What Motivates Donors to Athletic Programs: A New Model of Donor Behavior

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-1-2014

Abstract

In the highly competitive college sport environment, many varsity sport programs have financial systems independent from the academic side of the university. These programs function on multimillion dollar budgets partially funded through ticket sales, licensed merchandise, and television rights. However, donations from alumni and boosters account for the most substantial portion of many athletic budgets. Fund-raising efforts in this environment have not had available models of donor behavior from which to streamline solicitation efforts. Using the Existence Relatedness Growth (ERG) Theory as a guide, this article fills this gap by reporting on the development and testing of an integrated model of college donor motives: A Model of Athletic Donor Motivation (MADOM). Using a sample of college sport donors (N = 532), the results yield a psychometrically sound eight-factor measurement scale: A Scale of Athletic Donor Motivation (SADOM). Study implications and practical applications of the scale are discussed. © The Author(s) 2013.

Publication Title

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly

Volume

43

Issue

3

First Page

523

Last Page

546

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