Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Organizational Identification and Alumni Giving: The Role of External Student Organizations

Wapner, Stephanie

Abstract Details

2017, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Educational Studies.
This cross-sectional exploratory study examines the role of student organization involvement in alumni giving at a large Midwestern university and offers insight into development strategies for the university. The extant literature shows a link between student involvement and alumni giving but the specific mechanism by which this occurs is unclear. Grounded in resource dependency theory and organizational identification theory, the author identified greek letter organizations and religious student organizations ("external student organizations") as unique in that they are affiliated with the university but funded, managed and staffed by non-university employees, and they solicit donations from students and alumni that fund their operations, not the university’s. Using data from a university alumni survey program called the “Mascot Room” for the purposes of this dissertation, the author surveyed respondents who were participants in these two types of student organizations and compared their giving records to their peers. The findings include that while participation in greek letter organizations increases the likelihood of those students being alumni donors, those students are also likely to direct some of their charitable giving away from the university. Those students who did donate to their greek letter organization were more likely to be university donors. The author uses the results to call for focusing targeted development efforts on this subset of students and for collaboration between development and student affairs officers to engage with them as undergraduates.
Tatiana Suspitsyna, Ph.D. (Advisor)
Eric Anderman, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Mary Tschirhart, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
131 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Wapner, S. (2017). Organizational Identification and Alumni Giving: The Role of External Student Organizations [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1500587887267762

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Wapner, Stephanie. Organizational Identification and Alumni Giving: The Role of External Student Organizations . 2017. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1500587887267762.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Wapner, Stephanie. "Organizational Identification and Alumni Giving: The Role of External Student Organizations ." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1500587887267762

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)