Intercollegiate Athletics as an Institutional Fundraising Tool: An Exploratory Donor-Based View

Previous research has indicated that intercollegiate athletics programs may be successful at attracting new donors to higher education institutions. Research has also shown that major donors who support both athletic and academic programs at an institution give more total dollars to the institution than other donors and are retained at higher rates. Through 65 in-depth interviews with donors making gifts to both athletic and academic programs at NCAA FBS (top athletic division) institutions, this exploratory research seeks to understand how intercollegiate programs influence donor decisions. Donors were questioned as to their motives for giving, specific changes in their historical giving patterns, and their future giving intentions. Several consistent themes emerged from donor interviews that provide insight into previous empirical findings and direction for both fundraising practice and future research.     

Building Relationships with Major‐Gift Donors: A Major‐Gift Decision‐Making,Relationship‐Building Model

An important concern for many nonprofits is their major gift (MG) fundraising. Major gifts comprise substantial percentages of a nonprofit's annual budget, but to date there has not been any available stand‐alone, data‐driven, encompassing, nonprofit MG fundraising model. We propose the AID‐TIM (awareness and understanding, interest and involvement, desire to help, trial gift, information about what and how to give, and major gift action) model to alleviate that situation. Underpinnings of the model, explanation of the elements that make up the model, and benefits of using the model are discussed. Finally, detailed, how‐to sections for each element of the model are included.     

What Does this Gift Say about Me,You, and Us? The Role of Adolescents’ Gift Giving in Managing their Impressions among their Peers

This study examines adolescents’ gift giving using a qualitative methodology, based on impression management theory. Gift‐giving motives and the characteristics of the chosen gifts indicated that adolescents use gift giving instrumentally to manage and protect their impressions among their peers. The study extends the literature on adolescents’ gift giving, and provides evidence regarding different types of gifts such as joint, neutral, and twofold gifts. Additionally, some gifts are aimed at strengthening similarity and bind the extended selves of givers and receivers.     

2008 DMEF Customer Lifetime Value Modeling (Task 2)

We describe our approach for predicting individual donor's total gift amount over a two-year target period. We divide the donors into 8 segments; for each segment, we fit a logit model for predicting the probability of giving, and a log-linear model for predicting the amount of gifts conditional on a donor giving. We found that recency, frequency, and first gift amount are good predictors of the probability of giving, while time-weighted total gift amount in the past years is a good predictor for future gift amount.     

Picking Gifts for Picky People

Shoppers report that 39% of their holiday gift-purchases are for someone “picky.” However, despite the ubiquity of shopping for picky people, little research has examined how people choose gifts for picky people. In the present research, we define the “picky gift recipient” as someone perceived to have narrow and unpredictable preferences, and we show how shopping for someone picky alters gift giving behavior. We find that although gift giving norms prescribe that gift givers spend effort, time, and money on gifts to strengthen their social ties, an exception to this rule occurs when a gift recipient is picky. When shopping for someone picky, givers believe that increasing their resources on a gift will not result in greater recipient-satisfaction with the gift itself—a lay belief that ultimately demotivates givers, causing them to spend fewer resources on picky people (even picky friends). That said, we find that consumers are more willing to spend money on superficial gift-features for picky people, such as professional wrapping, to “dress up” their gifts. Based on this preference, we developed and tested a novel promotion strategy that retailers could implement to recoup some of the lost spending by consumers who are shopping for picky people. In all, this research contributes to the literature on gift giving dynamics, and provides insights more broadly into how shoppers negotiate the burden of shopping for someone whom they anticipate will not like their choice.     

Is it better to give than to receive? Exploring gender differences in the meaning of memorable gifts

Research on gift-exchange behavior has generally found that women are more concerned and involved with giving gifts than are men. Moreover, the consumer behavior literature has focused almost exclusively on gift-giving behavior, offering few insights regarding gift-receiving roles. As an initial step toward understanding gift receiving, 89 men and 85 women from the United States (n = 124) and Europe n = 50) completed written narratives regarding their most memorable gift experiences. An interpretive analysis of the texts uncovered several themes associated with giving and/or receiving gifts, and correspondence analyses generated distinct gift-receiving and gift-giving profiles for men and women. Surprisingly, given the more prominent role of women in gift giving, four of the five female profiles involved memories of receiving rather than giving gifts. It was the men that tended to report gift-giving experiences; two of the three male profiles that emerged involved giving gifts. The texts then were reexamined and further interpreted to acquire a deeper understanding of each profile and how giving and receiving profiles of both men and women might be related to one another. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The perfect gift card: An exploration of teenagers' gift card associations

This study provides new insights into the meaning and value of gift cards in gift exchange among teenagers who gave and/or received gift cards during the Christmas/Hanukkah season. From their reflections of the reasons for giving gift cards and their feelings about receiving gift cards from others, the social roles played out in buying gift cards as a gift selection strategy are assessed and the values associated with gift cards explored. The results suggest that givers playing the roles of acknowledger and pleaser are heavy gift card givers when buying gifts for difficult recipients. Acknowledgers incorporate gift cards into existing strategies for gift selection (especially “settle,” “pawn off,” and “buy relationship affirming gifts”), but for pleasers, buying gift cards may be part of a new gift selection strategy—“play it safe.” Importantly, although gift cards can reflect economic, social, and functional value, the giving of gift cards seems to result in a new form of value for the recipients—the value of choice, which occurs when the control over gift selection is transferred from giver to receiver. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Need to Give Gratuitously: A Relevant Concept Anchored in Catholic Social Teaching to Envision the Consumer Behavior

The “gift exchange theory” articulated by Marcel Mauss, along with his core concept of a threefold obligation (giving/receiving/returning), is the dominant theoretical framework used to explain the majority of gift issues in marketing. This perspective assumes that some interest always lies behind gifts, such that a gift always implies a counterpart of receiving something in return. Despite the relevance of this approach in understanding the day-to-day consumer behavior, this paper presents empirical cases where the consumer is also able to give freely, that is to say without implying a counterpart or even expecting it. To explain those empirical cases, we mobilize a key teaching of the Catholic Church: the “gratuitous gift” and then introduce the concept of the “need to give.” We show that gratuitousness is a relevant concept to understand most of gifts made by consumers, and we develop the normative aspect of gratuitous gift for ethical marketers (i.e., what ethical marketers should consider to understand consumers properly and in a more humanistic way). We also show that Catholic Social Teaching offers an appropriate anthropology to understand consumer behaviors motivated by this need for gratuitousness. To conclude, we propose further avenues of research.     

Predicting consumer behavior with two emotion appraisal dimensions: Emotion valence and agency in gift giving

Decades of emotion research have demonstrated the unique influences of many specific emotions on consumer behaviors. These countless numbers of emotion effects can make it difficult to understand the role of emotions in consumer behavior. The current research introduces a parsimonious framework that can predict the effects of emotions on the consumer behavior of gift giving with just two appraisal dimensions: valence and agency. A series of studies examining gift giving reveals that positive emotions exert positive effects on gift giving, independent of their agency. In contrast, agency does predict the effects of negative emotions on gift giving. Negative self-caused emotions increase gift giving, whereas negative other-caused emotions decrease gift giving. These findings seem to hold for inactive and active emotions, and for uncertain and certain emotions. Together, these findings make a unique theoretical and empirical contribution to the understanding of emotions in gift giving. Moreover, it provides a pragmatic framework for both academics and practitioners.     

Is a gift on sale “heart-discounted”? Givers’ misprediction on the value of discounted gifts and the influence of service robots

The main purpose of this research is to investigate whether, why, and when givers and recipients perceive the value of a discounted gift differently. The studies provide convergent evidence that givers perceive discounted gifts as less valuable than regular-priced gifts whereas recipients do not perceive them as different. Givers' devaluation of the discounted gift is driven by their concern about the thoughtfulness of a gift. Moreover, the giver-recipient asymmetry is mitigated when the in-store interaction with a salesperson is substituted by technology via a service robot. This research contributes to the gift-giving literature and the growing literature on service robots by revealing how promotional offers influence consumers’ evaluation of gifts and how technological advance in retail may affect the proposed effect. Managerial implications for planning and executing price promotions for gifts are also discussed.     

Gift giving: A community paradigm

To date, the marketing literature on gift giving has focused on two approaches or paradigms—economic and relational exchange. This study adopts a different perspective, proposing a community paradigm to provide a holistic view of gift giving. The data (based on 20 in‐depth interviews and 2 group interviews) suggest that, on the Internet, social networks of relationships cohere into gift‐giving communities that influence the purchasing of gifts. Findings about online gift giving are presented according to three community themes: (a) shared rituals and traditions, (b) shared values, and (c) shared responsibilities. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Premium generic brand (PGB) choice vis-à-vis generic and national brands: A scenario comparison for self-use,family consumption and gift giving in a food versus non-food and cross-cultural context

PurposeThe study models factors affecting brand category choice for generic as well as national brands, and next contrasts them to a new brand category: premium generic brands (PGB). PGB are a new occurrence in brand and product management, and consumer reactions to PGB are not yet well understood.Design/methodology/approachThree purchase motivation scenarios were presented to 553 consumers to test for their purchase intentions for self-consumption, family use or gift giving. A quasi-experiment was chosen where respondents were exposed to store-like presentations of actual real life products and asked for their likelihood to choose the national or generic brand over the new PGB. The study applied multivariate testing such as MANOVA.FindingsSeparate models were developed for food and non-food choice through backward deletion regression analyses, and the most parsimonious models revealed strong similarities for self as well as family consumption choices, but distinct drivers for gifts. Value for money, image and satisfaction are key factors in brand choice overall, but for gifts, ‘image’ overpowers all other predictors.Originality/valueThe study identified the Chinese as a distinct consumer segment for brand choice since they are more open to potentially consider PGB as gifts, whereas Caucasians only buy national brands for gift giving.     

Gender differences in gift exchanges: New directions from projections

Quantitative and qualitative techniques are used to investigate both the content and structure of consumer-constructed stories about gift exchanges. The findings elaborate gender differences that predominate the process. Females perceive their chosen gift exchange relationships as significantly more intimate than do males. Females frame the exchanges significantly more often in the context of formal celebratory ritualized gift exchange occasions than males. Males inject more fantasy into stories of gift exchanges than females. Coded measures of the elaboration of the projective stories reveal a significant interaction between gender and assigned role as giver or receiver of a gift, with female receivers having the most to say about their gifts. Several interpretive propositions related to gift exchanges are proposed. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Charitable Giving: Towards a Model of Donor Behaviour

The need for the development of a comprehensive model of giving behaviour has never been greater. In the UK, the proportion of households electing to support charity is continuing a twenty year decline. This factor, combined with the accompanying and sharp increase in the number of registered charities has contributed to the creation of an ever more hostile fundraising environment. If they are to survive, charities seeking funds from individual donors will have to refine both the quality and targeting of their fundraising campaigns. It is the purpose of this article to develop a comprehensive model of giving behaviour to assist them in this process. The article draws on literature from the fields of marketing, economics, clinical psychology, social psychology, anthropology and sociology. The implications of the resultant model for fundraising strategy are discussed and opportunities for further research delineated.     

Consumer responses to gift receipt in business‐to‐consumer contexts

This article delineates business‐to‐consumer from consumer‐toconsumer and business‐to‐business gift giving, and discusses the influence of gift, recipient, and giver characteristics on gift evaluation and reciprocation likelihood in business‐to‐consumer contexts. A study examines the impact of relationship strength, gift value, nature of request, and recipient gender on gift evaluation, reciprocation likelihood, and future store choice. A stronger relationship with the business and an implicit request for reciprocation affect consumer responses to business‐to‐consumer gifts positively. Gift value and recipient gender did not have a significant effect on outcome variables. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Role of Funders in Nonprofit Merger Activity: Implications for Charity Fundraising and Marketing Practice

Considers the role of nonprofit funders in stimulating merger activity in the U.K. voluntary sector. Provides the first empirical evidence of the impact of a nonprofit merger on subsequent fundraising and marketing activity. Based on a series of 12 elite interviews with senior personnel who have experienced a nonprofit merger, the article concludes that the implications will vary by category of funding sought and that, for example, individual donors who might previously have been supporting both organisations will only offer one gift (at the previous gift level) to the merged organisation     

Is a $200 Nordstrom Gift Card Worth More or Less Than a $200 Gap Gift Card? The Asymmetric Valuations of Luxury Gift Cards

Gift cards account for a $200 billion market in the US, yet little is known about consumers’ preferences and valuations of different gift cards. We examine how average US consumers feel about exchanging luxury brand gift cards (LGCs) versus non-luxury brand gift cards (NLGCs). Using secondary data analyses, surveys, and experiments, we demonstrate two asymmetries: between valuations of LGCs versus NLGCs and between valuations of gift cards by givers versus recipients. We show that LGCs are valued less than NLGCs with identical price tags. LGCs are more likely to be swapped or sold. Resellers demand and buyers pay lower prices for LGCs. These effects are mediated by the perceived utility of the gift cards as gifts and moderated by a person’s role in the gifting process. Gift givers value and prefer to give LGCs more, whereas recipients prefer and value NLGCs more.     

Using Active Empathetic Listening to Build Relationships With Major-Gift Donors

Building a relationship with a major gift donor is an important form of fundraising for nonprofits. Fundraisers become relationship managers tasked with building trust and developing mutual goals with the donor through effective communication. The importance of effective listening on the fundraisers part is explored in this paper by overlaying Active Empathic Listening (AEL) on the Major Donor Model. AEL is discussed as a method that if used by fundraisers will help them in their efforts to connect in a meaningful way with major donors by enabling the fundraiser to work with more accurate information regarding the donor’s motivations, interest and desires as well as instill a sense of trust and genuineness between both parties.     

Regret and Satisfaction as Determinants of Lapsed Donor Recommencement Decisions

Although a large amount of research has been undertaken into donor acquisition, relationship development, and the reasons why certain donors terminate their support for fundraising charities, few studies have examined the factors that encourage lapsed donors to resume giving to the organizations they have deserted. This empirical investigation sought to contribute to contemporary knowledge concerning this important matter via a survey of 310 lapsed donors (some of whom had resumed giving) to a hospice charity in the south east of England. The variables hypothesized to influence donor revival decisions comprised a person's satisfaction with the charity's work, past communications received from the organization, communications associated with the charity's revival efforts, the individual's donation history and reason for initial lapse, and the ex‐donor's degree of involvement with charity giving. A person's feelings of regret were posited to represent a critical mediating variable between several of the abovementioned factors and a lapsed donor's decision to resume or not to resume giving. The results suggest that regret did indeed play a major role in lapsed donors' revival processes and that an individual's satisfaction with the quality of a charity's communications requesting the recommencement of the individual's support was a crucial determinant of restart decisions.