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Prestige, charitable deductions and other determinants of alumni giving: Evidence from a highly selective liberal arts college

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  • Holmes, Jessica
Abstract
Private institutions of higher education are highly dependent on alumni support to cover operating expenses, fund endowments and fuel large capital campaigns. For example, in 2004, alumni at private liberal arts colleges generated nearly 43% of total voluntary support and funded 21.5% of total institutional expenditures. This paper uses 15 years of detailed data on alumni donations to a private liberal arts college to explore a full range of potential determinants of giving. Results suggest that wealthy alumni who live in states that allow charitable tax deductions are more generous than otherwise similar alumni in states without such subsidies. Alumni contributions also increase in years when the college has achieved greater athletic prestige but fall when academic prestige rises. Furthermore, recent alumni are more influenced by institutional prestige than older graduates. With regard to other determinants, females tend to be more generous, as do alumni living in wealthier neighborhoods within 250 miles of the college. Alumni who have close alumni relatives tend to give more as do alumni who participated in campus activities during their college years. Undergraduate major and occupational sector are also strong predictors of giving behavior.

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  • Holmes, Jessica, 2009. "Prestige, charitable deductions and other determinants of alumni giving: Evidence from a highly selective liberal arts college," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 18-28, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecoedu:v:28:y:2009:i:1:p:18-28
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    7. Leiyu Mo & Yuting Zhu, 2022. "How Is Alumni Giving Affected by Satisfactory Campus Experience? Analysis of an Industry-Research-Oriented University in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-17, June.
    8. Meer, Jonathan & Rosen, Harvey S., 2012. "Does generosity beget generosity? Alumni giving and undergraduate financial aid," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 890-907.
    9. repec:pri:cepsud:187rosen is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Hurwitz, Michael, 2011. "The impact of legacy status on undergraduate admissions at elite colleges and universities," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 480-492, June.
    11. Mohd Isa Rohayati & Youhanna Najdi & John C. Williamson, 2016. "Philanthropic Fundraising of Higher Education Institutions: A Review of the Malaysian and Australian Perspectives," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(6), pages 1-20, June.
    12. Phanindra V. Wunnava & Albert A. Okunade, 2013. "Do Business Executives Give More to Their Alma Mater? Longitudinal Evidence from a Large University," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(3), pages 761-778, July.
    13. Shih-Hao Wu & Stephen Chi-Tsun Huang & Ching-Yi Daphne Tsai, 2022. "Lifelong good soldiers of higher education institutions: driving factors and obstructions of alumni loyalty," Service Business, Springer;Pan-Pacific Business Association, vol. 16(2), pages 331-357, June.
    14. Alexandros Apostolakis & Shabbar Jaffry, 2013. "An Analysis of Monetary Voluntary Contributions for Cultural Resources: The Case of the British Museum," Tourism Economics, , vol. 19(3), pages 631-651, June.
    15. Matthias Tietz & Simon Parker, 2014. "Charitable donations by the self-employed," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(4), pages 899-916, December.
    16. Bao, Jingyuan & Durango-Cohen, Elizabeth J. & Levontin, Liat & Durango-Cohen, Pablo L., 2022. "Analysis of factors influencing recurring donations in a university setting: A compound poisson mixture regression model," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 489-503.
    17. Jonathan Meer & Harvey S. Rosen, 2011. "Does Generosity Beget Generosity? Alumni Giving and Undergraduate Financial Aid," Working Papers 1361, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    18. Jonathan Meer & Harvey S. Rosen, 2009. "Family Bonding with Universities," Working Papers 1163, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
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