Philanthropic motivation in the 21st century

John F. Dolan

doi:10.17918/etd-6087

Research indicates that even though more than $300 billion was contributed to American philanthropic organizations in 2011, relatively little is known about the primary motivation for philanthropy. Why do people give away so much money? And why do wealthy people give so much to certain organizations and not others? Philanthropy is a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States, yet one of the more intriguing questions for the industry remains quite simple. That question is what motivates wealthy donors to provide a non-profit organization with million dollar plus gifts? According to industry researchers at The Center on Philanthropy at the University of Indiana a major gift is generally defined as any gift of one million dollars or more. Investigators also suggest that finding the motivational answers might not be so easy. Research finds that wealthy people, those capable of making a major gift, think very differently than most common, every day, ordinary people. An example is research that found that most wealthy people believe they need another $5 million more dollars to be considered truly wealthy. This philanthropic research is intended to increase the understanding of philanthropy, improve its practice, and enhance philanthropic participation by providing the first person insights of actual 21st century major gift donors. Designed as a qualitative investigation this research attempts to connect to the previous philanthropic examinations that has advanced theoretical developments in motivations for giving in economics, nonprofit management, nonprofit marketing, consumer behavior, and social psychology. This project utilizes personal in-depth interviews with actual 21st century major gift donors. The goal of this research project is an attempt to get inside the world of private major gift philanthropists. This research attempts to understand what life view exists in the minds of these donors prior to a fundraiser's research work in attempting to conceptualize it for their fundraising purposes. These conversations provide a glimpse into the life experience as lived by high net worth individuals. This attempt to capture experience in process as lived by these individuals is through the process of phenomenological analysis. An example of this inquiry process is when assault victims experience fear for months or years after the assault, even when no apparent danger exists. What does this fear mean? Where does it come from? How is it experienced? The answers clearly bring us closer to the phenomenon that is lived. The method of learning about major gift donors by listening to their descriptions of what their subjective world is like for them, together with an attempt to understand this in their own terms as fully as possible, free of our preconceptions and interferences, was achieved from the these donor interviews. This research generates actionable and efficacious knowledge to improve the practice of philanthropy. It contributes to the formation and growth to the field of philanthropic studies. This contribution is in the form of improved qualitative donor research methodology and applied practice of building donor relations. These philanthropic findings will add additional insights to answer the philanthropic industry's most important question. The theoretical insights will inspire new ways of thinking about the psychology of donor behavior for philanthropic practitioners as well as donors. The replicable and easy to-implement experimental methods from these donor interviews will provide practitioners with suggested approaches to their fundraising techniques that are applicable to daily fundraising practices with very low costs. Consultancy, training and education based on the theoretical and methodological knowledge of this research will help improve the practice of philanthropy and answer one of the core philanthropic questions of the 21st century. That question is what motivates a wealthy philanthropist to provide a major gift?

Philanthropic motivation in the 21st century

Files and links (1)

Abstract

Metrics

Details

Philanthropic motivation in the 21st century

Files and links (1)

Abstract

Metrics

Details

Drexel University Social media