of Public and Environmental Affairs
    This article analyzes the geographic clustering of crowdfunding (CF) activity across two countries at the city level. We find that the ability of Kickstarter projects to attract funding or backers is spikier than the simple number of projects, suggesting that while the locations of Kickstarter projects are not as clustered, projects that are able to recruit funding are clustering. In addition, we find that digital media (DM) projects cluster more than Local projects. Yet, once we control for the pre-existing geographic distribution of population and economic activity, we find more complex patterns of geographic clustering. The spatial clustering of total Kickstarter funds raised is largely explained by the population and economic activity controls. Conditional on those controls, funds raised for DM projects do spatially cluster, while funds raised for Local projects exhibit significant dispersion. Funding and number of backers cluster for DM projects, above and beyond the prior concentration of socioeconomic and employment factors. Conversely, our results suggest CF can reduce or flatten the spikiness of fundraising for local projects. The world was already spiky, and it is a bit less so thanks to CF platforms like Kickstarter.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Empathy and its implications for prosocial behavior and engagement with the arts
    (2018-02-12) Kou, Xiaonan; Konrath, Sara; King, David; Ottoni-Wilhelm, Mark; Beckman, Emily; Davis, Mark
    This dissertation contains three essays examining empathy and its implications for prosocial behavior and arts engagement. Empathy here refers to both compassion and concern for others (emotional empathy) and the understanding of the feelings and needs of others (cognitive empathy). Empathy is fundamental to our social life, and this dissertation explores its implications for two essential components of social life: prosocial behavior and arts engagement. Chapter 2 examines how three dimensions of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; Davis, 1983)—empathic concern, perspective taking, and personal distress—are associated with charitable giving, and whether these associations vary across charitable causes. Using data from a nationally representative sample of American adults, the study confirms that the three IRI dimensions are associated with charitable giving in different ways. Chapter 3 focuses on the interplay of trait empathy and people’s tendencies to diversify (spread out) their prosocial behavior. By analyzing data from two samples of American adults, this study reveals that people with higher empathic concern (emotional empathy) versus higher perspective taking (cognitive empathy) have distinct patterns in how they spread out their monetary gifts, but trait empathy is not associated with the distribution of time spent in helping others.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Fundraisers in the 21st Century
    (2017) Nathan, Sarah K.; Tempel, Eugene R.
    Who are fundraisers today? How and why do individuals become fundraisers? And, what is the situation with fundraisers in the various nonprofit subsectors? Fundraisers in the 21st Century provides fresh insight into fundraisers’ career paths, challenges, successes, and the overall growth of the field. As a comparison to a 1996 study of fundraisers, this study reveals that the profession continues to mature – more people are choosing it as a first career and tenure is up, for example – but challenges remain. The white paper analyzes survey data from 1,826 fundraising professionals.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Fundraising for Advocacy and Social Change
    (Wiley, 2022) Siddiqui, Shariq; Badertscher, Katherine
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Gender Differences in #GivingTuesday Participation
    (2017-12-12) Osili, Una; Mesch, Debra; Preston, Linh; Okten, Cagla; Bergdoll, Jonathan; Ackerman, Jacqueline; Pactor, Andrea
    Understanding the role gender plays in philanthropy empowers organizations to engage their donors most effectively and increase their giving. This is true throughout the year and particularly on #GivingTuesday, a day designated to maximize philanthropic giving. Since it began in 2012, #GivingTuesday has grown significantly in participation numbers and total dollars donated. #GivingTuesday, celebrated on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, provides a unique opportunity for nonprofit organizations to incorporate nontraditional fundraising methods into their efforts and to engage with donors online. For nonprofit leaders and fundraisers, a successful #GivingTuesday requires understanding how and where donors tend to give.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Giving in Puerto Rico
    (2016-09-14) Osili, Una; Ackerman, Jacqueline; Bergdoll, Jonathan; Garcia, Silvia; Li, Yannan; Kane, Addison; Roll, Abe
    Giving in Puerto Rico is the first study of its kind to examine the charitable giving patterns, priorities, and attitudes of Puerto Rican households. This report presents details on the Puerto Rican households that give to charity, why they give, what causes they are supporting, and how much they are giving. In addition, this report includes information about Puerto Ricans’ knowledge of the nonprofit sector, informal and formal giving behaviors, volunteering trends, and barriers to giving. Results regarding the impact of tax policy on Puerto Ricans’ charitable giving are also provided.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Indiana Philanthropy Alliance: Youth Council Alumni Survey
    (Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, 2021-10-21) Hauser, Lucy; Herzog, Patricia Snell
    This report summarizes Indiana youth council alumni data from the Indiana Philanthropy Alliance, in partnership with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Data were collected between 2014 and 2021, and the initial survey was completed during high school prior to youth participation in a youth council. The survey was longitudinal and collected data annually for the five years after youth graduated from the program. Youth participants were 18-23 years of age during the alumni survey data. Results indicate that participating in councils exposes youth to a range of philanthropic activities, resulting in initial increases in several forms of philanthropic activities. Council participation appears to increase donor participation rates above and beyond initial self-selection. Specifically, youth participants donated below the national average initially (-3%), but increased over time to above the national average (+18%). As youth are busier with college and launching careers, philanthropic participation across diverse and time-intensive forms of philanthropy appears to decline. However, activity becomes more concentrated in donating money, suggesting that youth council participation in formative development years establishes a commitment to philanthropy.