| This research explored the connection between the philanthropic profile and alumni charitable giving. More specifically, this research attempted to identify differences regarding alumni perceptions of the philanthropic profile of their alma mater institutions and determine whether those differences were predictive of donor status and/or increased charitable giving behaviors. A non-experimental quantitative survey was administered to 1,992 alumni associated with 32 higher education institutions. The survey instrument used a 5-point Likert scale consisting of 23 questions from the Smits (2012) philanthropic profile instrument, plus 8 personal demographic and 4 institutional special questions. Descriptive analysis was conducted to rank the importance of the 23 philanthropic profile elements. Factor analysis and logistic regression analysis was also conducted to determine if there were specific philanthropic profile factors that were predictive of increased charitable giving behavior.;Findings revealed that a three-factor solution consisting of 9 of 23 items accurately represents the core essence of philanthropic profile and are predictive of donor status but not predictive of increased donation amount or frequency of donations. Findings also revealed that there are some significant differences between how alumni and chief development officers rank the importance of some philanthropic profile items. Recommendations for future research include conducting a longitudinal study, testing of additional items to isolate effective predictors of donation frequency and amount, comparison studies testing the model at specific institutions, and replicating the study in other nonprofit, for profit, and educational environmental settings. Key words: Charitable giving, culture, development, fundraising, organizational identity, organizational image, philanthropic profile, philanthropy. |
