Nonprofit Administration and Management Commons^™

An Examination Of Contemporary Fundraising Trends And Support For A Sustainable Shift To Full-Cost Funding, Alison Scott

Master's Projects and Capstones

For decades, nonprofit organizations have faced immense challenges securing adequate funding that will not only run their programs, but cover all operational and overhead costs. Traditional funding models often restrict funds to specific projects or services, leaving nonprofits with financial instability, and potentially hindering their ability to fully deliver on their missions. Recently, there has been a shift in the philanthropic landscape that challenges these more restrictive fundraising models. As this conversation has grown, the concept of “Full Cost Funding” has gained traction, which calls for a more comprehensive funding approach that covers the full costs of running an organization, …

Review Of Fundraising For Impact, Meredith R. Evans Ph.D

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

In Fundraising for Impact, Kathryn K. Matthew uses soundbites from more than 100 interviews she conducted with practitioners from libraries, archives and museums from around the world to share ways they increased their funding. This work emphasizes frameworks that help reveal an institution's value and the impact of community, partnerships, investing and fundraising.

Maintaining Institutional Memory For Non-Commercial College Radio Fundraising, Samantha K. Riordan

Journalism

This paper outlines how to run a non-commercial, non-profit radio station fundraising program, commonly called a Pledge Drive. Cal Poly’s radio station, KCPR 91.3, hosts an annual Pledge Drive in the spring. KCPR staff, specifically the fundraising manager and marketing director, lead the KCPR team in raising funds that support our operations for the upcoming year. This paper will detail the strengths of past fundraising drives and potential improvements to fundraising drives in the future while addressing the question of: How do college radio stations create continuity in non-commercial radio fundraising to ensure success amid changing economic conditions and the …

Nonprofit Fundraising And Social Identity, Jeff Gold

Engaged Management ReView

The purpose of this topic paper is to determine whether nonprofits can increase their fundraising capabilities by better managing their donors’ social identities. The nonprofit sector in the United States generated nearly $1.9 trillion in gross output, is estimated to contribute 5.6% toward the country’s $25.5 trillion in gross domestic product (GDP), and contributes immeasurable benefits to society. The industry continues to face challenges as the demand for services has increased and fundraising difficulties persist. This article analyzes peer-reviewed articles focused on nonprofit fundraising using a systematic approach. My findings suggest that one of the keys to effective nonprofit fundraising …

By Chameleonic Means; "Trust Based" Philanthropic Relationships, "The Business Of Yes," As Experienced By Black Fundraisers, Novien Yarber

Dissertations

In the wake of society’s reinvigorated consciousness around structural and systemic racism, conversations centering justice, equity, inclusion, access, and cultural diversification are going far beyond political discourse. Contemporary fundraising practices are also challenging antiquated hegemonic ways of philanthropy and are critically examining the practice from within. Among many things, this entails diversifying the historically White-female dominated fundraising workforce. In this, fundraising literature has paid minimal attention to intercultural/cross-racial dynamics as implications of diversification of the fundraiser workforce. Although some research may center fundraisers themselves (relative to their ethical and/or professional standards), this dissertation expands this field of study by offering …

Donating Through Memberships: Perks, Presence, And Purpose, Erin Cronin

Student Capstone Projects

This paper discusses why donors choose to give through membership at the Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb, Illinois. Information regarding the Egyptian Theatre is found within the methodology section, describing its history, size, and events held at the Theatre. Within this piece, the topics of defining membership, membership at nonprofits, member’s impact of giving to nonprofits, member’s motivation for giving at nonprofits are explored within the literature review. These draw from other works and look towards existing information within the academic world in regard to donor motivation and the impact of reoccurring giving. The methodology explains how this research was conducted …

The Effects Of Team Potency, Leader Communication Frequency, And Goal Clarity On The Relationship Between Servant Leadership And Team Performance: A Focus On The Fundraising Profession, Jill R. Carroll

Servant Leadership: Theory & Practice

Previous research has shown that the practice of servant leadership improves team performance in organizations; however, the specific reasons for this positive influence are still being investigated. This paper puts forth a conceptual model that considers the mediating effect of team potency and the moderating influences of leader communication frequency and clarity of team goals on the servant leadership-team performance relationship. Based on a review of the literature, four propositions regarding the positive influence of these variables on the servant leadership-team performance relationship are put forth. The importance of the servant leader-team performance relationship and the effects of the moderating …

Does Winning Matter? An Examination Of The Impact Of Success On Former Student-Athlete Philanthropic Giving, Zach Harris

Dissertations

Intercollegiate athletic departments (ICAs) rely on philanthropic giving to remain relevant in the “arms race” that is college athletics. Donations provide the necessary resources (scholarships, upgraded facilities, etc.) to compete with rival programs for prospective student-athletes and fans. Previous research in ICA philanthropy has found that team success is one of the key factors driving donations to athletic programs. However, much of the research in this field has centered on athletic giving on a macro-level, focusing on the overall alumni population of an institution. While this research is important for colleges and universities, it misses on measuring the impact that …

A Cause For The Kids: A Best Practices Examination Of Cmn Hospitals And St. Jude Children’S Research Hospital, Kailey Ridenour

Experience Industry Management

Children’s hospitals provide funding for patients and their families to receive proper treatment and resources without having to worry about a financial burden. The purpose of this study was to examine the best practices of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and St Jude Children’s Hospitals; compare and contrast the best practices of each foundation and identify how they can learn from each other. A comparative analysis was conducted between Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This study concluded that both children’s hospitals foundation teams are led by a board of directors that differ in size and draw …

Generational Giving In Public Higher Education, Christine Bernot

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

Competition for donors and dollars between higher education and the non-profit sector has never been greater, with Americans giving nearly $450 billion in philanthropic support to charitable organizations in 2019 (IUPUI, 2020). Alumni of higher education institutions are a natural constituency group with a history of giving back to support student needs and programs.

New research in fundraising for higher education analyzing generational giving behaviors of alumni graduate donors could help universities better understand their giving results and support the innovation of new fundraising strategies and best practices. This quantitative research study used historical giving data to examine the …

Why Do People Donate? Motivation Of Major Donors In Higher Education, Karin Hsuan Chao-Bushoven

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Higher education has relied on private philanthropy since the establishment of the first universities in the U.S. This reliance has increased over the decades as a result of rising costs and decreased government investment. As such, it has become more critical to better understand what factors motivate philanthropists to increase their support of higher education; including direct support for teaching and research and increasing financial support for those students otherwise not able to pursue secondary education. However, much of the existing data focuses only on point-of-philanthropic-act, and neglects to examine motivational factors of long-term donors that have progressively increased their …

The State Of Nonprofits In Southeast Louisiana: The Impact Of Covid-19, Steven W. Mumford, Kellie Chavez Greene

Political Science Reports, Studies, and Presentations

The Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF) in partnership with the University of New Orleans’ (UNO) Political Science Department undertook a study to gain insights on the impact the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is having on nonprofit organizations located in Southeast Louisiana and to share this information as a resource to philanthropy, nonprofits, and civic leaders in our region. GNOF and UNO conducted online and phone surveys beginning March 23, 2020 through April 13, 2020 which targeted 501(c)3 public charities, excluding churches, foundations, and unique groups of larger nonprofits such as hospitals, universities, and charter schools. Our research examined ten essential questions …

Are Major Gift Donors The Answer? Assessment Of The Views Of Development Professionals On Major Gift Donor Support To A Nonprofit Organization’S General Operating Funds, Sam Tongo

Master's Projects and Capstones

This Capstone research assesses the views and experiences of development professionals who specialize in major gift fundraising, specifically related to major donor practices in giving to a nonprofit’s general operating funds. By learning why major gift donors have these views and how it affects the social sector, nonprofit leaders can start to better understand what they can do to better cultivate these relationships so that major gift donors eventually trust the nonprofit organization enough to give unrestricted funds. The goal is to help nonprofit organizations increase organizational capacity so that social missions can be achieved.

A literature review largely influenced …

Academic Ask: Expanding The Arena Of Charitable Marketing Targets, Jacqueline A. Williams, Kimberly Mcneil, G Carletta Simmons

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Crowdfunding Challenges For New Charity Organizations, Katherine M. Lowe

Marriott Student Review

A look into the complicated and competitive world of nonprofit fundraising in the modern world. With a special emphasis on the struggles new nonprofits face in differentiating their services and attracting donors through online crowdfunding.

Growth Of Community-Based Giving Days In The United States: The Landscape And Effects, Catherine Humphries Brown, Abhishek Bhati

The Foundation Review

Over the past decade, local and regional community foundations across the United States have adopted “giving days” as a means to build awareness, bolster community pride, and raise money for local nonprofit organizations. Despite the increasing prevalence of giving days, little scholarly research has empirically examined this phenomenon and its impact, particularly at the local and regional levels.

To address these gaps, this article shares the findings of a study that examined similarities and differences across communities’ giving days and sought to evaluate the extent to which those days led to more giving at the community level.

While the study …

"Next Generation" Givers: Implications For Nonprofit Engagement, Claire Lewis

Master's Projects and Capstones

The nonprofit sector is experiencing competition for resources, a decrease in donor retention, and larger donations from fewer donors. In addition, older generations are aging out. Therefore, it is critical that nonprofit leaders execute strategies to engage the Next Generation of supporters. In this project, Next Generation definitions, values, characteristics, and philanthropic habits were reviewed and analyzed through various resources and tools. Results yielded several key findings. First, definitions of the Next Generation are varied; however, they typically include Gen Y, and some or all of Gen X and Gen Z. Next Generation individuals are incredibly techsavvy, view time as …

For One Child, Zion Bereket, Xin Huang, Yitong Lin, Ruobing Pei, Rachel White, Ziyuan Li

School of Professional Studies

The entirety of this project was completed on the foundation of the three focus areas, which were identified by our client as areas of high need. The client wanted to prioritize these three areas as they believed that these three areas were the most integral to the successful achievement of their mission, as well as to the overall health and longevity of the organization.

Cultivating Student Philanthropy: Putting The Fun Into Fundraising, Ady Dewey

Strategic Public Relations Projects

Public relations can be seen as merely promotion – whether a product, an organization, a place or even a person. The essence of PR work, however, is about building relationships to help people gain a deeper understanding or connection to a particular subject-object-concept. The 2019 Strategic PR class (COMM 347) partnered with the college’s office of Alumni Relations to explore how PR seamlessly relates to fundraising by cementing connections between donors and a cause and motivating people to give.

For this project, three areas were identified to address: general philanthropy education, the annual Senior Class Gift, and the annual Day …

Study Of University Donor Recognition Event, April Smith, Sarah Sargent, Gina Fe G. Causin, Mary S. Olle

Faculty Publications

Festivals, fairs, conventions, ballgames, concerts and fundraising activities are types of special events that individuals typically attend to participate in the festivities and enjoy with friends, family and colleagues (Causin & McCarthy, 2017; Causin et. al, 2010). Fundraising in higher education has been around for hundreds of years. In the early 1900’s, the driving motivator for fundraising was to provide funds for students specifically for housing expenses, books and food (Cook & Lasher, 1996).

Research has shown that donors are more likely to give when their contributions are made known to the public (Sheremeta & Samek, 2017). In an effort …

Friends Of Walnut Avenue, Elena Owens

Elena Owens

Predictive Modeling Of The Non-Profit Sector In The Us, Francisco J. Quevedo, Andrea K. Quevedo-Prince

Student and Faculty Research Days

The Non-Profit Sector contributes almost $1 trillion to the US economy, representing 5.4% of GDP, and generating over 12 million jobs in 2017. Yi (2010) suggests that a better understanding of the factors that affect fundraising should be of great interest to policy makers, and fundraisers. However, the workings of the sector are subject of much debate. Matsunaga, Yamauchi and Okuyama (2010) relate its size to the Theory of Government Failure. Sokolowski (2013) proposes that government funding does have a positive effect on revenues. Curry, Rodin and Carlson (2012) suggested they swing with GDP, but, Berman, Brooks …

Zips Rifle Endowment Project, Christopher Catalano

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This Research project serves predominantly as a feasibility index for the permanent funding and endowment of the Zips rifle club at the University of Akron. Among the objectives covered was the description and assessment of the clubs financial needs, the calculation of capitalization, and best options for permanent funding.

Riding The Wave: How The Philanthropic Revolution Will Impact Museums In The United States And Canada, Sarah M. Mackey

Master's Projects and Capstones

This capstone project explores the history of philanthropy from 1970 to the present, and presents a strategy for museums to leverage contemporary trends in nonprofit giving. The methods proposed in this project are specifically targeted at engaging new community leaders and the family members of legacy donors. I have researched and created an updated job description and hiring plan for a Transformational Gift Officer. This person would be responsible for identifying, cultivating, and stewarding the donor portfolio outlined in this project. The individual who will be successful in this role will be able to move past institutional silos and collaboratively …

University Fundraising Through Special Events: An Application Of The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Megan Elizabeth Hobbs

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to apply the Revised Theory of Planned Behavior and EVENTQUAL models to explore (1) event qualities that significantly impact guests’ satisfaction with a university event that they attend, (2) significant factors influencing university loyalty as a result of an event, and (3) willingness to make a charitable donation to a university as a result of attending an event. An online survey was sent to attendees of an annual Cal Poly auction event between 2002 and 2016 that directly benefits Cal Poly students. The data were used to test a series of hypotheses to determine …

Family Asset Building Coalition's Case For Support, Nada Bakir, Kailyn Wells

Fundraising and Marketing

The Family Asset Building Coalition (FABC) is a partnership of nonprofit and community organizations united by the common goal of assisting low-income families achieve economic mobility.

This is their case for support.

Prooncavi's Case For Support, Prooncavi

Fundraising and Marketing

ProOncavi is the leading cancer prevention and early detection organization in all of Baja California. This is their case for support.

Laredo Area Community Foundation Case For Support, Laredo Area Community Foundation

Fundraising and Marketing

The community foundation acts as a driving force to develop a permanent endowment, to assess and to respond to emerging and changing community needs, to provide a vehicle and service for donors with varied interest and levels of giving, and to serve as a resource catalyst for charitable activities in the community.

This is Laredo Area Community Foundation's case for support.

Storytelling In Art Museums, Hayley P. Trinkoff

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Storytelling, in the context of art museums, is a method of communicating the qualities and attributes of art through a story. It helps the visitor bring the work of art to life and understand something the eye cannot see, a compelling narrative. It is important for visitors to discuss art and share stories on tours and through virtual media. We learn and form our own meanings from stories. These interactions will help build more relationships within communities. It is the museum’s job to take visitors on a journey and introduce them to new objects and perspectives.

This thesis addresses what …

Donor Coordination In Project Funding: Evidence From A Threshold Public Goods Experiment, Luca Corazzini, Paola Valbonesi, Christopher Cotton

Paola Valbonesi

We present results from an experiment with multiple public goods, where each good produces benefits only if total contributions to it reach a minimum threshold. The presence of multiple public goods makes coordination among participants more difficult, discouraging donor participation and decreasing the likelihood of any public good being effectively funded. Applied to the case of fundraising, the results show how overall donations and the number of effectively funded projects may both decrease as the total number of projects vying for funding increases. The analysis considers whether making one of the contribution options salient, either through its merits or by …