Assessing the Link Between a Public University’s Brand-Building Activities and Alumni Gift-Giving

This study examines individualized alumnus gift-giving behaviors. It explores the link between alumnus traits such as age, gender, participation in fraternities or sororities, and college major with a university’s brand-building activities and alumnus gift donations by utilizing an ordered logit model. This research also investigates how the link varies across different alumnus segments. The results indicate that a university’s brand-building activities, including athletic success and academic prestige, impact alumnus gift-giving behaviors. Age and gender also influence giving behaviors, with older and male alumni more likely to give than their younger and female counterparts. While membership in fraternities or sororities does not impact giving, college major does. Graduates of medical and dental school give the most, followed by graduates of law school, business school, liberal arts, and science. These results provide important managerial insights towards the design and implementation of targeted marketing campaigns for attracting and retaining donors in nonprofit educational institutions.