Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Capstone

Degree Name

Master of Nonprofit Studies

Abstract

Generational shifts in wealth, perspective and influence are forcing private schools, and colleges and universities to grapple with how to establish productive alumni relationships for long-term financial sustainability. Empirical data about Generation X and Y’s motivations to donate is limited and not easily accessible. An extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used to measure the influence of attitude, perceived behavioral control, social norms, and past behavior on intention to donate among Gen X and Y alumni of private schools in Virginia. Respondents (N=504) were born between 1965-1980 and 1981-1995 respectively. The results demonstrated that attitude, perceived behavioral control, moral norm and past behavior are strong predictors of alumni intentions to donate to their alma mater, while subjective and descriptive norms were weakly correlated to intention; however, among Generation Y, the greater the perception that other alumni give, the stronger was their intention to donate. Generation was found to be a moderator of perceived behavioral control, past behavior and the descriptive norm pertaining to alumni behavior. These results further affirm the effectiveness of an extended TPB as a predictive model for charitable giving and other pro-social behaviors.

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