Why Donors Donate: The Factors Behind College Athletics Donations

After the 2008 recession, many colleges shuttered their athletic programs and never reopened them. Today, college sports teams are once again struggling to survive as budgets are slashed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A new paper by Deborah Kelly and Adriana Vamosiu, PhD, professors of economics at the University of San Diego Knauss School of Business, has the potential to help colleges improve donations from alumni, families, and friends. The paper, “Charitable Giving to College Athletics: The Role of Brand Communities in Choosing How Much to Give,” published in the Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, goes beyond looking at why people donate and instead aims to understand the factors that influence them to donate high or low amounts.

It all started when Kelly had access to 20 years of individual donation data from the athletics department of a religiously affiliated liberal arts institution.

“She noticed that a lot of money came from families (even after their children graduated) and alumni, even those in their 30s and 40s,” Vamosiu said. “We wanted to figure out which strategies work best in requesting donations and how to better build these relationships with donors. That’s how this survey came about.”

A New Approach to Donor Surveys

While most previous research in this field only surveyed alumni donors, Kelly and Vamosiu surveyed all benefactors, including alumni, former athletic students and families. This approach was important because families and friends can account for more than half of college athletics donations; considering these groups is a vital part of successful donor marketing strategies.

Kelly and Vamosiu first surveyed everyone who had donated to the athletics department at the liberal arts institution within the past five years. They then used the Qualtrics online survey platform to conduct a nationwide survey of people who donated to different schools.

Specifically, donors were asked about whether:

• They attend donor events or sports events hosted by colleges
• They prefer to be asked to give to a specific cause or respond to a general request for contributions
• Their donations are guided by a sense of duty to the team
• They’d be likely to donate more if a team had a better winning record than the previous season

The professors also used the concept of brand communities to study the strength of the bonds between donors and the teams they support and how that influenced the size of their donations. According to Vamosiu, this concept emerged in the early 2000s when Jeep decided to create the “Jeep family.”

“So when you bought a Jeep, you didn’t just buy a car, you became part of a community that offered events, giveaways, and so on,” Vamosiu said. “We do the same thing with our alumni. It’s simply the concept of tying in that purchase with a community.”

Results from Left Field

The study revealed a couple of notable findings that could impact how colleges generate donations. First,  team wins didn’t affect some donors’ decisions.

“What really surprised us was that donors to the liberal arts institution had absolutely no care in the world about how much the team won this semester or not,” Vamosiu said. “We always think of the big sports teams and big schools that win a lot and have alumni donations flooding in. For this school, it’s not a factor.”

The data also revealed that people were more likely to donate higher amounts if they received a specific request, even if it was for a small amount of money, such as $5.

“They were more likely to support the students if they knew how they could make a difference,” Vamosiu said. “An email saying, ‘The basketball team would like to go to this conference and we need some support,’ would get better results than one that said, ‘The season is starting. Please support our team.’”

Implications for Colleges and Nonprofits

Colleges and nonprofit organizations can use these findings to improve donor relations and generate donations of larger amounts. College athletics departments, for example, can personalize their asks for donations and specify how donor contributions can impact people’s lives.

“This is the time to build a relationship with donors, not based on team winnings, but based on putting a face to the team,” Vamosiu said. “Saying, ‘These students were depending on particular scholarships or they were hoping this would be a career choice and now it’s not, so we need your support to help them not only on the field, but also off the field.’”

Meanwhile, nonprofit organizations can start using the “Give $5” model, as long as they appeal to donors’ shared values.

“It’s a very successful model, but many nonprofits don’t use it,” Vamosiu said. “Yes, it’s going to attract some smaller donations, but without it, you wouldn't have those smaller donations. Without telling people that even $5 matters, those people might just forego the donation. They add up.”

Vamosiu has also received requests from abroad to share her paper. As more private institutions begin to open in Europe, they’re going to need fundraising strategies beyond just increasing tuition.

“We were hoping to find five or six elements that seemed to work across the board, and encourage nonprofits and institutions to play around with them for their specific needs,” Vamosiu said. “Of course, some are going to work better than others. But at least it’s a start.”

Pursue Your Advanced Business Career

The University of San Diego Knauss School of Business is designed to help students become ethical, innovative business leaders through a range of degree programs and real-world educational experiences. Comprehensive curricula are taught by leading experts in their industries, including associate professor Adriana Vamosiu, to help students develop their knowledge and skills and meet their career goals.

Learn more about how the USD Knauss School of Business can help you pursue your advanced career in business.

 

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Deborah Kelly joined the University of San Diego's Knauss School of Business in 2008. Prior to joining USD, she was a branch manager at a financial institution, software engineer at General Dynamics and part-time faculty member at Palomar Community College and Alliant International University.