An Exploratory Investigation of Constraints

Keeping Former Club Sports Athletes from

Donating to their Alma Mater
A Qualitative Study
Ryan Bradshaw
EDRS 810

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Introduction
State governments are cutting contribution
levels to public higher education institutions
Fundraising and philanthropic donations can
help fill the gap
Club Sports alumni are a potential subgroup
of donors on which little research exists
Student experience contributes to a donors
decision to donate

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Literature Review
Student experience
Involvement in student organizations and clubs has a direct impact on
the alumnus(a)s likelihood of donating to the institution (Monks,
2003; Sung & Yang, 2009).
Students who were very satisfied with their student experience were
2.6 times more likely to donate (Monks, 2003).

Student Athletes
Student athletes have different student experiences than their fellow
students, are less likely to donate (ONeil & Schenke, 2007).

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Literature Review
Decision to Donate

The institutions solicitation of donations is a significant determinant of an alumnus(a)s

likelihood of donating (Baade & Sundberg, 1996; Lertputtarak & Supitchayangkool,
2014; Pumerantz, 2005).
Alumni need to remain engaged by the institution in order to remember to donate
(Pumerantz, 2005; Tsao & Coll, 2005).
Alumni also like to donate to their specific interests, such as a specific department or
club (McDearmon, 2010).

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Literature Review
Donor Constraints
Proposed three hierarchical categories in which constraints to leisure
can be categorized:
intrapersonal barriers (internal psychological states and attributes which impact a
decision to partake),
interpersonal barriers (influence from outside individuals that impact a decision to
partake),
structural barriers (external factors that impact the decision to partake) (Crawford et
al., 1991).

Shapiro and Giannoulakis (2009) believed the same hierarchical

constraint model was applicable to the barriers that potential nondonors face when deciding not to donate.

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Purpose for Study

Shapiro and Giannoulakiss (2009) exploratory
investigation was used as a guide to compare
and contrast the constraints that former Club
Sports athletes face as opposed to those that
former student-athletes face.

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Methods Overview
Qualitative study designed to investigate
constraints that face donors
Interviews with former Club Sports members
who are alumni to determine constraints
Thematic approach to reviewing transcribed
interviews

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Design
Grounded Theory methodology
Data analysis with open coding, the naming and
categorizing of elements within the data, followed
by axial coding, the identification of themes that
were mentioned several times by respondents
Ends with selective coding, the process of
identifying a main story line of the theory (Johnson
& Christensen, 2014)

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Participants
Study took place at a large, public, suburban,
research institution in the Mid-Atlantic
Region, in conjunction with the institutions
Club Sports Office and Office of
Advancement and Alumni Relations
(OAAR).

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Participants
Participants represented:
Diverse years of graduation (1996-2013)
Length of time they participated in the club (1-5
years)
Gender
Age (23-48 years old)
Club they participated in (35 clubs were possible)

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Participants
18 individuals were contacted
Data saturation occurred after 15 interviews
Interviews took 30-40 minutes, occurred on
campus or by phone

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Instrument Development
Club Sports Alumni Constraint Questions
Do you currently donate to any organizations, foundations, etc.?
If so, which organizations do you currently donate to?
What is the range of your donation?
List three benefits of being a charitable donor.
Are you currently involved with GMU Club Sports in some
capacity?
If so, in what capacity (fan, volunteer, advisor, coach, follower,
etc.)?
List three barriers/factors that prevent you from giving to GMU
Club Sports or your former club.

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Instrument Development
Club Sports Alumni Constraint Questions
Briefly discuss your experience as a GMU Club Sport member.
As a Former Club Sports Member at GMU what is important to
you.
As an Alumnus of Mason, what is important to you?
Please give us your opinion on the following current and
prospective GMU Club Sports booster club benefits.
What do you see as the advantages or disadvantages of engaging
in volunteer charitable donations (behavioral beliefs)

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Instrument Development
Club Sports Alumni Constraint Questions
Are there any people or groups that you feel would approve or
disapprove of you engaging (or donating to) in the GMU Club
Sports Booster Club? (normative beliefs)
List any factors or circumstances that would prevent you from
engaging (or donating to) in the GMU Club Sports Booster
Club? (control beliefs)

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Instrument Development
A thematic analysis conducted using the transcripts of the 15
interviews.
Involves identifying different categories of types of responses, such as
a particular type of constraint a donor faced, and then generating
themes based around those types of responses in order to organize
them (Johnson & Christensen, 2014).

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Results
Anticipated Results will follow similar to
Shapiro and Giannoulakiss 2009 study
Themes identified as:

Importance
Connection and Communication
Experience

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Limitations
Study took place at one institution
Did not investigate other forms of
engagement in campus while a student or
alumni
Did not investigate other factors that
contributed to student experience

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Implications
Club Sports offices and Development/
Foundation offices on campuses across the
nation can use information to identify ways to
increase donations from this sub-population
who typically had strong student experiences.

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Conclusions
Institutions can look at donations as a way to
combat budget cuts
Engaged alumni who had a positive student
experience are more likely to donate

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