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Lack of alumni giving in an international school in Asia

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Content Running head: LACK OF ALUMNI GIVING AT AN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL IN ASIA 1

Lack of Alumni Giving at an International School in Asia

by

Kathryn Limmer

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

May 2019

Copyright 2019 Kathryn Limmer

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Abstract
As the cost to educate students in independent schools continues to rise, independent schools are
looking to philanthropy to fill the gap between tuition and the cost of running a school.
Understanding why alumni give to their alma mater is an important factor in securing donations
from them, as they are a natural fit to make donations. Cresthaven Independent School was an
international school located in Asia and existed to educate the children of expatriates. The school
provided a Western educational opportunity for the children of military personnel, diplomats,
missionaries, business leaders, and others living abroad. At Cresthaven Independent School,
tuition alone did not fully fund the financial needs of the school, and the school was looking to
philanthropy to fill that gap. At Cresthaven Independent School, less than 4% of alumni were
making charitable contributions to the school each year. The purpose of this case study was to
focus on the knowledge, motivations, and organizational issues around the lack of alumni giving
at Cresthaven Independent School.

Keywords: giving, donation, alumni, fundraising, international school, philanthropy,
independent school, private school, philanthropic, Asia

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Dedication
This dissertation is dedicated to my family—my mother and father, who always
encouraged me to do more, my best friend and husband, Jayson, who is the kindest person I
know, and my children, Natalie and Allison, for their understanding when schoolwork came first.

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Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I would like to thank my dissertation committee chair, Dr. Fred
Freking. I will forever be grateful for his support and encouragement. I would like to thank my
dissertation committee members, Dr. Cathy Krop and Dr. Grayson Bryant. Their expertise and
thoughtful feedback guided my progress from start to finish.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract .................................................................................................................................... 2
Dedication ................................................................................................................................ 3
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. 4
List of Tables ........................................................................................................................... 7
List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... 8
Introduction to the Problem of Practice ................................................................................... 9
Organizational Context and Mission ..................................................................................... 10
Importance of the Addressing the Problem ........................................................................... 10
Purpose of the Project and Questions .................................................................................... 11
Organizational Performance Goal .......................................................................................... 11
Stakeholder Group of Focus and Stakeholder Goal ............................................................... 12
Review of the Literature ........................................................................................................ 13
Knowledge of the Organization’s Need of Funding .............................................................. 16
Donor Motivation............................................................................................................. 16
Donor Emotion................................................................................................................. 17
Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Influences ....................................................... 18
Knowledge Influences ..................................................................................................... 19
Alumni Need Knowledge of Fundraising Initiatives ................................................. 20
Alumni Need to Know How to Donate...................................................................... 21
Motivation Influences ...................................................................................................... 22
Donors Need to See the Value in the School Priorities ............................................. 22
Donors Must Feel a Positive Relationship to Cultivate Active Choice in Giving ..... 23
Organizational Influences ................................................................................................ 24
Cultural Setting .......................................................................................................... 25
Cultural Model ........................................................................................................... 25
Interactive Conceptual Framework ........................................................................................ 26
Data Collection and Instrumentation ..................................................................................... 28
Interviews ......................................................................................................................... 29
Interview Protocol ...................................................................................................... 29
Interview Procedure ................................................................................................... 30
Documents and Artifacts.................................................................................................. 30
Data Analysis ......................................................................................................................... 30
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Interview Analysis ........................................................................................................... 31
Document Analysis .......................................................................................................... 31
Results and Findings .............................................................................................................. 31
Participating Stakeholders ............................................................................................... 33
Knowledge Findings ........................................................................................................ 34
Knowledge of the Funding Priorities ......................................................................... 34
Knowledge of How to Make a Gift. ........................................................................... 36
Motivation Findings ......................................................................................................... 36
Value .......................................................................................................................... 36
Emotion ...................................................................................................................... 40
Organizational Findings ................................................................................................... 40
Cultural Setting .......................................................................................................... 41
Cultural Model ........................................................................................................... 42
Solutions and Recommendations ........................................................................................... 43
Knowledge Recommendations ........................................................................................ 43
Increasing CIS Alumni Knowledge about How to Make a Donation ....................... 48
Procedural Knowledge ............................................................................................... 48
Motivation Recommendations ......................................................................................... 49
Value .......................................................................................................................... 50
Emotion ...................................................................................................................... 51
Organizational Recommendations ................................................................................... 51
Cultural Setting .......................................................................................................... 52
Cultural Model ........................................................................................................... 52
Limitations and Delimitations ................................................................................................ 53
Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 54
Appendix A: Participating Stakeholders with Sampling Criteria for Interview .................... 56
Appendix B: Protocols Document and Artifact Sampling ..................................................... 59
Appendix C: Credibility and Trustworthiness ....................................................................... 62
Appendix D: Ethics ................................................................................................................ 64
Appendix E: Implementation and Evaluation Plan ................................................................ 66
References .............................................................................................................................. 83

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Assumed Influencers on Alumni Giving at CIS ........................................................ 18
Table 2. Validated Assumed Influencers on Alumni Giving at CIS ....................................... 32
Table 3. Interviewee Demographics ...................................................................................... 34
Table 4. Influence Findings and Recommendations: Knowledge .......................................... 45
Table 5. Influence Findings and Recommendations: Motivations ......................................... 46
Table 6. Influence Findings and Recommendations: Organizational ................................... 47
Table 7. Results and Leading Indicators ............................................................................... 68
Table 8. Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation ......................... 69
Table 9. Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors ..................................................... 69
Table 10. Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program ................................ 72
Table 11. Components to Measure Reactions to the Program .............................................. 73
Table 12. Level 4 Quarterly Results ...................................................................................... 80
Table 13. Level 4 Class Agent Results ................................................................................... 80

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1. CIS conceptual framework.............................................................................................28
Figure 2. Participant post-class agent leadership forum training survey.......................................76
Figure 3. Alumni office observation checklist ..............................................................................78
Figure 4. Class agent mid-year survey ..........................................................................................79
Figure 5. Class agent donations checklist ......................................................................................82

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Lack of Alumni Giving at an International School
Introduction to the Problem of Practice
Independent school tuition is increasing at a rate that outstrips the consumer price index.
The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) (2017) reported that median day-
school tuition increased 196% between 1994 and 2011. Even with rising tuition, the cost to
educate each student is not fully covered by the tuition parents pay. NAIS reported that at most
day schools in urban settings, tuition covers only 80% to 90% of the cost. According to the
Wilmington Trust Report (2014), independent schools are looking to fundraising to fill the gap
between the amount of tuition paid and the cost to educate each student. The rising cost of an
independent school education is a problem in the United States, but has a particular impact on
international schools such as Cresthaven Independent School (CIS). Independent international
schools exist outside of the United States to educate the children of expatriates who are living
abroad. It is important to ensure that such schools have the necessary funding to operate and
support the needs of the expatriate community, which may include diplomats, missionaries,
business men and women, military workers, and others.
At Cresthaven Independent School (CIS), less than 4% of alumni made a donation to the
school in 2016. This response is a problem because, to fully fund programs, financial aid, facility
improvements, and faculty professional development, the school needs funds beyond tuition. At
the time of this study, 2018, CIS did not have a revenue stream other than tuition, and tuition did
not cover the costs needed to run the school. Current parents made donations to support the
school, which was helpful, but there were fewer than 1,700 parents with students attending
CIS—compared to more than 6,000 reachable alumni. As at other independent schools, the
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alumni base is much larger than the current parent population and could form a large donor base.
In addition, alumni have a lifetime association as alumni of the school, and their support could
help provide needed funding beyond the 14 years a parent is associated with the school.
Organizational Context and Mission
CIS is an independent school, located in Asia, for pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade
students. The school was founded in 1949 to meet the need of educating children of expatriates.
Students have been required to hold a foreign passport and visa to qualify for admission. At the
time of the study, the student body was comprised of students from 40 different passport
countries, and the 250 faculty came from more than 10 different countries (CIS, 2017). Many
graduates of the school are ethnically Asian and identify as having a blended cultural identity.
The mission of the school is to prepare students to adapt and succeed anywhere in the world. To
advance the mission, CIS provides an American-based education with a global perspective (CIS,
2017).
Importance of the Addressing the Problem
The low alumni giving rate is important to address at CIS because tuition does not cover
the program costs, student financial need, facility improvements, an endowment, and faculty
professional development. Moreover, ensuring expatriates have educational opportunities for
their children when aboard is critical for military personnel, diplomats, international business
leaders, and others with children living outside of their home county. CIS could meet these needs
through either an approximate 10% tuition increase (which the board of directors is not in favor
of implementing) or an alumni giving program.

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Purpose of the Project and Questions
In 2018, CIS developed a new strategic plan to guide the school over the next 5 years.
This plan put an emphasis on increasing alumni participation in the annual giving program. The
purpose of this study was to perform a gap analysis to determine potential elements impacting
alumni donations to CIS and analyze the data collected from the stakeholder group.
This study concludes with recommendations for improving the lack of alumni giving at
CIS. The following questions guided the project:
1. To what extent is CIS meeting its goal to increase CIS alumni participation?
2. What are the knowledge, motivation, and organizational elements related to CIS
achieving the organizational goal among CIS alumni?
3. What are the recommendations for organizational practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational resources related to CIS achieving the organizational goal
among CIS alumni?
Organizational Performance Goal
With approximately 6,000 reachable alumni and 10,000 known alumni, CIS has worked
to connect and engage former students to support the mission of the school by donating their
time, talents, and finances. By June 30, 2020, CIS hopes to reach 10% alumni participation in its
annual giving program. This goal was established by the assistant head of School for
Advancement and has the support of the head of school and the board of directors. Progress on
the goal has been monitored with weekly participation reports to the head of school and monthly
reports to the board of directors. The reports detail alumni giving by class year and are
benchmarked against the percentage of giving during that same time the previous year.
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According to NAIS (2017), giving is a key indicator of alumni satisfaction with a school and
donated funds are important to the financial well-being of a majority of independent schools. The
organizational goal to increase alumni participation in the annual giving program would provide
funds to support the construction of a new learning spaces on campus, teacher training, and
classroom enhancements that otherwise would need to be funded through tuition increases.
Stakeholder Group of Focus and Stakeholder Goal
A stakeholder group is a group of individuals that directly contributes to and benefits
from the achievement of an organization’s goals (Clarkson, 1995). The following four
stakeholder groups have contributed to the achievement of CIS performance goals in unique
ways: top-level organizational leaders, Advancement Office employees, alumni, and class
agents.
Top-level organizational leadership at CIS includes the board of directors, head of school,
three divisional principals, the chief operating officer, the deputy head of school, and the
assistant head of school for advancement. Top-level leadership sets the strategic plan and
identifies overarching goals for the organization. The top-level leaders report to the head of
school, who is accountable to the board of directors. Management of human capital and financial
capital is the responsibility of the top-level leadership.
The Advancement Office is responsible for the daily operations of the fundraising,
communication, and alumni outreach of the school. Working with alumni, the Advancement
Office works to raise funds to enhance educational opportunities for teachers and learners within
the CIS community.
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Students who spent one or more semesters at CIS are considered alumni. CIS had 10,000
known alumni as of 2017, 6,211 of whom were reachable via mail, email, or telephone at the
time of this study. Class agents are alumni who serve as the leaders of their alumni classes and
function as liaisons between the class members and the school. Class agents were responsible for
keeping in contact with classmates to help information flow from the school to classmates and
back again. CIS had 67 class agents in place from the graduating years 1967–2017, at the time of
this study. CIS class agents are the chosen stakeholders for this study. Although a complete
analysis involving all stakeholder groups would have been ideal, for practical purposes, class
agents were the focus of this qualitative evaluation. Class Agents are an ideal group to serve as
the stakeholders for this study because they have shown interest in staying connected to the
school, their contact information is available, they range in graduation year, and their tenure with
the school varies.
Review of the Literature

Tuition does not cover the full cost of the educational experience at a majority of
independent schools in the United States (NAIS, 2017). Needs not covered by tuition, such as
financial aid, constructing buildings, teacher training, and daily operations, can be managed with
donated dollars and, if an endowment exists, endowment returns (NAIS, 2017).
Independent schools rely on donations more and more to meet their funding needs
(Council for Advancement and Support of Education, 2017; Hockaday, 2017; NAIS, 2017).
NAIS (2017) reported that at most day schools in urban settings, tuition covers only 80% to 90%
of the cost. Independent schools are increasing fundraising efforts to cover those costs and fill
tuition gaps (the difference between the tuition paid per student and the costs of educating each
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student). According to the Wilmington Trust Report (2014), fundraising has been of increased
importance at independent schools. Wilmington Trust looked at 88 independent schools in the
United States and found the average amount raised in a year was over $3 million dollars. The
Newman School in Massachusetts, Groton School in Massachusetts, Harker School in California,
Parkside School in New York, and the Hockaday School in Texas all reported a gap between
tuition revenue and the cost of educating each student and that donations helped to close that gap
(Groton, 2018; Harker, 2018; Hockaday, 2017; Newman, 2018; Parkside, 2018). According to
the Hockaday School’s annual report, approximately 80% of the $3 million dollars in financial
aid given to 16% of students in 2015 was provided through donations and endowment returns
(Hockaday, 2017). The Harker School (2018) stated that its tuition of approximately $40,000
does not cover the full cost of educating each child, and donations to the giving program help to
fill this gap. These schools have been successful in relying on donations from their community
and have double-digit alumni participation (Groton, 2018; Harker, 2018; Hockaday, 2017;
Newman, 2018; Parkside, 2018).
Abundant research exists on why alumni make financial contributions to their alma
maters (Apinunmahakul & Devlin, 2008; Baade & Sundberg, 2012; Gaier, 2005; Gunsalus,
2005). Grant and Linauer (1986) showed an age relationship between the length of time out of
the institution and increased giving around milestone reunions. Gunsalus focused on the
attributes of the institutions when studying alumni giving and reported that class size, location of
residence post-graduation, and other qualities can affect alumni giving, but benchmarking in this
way can be misleading especially in the context of international schools, as students generally do
not live near the school once they are alumni. Gaier reported that a higher level of academic
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satisfaction and involvement in the institution as a student were keys to alumni giving.
Apinunmahakul and Devlin (2008) showed social circles and networks were found to play a role
in charitable giving, and their peer relationships enhanced the benefit of giving and served to
encourage further acts of philanthropy among those in a social circle (Apinunmahakul, 2008).
When looking at overall philanthropic giving in Asia, one can see the many cultural
differences. In her book Pragmatic Philanthropy: Asian Charity Explained, Shapiro,
Mirchandani, and Jang (2018) wrote that one theme was common among Asians: they give to
their families before any others. In addition, Shapiro et al. (2018) reported that many Asians
made a donation to enhance a business or personal relationship or to assist an organization or
cause. Asians have continued to shape their views regarding who is responsible for specific civil
services as their economies and governments have evolved, which may explain why giving is
first among family and inside social and business circles. Shapiro et al. (2018) stated that Asians
have been very generous for many years but do so quietly between families. Based on Gallup
polls, the World Giving Report (2017) provided an index of known giving for each country. In
the report, 153 countries are ranked and, among Asian countries, China ranked 147th, India
ranked 134th, and Singapore 91st in comparison to the United States, which ranked 5th.
When it comes to why people give, research shows that knowledge and motivation are
key indicators in the giving process (Pitts & Skelly, 1984; Sundel, Zelman, Weaver, &
Pasternak, 1978). Donors need to know that their gift is needed and how to make a donation;
they need to have an emotional connection to the organization or others who will benefit from
the donation and need to be motivated to make the gift.
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Knowledge of the Organization’s Need of Funding
To consider making a donation, potential donors need to be aware of what is being asked
of them and what their donation will be used for. There are many ways to provide information to
potential donors; one common tool is a letter asking for support. Clotfelter (2012) reported that
receiving a solicitation letter and detailed information about giving were critical parts of the
donation process, and that these efforts on the part of institutions increased alumni participation.
A solicitation letter provides information on the needs of the institution and details of how to
make a donation. Knowledge of what one is supporting or buying—and then how to support it or
buy the product—is important in any transaction. As Weber (2013) discussed, this concept of
having product knowledge before making a purchase can directly apply to fundraising. Further,
knowing what is being supported by a donation increases giving (Levine, 2008). Levine studied
the types of communications disseminated to alumni of an institution and how information about
the needs of the institution impacted donations. In the study, Levine found that the provision of
information specific to the funding needs had a positive impact on the amount given and on
participation rates. Ensuring that potential donors know the institution’s needs is a key
component in securing donations.
Donor Motivation
Studies about donor motivation have sought to understand why people make charitable
contributions (Pitts & Skelly, 1984; Sundel et al., 1978). Some studies have suggested that
individuals are motivated to give in order to fulfill self-worth, self-efficacy, or a personal
purpose; to increase utility—known as “warm-glow”; to increase the donors’ public self-image;
to build a personal or business relationship; or to derive positive feelings from supporting
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something they value (Barasch, Levine, Berman, & Small, 2014; Ostrower, 1996; Ritzenhein,
2000; Shapiro et al., 2018). Ostrower noted that people give for many reasons, including guilt
around accumulated personal wealth, a meaningful experience with the organization, or
perceived obligation. Sundel et al. (1978) reported that donor motivation varied from altruism to
utilitarianism. Pitts and Skelly suggested that donations could be made out of self-interest and
used for tax breaks. A study by Ko, Rhee, Walker, and Lee (2014) on philanthropic tendencies in
collegiate athletics found donor motivation centered around needs for helping others,
demonstration of commitment, affiliation, social interaction, public recognition, power, and
tangible benefits. Shapiro et al. (2018) reported in a study of philanthropy in Asia that
philanthropic tendencies around giving centered on developing or strengthening a business or
personal relationship in addition to providing aid. Understanding what motivates donors to give
can help fundraisers create solicitation materials and build relationships around what donors see
as the value of giving.
Donor Emotion
Barasch (2014) reported that emotion was a key element in prosocial behavior and a
reason why people help and care. Barasch said emotion was a natural consequence of prosocial
behavior, like giving and helping others. Cryder, Loewenstein, and Scheines (2013) suggested
that when a connection between a donation and the donation’s impact is made, donors are more
likely to have heightened emotional satisfaction, increasing the likelihood of donating. Berman
(2018) concluded that, when making the active choice to support an organization, donors relied
more on emotion than rationality. According to Dunn, Aknin, and Norton (2013), donating
makes people happier because they derived positive emotions from giving. When this positive
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emotion was coupled with knowing how their donations made a positive impact, individuals may
have experienced a “bigger happiness boost from giving” (Dunn et al., 2014, p. 9); this response
took place when the organization made knowledge of their impact clear. Shapiro et al. (2018)
reported, in a study of philanthropy in Asia, that philanthropic tendencies around giving have an
emotional connection as well. Based on research by Shapiro et al., giving can be motivated by a
personal or familial relationship, which indicates that the positive emotion derived from the
relationship associated with making the donation can be a factor in philanthropic support.
Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Influences
Knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences affecting the lack of alumni giving
at CIS was the first topic reviewed in this project. Clark and Estes (2008) found that
organizational effectiveness increased when leaders evaluated and monitored all aspects of an
organization’s effectiveness. The assumed knowledge, motivation and organizational influences
that may impact the organizational goal are outlined in Table 1.The organization’s global goal
for CIS is that, by June 30, 2020, CIS will reach 10% alumni participation in the annual giving
program.
Table 1
Assumed Influencers on Alumni Giving at CIS
Influencer Type Influencer
assessment
Knowledge
Alumni need knowledge of what
initiatives are made possible through
fundraisings.

Declarative
(Factual)
Interviews
Alumni need to know how to make a
gift.
Procedural Interviews
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Motivation
Value: Donors need to see the value
in giving to the school.
Interviews

Emotional: Donors must feel a
positive relationship to cultivate
active choice in giving.

Interviews
Organizational
Cultural Setting Influence: The
organization needs to feel it is
important to reach out to all alumni
in order for all of them to know the
school’s strategic initiatives and
impact alumni giving has on the
organization.

Documentation analysis to
determine if reaching out to
alumni to give is a priority in the
alumni office plan of action.
Cultural Model Influence: The
organization needs to provide a
training program for the
development staff on soliciting gifts.
Documentation analysis to
determine understanding and
training within the organization.

Knowledge Influences
This section focuses on how knowledge-related influences are pertinent to alumni
donating to their alma maters. Research has shown that it is important to analyze knowledge and
skills in problem solving, and incorporating how knowledge influencers relate to performance
issues dramatically increases the chance that a performance goal is improved (Clark & Estes,
2008; Krathwohl, 2002).
Krathwohl (2002) reported on four knowledge dimensions important for optimal
performance to take place: (a) factual, (b) conceptual, (c) procedural, and (d) metacognitive.
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Factual knowledge is described as basic information one must know—simple facts or
terminology. Factual knowledge can be described as a basic building block of knowledge. A
donor knowing the giving deadline for the tax year is an example of factual knowledge.
Conceptual knowledge is an organized form of knowledge described by Krathwohl (2002) as
learning to understand how concepts fit together. Understanding the different vehicles that can be
used to make a gift (e.g., cash, pledge, credit card, trust, insurance policy, annuity, retirement
fund, gift in kind), and how each one impacts the school and donor, is intertwined and complex;
this example is a form of conceptual knowledge. The third type of knowledge is procedural
knowledge. Krathwohl (2002) described procedural knowledge as how to complete something,
knowledge of a technique or skill, or when to use an appropriate procedure. Knowing how to go
online and make a donation through the school’s website is an example of procedural
knowledge. The fourth knowledge type is metacognitive. Metacognitive knowledge includes
awareness about one's own cognition and was described by Krathwohl (2002) as knowledge of
one’s self, or thinking about thinking. These four knowledge types are each important to promote
desired performance outcomes; this study will focus on two knowledge types: procedural and
declarative.
Alumni need knowledge of fundraisings initiatives. Declarative knowledge is a key
type of knowledge for successful task performance, problem solving, and goal achievement
(Clark & Estes, 2008; Krathwohl 2002; Rueda, 2011). Individuals must have basic information
for successful completion of a task, and every member of a team needs a very specific
description of the goals. Stephenson and Bell (2014) reported that alumni donors who lose
connection with their school and do not have knowledge of the school were less likely to give.
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Understanding an organization and its priorities is fundamental for those providing voluntary,
financial support to an organization. If an individual does not have the foundational knowledge
to get a job done or complete a task, performance issues can ensue. In the same vein, a donor
may not give to the institution if he or she does not know the fundraising goals, objectives, and
priorities. Aaker (2013) reported on the importance of brand awareness in advertising and found
that individuals need to know what products or services are available in order for them to engage
with the item or company. If individuals do not know about the needs of the school, they will not
have the information necessary to consider making a gift. A modified gap analysis could be used
to identify a lack of adequate knowledge of the fundraising goals, objectives, and priorities that
would preclude a person from donating to the school.
Alumni need to know how to donate. Knowing how to perform a task or solve a
problem is an example of procedural knowledge (Krathwohl, 2002). Ensuring alumni have the
procedural knowledge of how to give a donation to CIS is an important step. Procedural
knowledge is a critical part of alumni giving, as alumni must know how to make a gift when they
are motivated to do so (Clotfelter, 2012).
According to Rueda (2011), one feature of procedural knowledge is that once individuals
know how to do something and practice it, that knowledge becomes automated. According to the
Fundraising Effectiveness Project (2017), when it comes to donations, once a person has given to
an organization, there is a 40% likelihood that that person will give to that organization again. In
looking deeper at that number, 19% of first-time donors and 63% of repeat donors are retained
(Fundraising Effectiveness Project, 2017), which indicates that once individuals practice giving
and do it more than once, they are more likely to continue giving. This finding is important to the
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study for two reasons. First, this study will ask the interviewees if they have given to any
organization in the past. If CIS alumna have experience making charitable contributions, CIS can
build upon knowledge the alumni has on how to make a gift. Secondly, alumni participation in
the giving program has an annual goal of 10%. Once individuals give, they will be asked to do so
again on an annual basis. They will need the procedural knowledge to give the first gift and to
practice the task to continue to give.
Motivation Influences
Rudea (2011) reported that a key factor to the successful accomplishment of a
stakeholder’s goal is motivation. Motivation plays an important part in how a person not only
continues with a task but also completes it (Rudea, 2011). This section of the paper focuses on
motivation-related influences that affect CIS alumni’s lack of making charitable contribution to
the school. As reported by Pintrich (2003), motivation is simply defined as what gets people
going. In this context, motivation has three key aspects: (a) the ability to actively start a task, (b)
the ability to stay engaged and focused until the task is completed, and (c) doing a task with
mental effort to meet the task goal (Eccles, 2009; Pintrich, 2003). Motivational issues can impact
performance (Pintrich, 2003). Two motivational influences that presumably affect CIS alumni
and giving to the school are value and emotion.
Donors need to see the value in the school priorities. The value one places on a goal or
task strongly influences motivation (Eccles 2009). Eccles described four examples of how one
may place value on a task: (a) attainment value, (b) intrinsic value, (c) utility value, and (d) cost.
Attainment value is the link between a task and an individual's identities and preferences. For
example, a graduate of CIS might consider him-or herself a good member of the alumni
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community by knowing the school's funding priorities and making a gift to the school. It is
personally important to this graduate to fulfill the tasks associated with being a part of the alumni
community. Intrinsic value is the joy a person expects to feel from doing the tasks. It may make
a person feel good to make a donation to an organization or to person he or she has a positive
emotional connection to. Utility value is the degree to which a task is useful or how it will satisfy
a goal. For example, an alumnus might donate to be known by the school leadership, to learn
more about the school in anticipation of a child attending, or to build a relationship with another
member of the alumni community or business leader involved in the school. Cost is the value of
time, energy, or emotion the task will demand. Eccles described cost as the negative aspects of
engaging in the task. Cost value is the amount of time the task will take, the energy it will
consume, or the emotional toll it will take to complete. If an alumnus does not know how to
make a gift to the school, it might take time to learn about it. If the process is not easy or
cumbersome, the cost value might not be worth the time it takes to figure out how to make a gift.
Donors must feel a positive relationship to cultivate an active choice in giving.
Emotions can have an impact on motivation and learning (Pekrun, Goetz, Frenzel, Barchfield, &
Perry, 2011). Emotions play an important role in giving and in consumerism (Cretu, 2007;
Murry, 2013). Walla, Brenner, and Koller (2011) reported that positive emotions are more
associated with brands that people like, and this affect can be directly applied to organizations
and giving. Marketers work to create an emotional connection between the consumer and the
brand, and charitable organizations work to encourage positive emotions and relationships
between themselves and donors (Cretu, 2007; Cryder et al., 2013; Walla et al., 2011). An
evaluation of the emotional connection alumni have to CIS and the impact that emotional
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24
connection has on their giving would yield valuable insight. The connection can also be
emotionally linked to the person asking for the gift or even others beyond the organization.
Based on research by Shapiro et al. (2018), giving can be motivated by a relationship or to
strengthen a relationship between two people. This finding indicates that the emotional
connection or positive relationship between the donor and the solicitor could be a motivator for
making a gift. In addition, the positive emotion could be between the donor and someone other
than the organization. If a positive emotional connection exists between the donor and a family
member, and that family member finds joy or benefits from the donor giving, that emotional
connection can also be a motivational factor in giving. An example of this dynamic would be if
alumni of the school make gifts in honor of siblings who attended the school or if alumni make
donations in honor of a beloved faculty member. The donor is making the gift—and it gives joy
to a third party as well. The positive emotion can be between others, not just between the donor
and the school and influence the decision to make a donation.
Organizational Influences
This section focuses on the organizational influences identified as barriers to increasing
alumni participation. Clark and Estes (2008) described organizations as complex systems that
develop different cultures overtime. Because CIS is 70-year-old school, its institutional priorities
around philanthropy have changed. The current strategic plan places an emphasis on increasing
alumni engagement and philanthropic support, and the alumni office has been tasked with
meeting the alumni participation goal of 10% by 2020. To be successful, an organization needs
to ensure that the overarching messages, policies, and procedures that govern the work are in
alignment with the goals and values of the organization (Clark & Estes, 2008). Cultural settings
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25
are the tangible parts of an organizational culture, and cultural models are the underpinning for
cultural settings that include the thoughts and feelings that individuals have in a culture (Rueda,
2011). Currently, the cultural setting and cultural model identified as barriers to increasing
alumni participation revolve around communication and cultural norms among giving in Asia.
These identified barriers are shown in Table 1, above.
Cultural setting. The organization needs to feel it is important to reach out to all alumni
in order for alumni to feel connected. Organizational change begins with a reason and need for
the desired change (Agôcs, 1997). A survey from the Nonprofit Governance Index reported that
53% of executive directors see fundraising as the number one area for board improvement
(BoardSource, 2010). Javidan and Walker (2012) maintained that organizational leaders need to
know more about their organization, understand the strategic initiatives, and provide an
opportunity to develop personnel and volunteers to help raise funds for their organizations.
Cultivating a broader, more detailed understanding of an organization's philanthropic goals and
activities will improve fundraising results and the satisfaction of individuals who both fundraise
and donate (Crumpton, 2016). Alumni giving is a new concept at CIS, and it is important for the
organization to understand the value of building relationships and communicating with the
alumni of the school.
Cultural model. The organization needs to provide a training program for the
development staff and volunteers within the organization on the cultural differences around
philanthropy. Organizations often suffer from differences in cultural beliefs and expectations
from people within the organization (Clark & Estes, 2008). Schroder (2018) pointed out that key
volunteers and staff must be educated about fundraising responsibilities. Ensuring that volunteers
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26
and staff have the proper organizational message to share with their peers, and that volunteers
and staff are trained and given the tools they need are important details for successful fundraising
efforts (Carter, Nugent, & Neeley, 2016; Javidan & Walker, 2012). Volunteers and staff must
understand that this process takes time, but that it is critical for the success of a fundraising
program (Knox, 2003). Indeed, organizations often suffer from differences in cultural beliefs and
expectations from people within the organization (Clark & Estes, 2008). The way an employee
of the school who received fundraising training in the West might go about his job could be
counter to the cultural norms around giving in Asia and thus negatively impact the giving
program. Differences in cultural norms around philanthropy presumably have an organizational
influence on the alumni giving program.
Interactive Conceptual Framework
Philanthropy, in terms of alumni giving to their alma maters, is a broadly researched topic
(Clotfelter, 2012; Gaier, 2005; Gunsalus, 2005). A conceptual framework provides a lens of
focus for broad topics such as this one (Maxwell, 2013). Therefore, for this project, the
stakeholder focus was the alumni serving as graduating class agents, rather than all 6,000
reachable CIS alumni. Figure 1 is a graphical depiction of the conceptual framework that guided
this project. Clark and Estes (2008) guided this conceptual framework, which analyzed the
assumed knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that contribute to reaching the
organizational goal. The assumed knowledge influences were: (a) alumni need to know how to
donate, and (b) alumni need to know what their donations support. A review of the literature
revealed that individuals who have this knowledge are more inclined to make a donation
(Clotfelter, 2012; Gunsalus, 2005). The assumed motivational influences were that alumni need a
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27
positive emotion to believe they could make a difference by giving and that they find value in
giving the gift. The assumed organizational setting and organizational model influences were: (a)
the organization needs to feel it is important to reach out to all alumni, and (b) the organization
needs to provide a training program for the staff and volunteers that addresses the importance of
cultural differences around philanthropy and elucidates the value of soliciting donations and of
alumni giving. While each of the assumed influences presented here is independent of each
other, they do not remain in isolation from each other. Each of these influences interacts with
each other, as depicted in Figure 1.

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Figure 1. CIS conceptual framework.
Data Collection and Instrumentation
Duke and Martin (2011) described research as the systematic collection and analysis of
data used to address a problem or question. A multi-method approach to collecting data was well
suited for the conceptual framework of this project because it provided an opportunity to gather
data and analyze knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences related to the

CIS
The organization needs to feel it
is important to reach out to alumni.
The organization needs to
provide a training program for the
development staff on soliciting gifts.
Class Agents
Factual/Procedural knowledge
on how to give and what gifts
support.

Positive motion around giving.
Feels value in giving.
GOAL: 10% alumni
giving by 2020.
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29
performance issues. Interviews and documentation analysis were the two data collection
methods.
Interviews
Interviews provided the opportunity to learn from stakeholders’ experiences and
observations (Weiss, 1994) and to obtain data on assumed knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences.
Interview protocol. Stakeholder interviews were the main method of data collection
used in this project. Ten interviews were conducted using a semi-structured method. The
interviewer began with a set list of questions and then included clarifying questions based on the
interview (Patton, 2002). These clarifying questions, referred to as member checking (Maxwell,
2013), helped to clear up misunderstandings in the data collection process and minimize
researcher bias. Merriam and Tisdell (2016) discussed that a semi-structured interview is allows
the researcher to modify the wording and order of questions as appropriate for each interview. In
this project, the research questions were descriptive and aimed to explore the knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influences on alumni class agents and their philanthropic support
of CIS. An interview protocol was used as a framework for the interviews and can be found in
Appendix A. An interview protocol acts as an organizational system and helps keep the
interviews organized when multiple respondents are being interviewed (Patton, 2002).
Interview procedure. Once a convenient date and time was established with the
interviewee, the interviews took place in a neutral space that was free from distractions. The
interviews lasted for a maximum of one hour; all except for two were conducted in person, and
the date and time was scheduled at the leisure of the respondents. Sixty-seven class agents
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30
existed from the graduating classes of 1967–2017 and served as the targeted population from
which to draw on for this project. Class agents contained the three different stakeholder attributes
of power, legitimacy, and urgency, making them the ideal target population (Mitchell, Agle, &
Wood, 1997). The targeted population of class agents yielded 10 interview subjects for this
project. A general appeal went out to Class Agents to participate in the study. A total of 13
individuals expressed interest in being in the study, but only 10 were ultimately able to
participate due to scheduling conflicts. Each respondent was interviewed while being audio
recorded to assist in transcription; permission was obtained prior to audio recording. During the
interview, the interviewer also took notes.
Documents and Artifacts
Document analysis was specifically used to understand the cultural setting and cultural
model of the organization. The documents analyzed were the alumni office plan of action and
alumni solicitation letter. Document analysis can be the most natural part of any investigation
because is not as intrusive as the other data collection methods (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). This
data collection process was beneficial for assessing the organizational influences on alumni
giving, as it was not intimidating to the employees who conduct this work.
Data Analysis
In an effort to make sense of the collected data, all interview transcripts and notes from
the documentation review were analyzed (Creswell, 2014). The collected data were organized
into themes to help identify gaps and make recommended solutions to increase alumni
participation in the giving program.
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31
Interview Analysis
Data analysis began during the interviews. During the interviews, and after each
interview, analytic memos were used to document thoughts, concerns, and initial conclusions
related to the research questions. Interviews were transcribed and coded as soon after the
interview as possible. According to DeCuir-Gunby, Marshall, and McCullough (2011), the initial
step of data analysis is open coding, to essentially create labels and explore the ideas in the data.
Once codes had been created using open coding, axial coding was used to tease out any
connections that existed between codes; then themes and patterns in relation to the research
questions were identified (DeCuir-Gunby, 2011).
Document Analysis
Document analysis was specifically used to help evaluate the organization’s cultural
setting. Analyzing documents is much like the process used when analyzing interview
data (Bowen, 2009). The two documents reviewed were the alumni office plan of action and the
solicitation letters sent to alumni. In analyzing the documents, a full review took place by
reading the documents and sorting findings into themes. Upon identifying themes, the themes
were prioritized.
Results and Findings
The purpose of this project was to validate gaps in knowledge, motivation, and
organizational issues to determine potential elements that may impact alumni donations to CIS.
This project concludes with recommendations for improving the lack of alumni giving at CIS.
The following questions guided the project:
1. To what extent is CIS meeting its goal to increase CIS alumni participation?
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32
2. What are the knowledge, motivation, and organizational elements related to CIS
achieving the organizational goal among CIS alumni?
3. What are the recommendations for organizational practice in the areas of knowledge,
motivation, and organizational resources related to CIS achieving the organizational goal
among CIS alumni?
The data collection efforts undertaken to answer the above questions and validate the assumed
influences in Table 2, below, were interviews of 10 CIS alumni who served as class agents and
document analysis.
Table 2
Validated Assumed Influencers on Alumni Giving at CIS
Influencer Type Validated
Knowledge
Alumni need knowledge of what
initiatives are made possible through
fundraisings.

Declarative
(Factual)
Yes
Alumni need to know how to make a
gift.

Procedural Yes
Motivation
Value: Donors need to see the value
in giving to the school.
Yes

Emotional: Donors must feel a
positive relationship to cultivate
active choice in giving.

Yes
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33
Organizational
Cultural Setting Influence: The
organization needs to feel it is
important to reach out to all alumni
in order for all of them to know the
school’s strategic initiatives and
impact alumni giving has on the
organization.

Yes
Cultural Model Influence: The
organization needs to provide a
training program for the
development staff on soliciting gifts.
Yes

Participating Stakeholders
The stakeholder population of focus included the 67 CIS alumni who volunteered as class
agents. These stakeholders were selected due to their range of experiences with CIS, their range
of graduation years, and that the school had verified contact information for them. A general
email for participants was sent out to all class agents. Overall, 13 alumni class agents expressed
interest in participating in the study. Three of the 13 class agents who expressed interest were not
able to schedule a time to participate, therefore 10 alumni class agents ultimately participated in
the study. All of the individuals interviewed attended CIS for at least one semester, served as
alumni class agents, and did not have children enrolled in the school. The youngest alumni class
agent interviewed graduated in 2013 and the oldest graduated in 1968. The longest student
attendance tenure was 13 years while the shortest was 2 years. Table 3 shows the demographics
of the group of alumni class agents interviewed.
The interviews were conducted over 2 weeks with the 10 individuals who satisfied the
participant criteria. Eight of the interviews took place in person, on campus and two were
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34
conducted over the telephone. Within the conceptual framework, the findings from these
interviews were analyzed alongside the research questions and are categorized by the knowledge,
motivation, and organizational influencers in the proceeding sections.
Table 3
Interviewee Demographics
Gender Class
year
Years
at school
Lives in same
city as school
Graduated
Male 1968 4 Y N
Female 1978 2 N N
Female 1994 5 Y Y
Male 1999 6 Y Y
Female 2003 5 Y Y
Male 2003 12 Y Y
Male 2005 12 Y Y
Male 2011 8 Y Y
Male 2013 13 Y Y
Male 2013 13 Y Y

Knowledge Findings
Research has shown it is important to analyze knowledge and skills in problem solving.
Further, incorporating knowledge influences related to performance issues dramatically increases
the chance that a performance goal is improved (Clark & Estes, 2008; Krathwohl, 2002). The
findings below present the gap in knowledge identified in the data collection.
Knowledge of the funding priorities. The knowledge results examined in this study
indicated that interviewees’ general knowledge about the funding priorities of CIS was limited.
When interviewees were asked to describe why CIS solicits donations, only three of the
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35
participants could somewhat accurately describe the funding priorities of general program
support, professional development, building fund, endowment, and short-term financial need.
Interviewees’ responses included, “For the health [of the school] and for students to continue to
have the top notch, state of the art facility and to be able to hire people that we think have great
ways of contributing to the community”; and “From what I know, the payments that the students
make cannot actually pay for the total expenses. So, there has to be some donations from alumni,
from parents, from students to maintain the operations of the school.” Another interviewee stated
the funding priorities as:
They want to provide better facilities and services for their students and for faculty, just
to provide a really high quality education for the students here. I think that’s why. And,
they do from what I hear from my friends who have older kids here.
Not knowing what the school is trying to accomplish through fundraising is a knowledge gap
that doubtless contributes to the lack of alumni giving. For example, if CIS is trying to build a
new lower-school playground, and alumni have fond memories of their time at recess, knowing
what the school is looking to do with fundraised dollars is an important piece of knowledge for
alumni. That 70% of the alumni could not accurately describe what the school solicits funds for
demonstrates a knowledge gap. In addition, if the school was adequately communicating with
alumni, the interviewees would have at least been able to talk about improvements on campus
and what might be being funded. The evidence presented through the interview answers points to
a knowledge gap in what CIS is asking alumni to support financially.
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36
Knowledge of how to make a gift. A lack of procedural knowledge was reported by
80% of the participants. When asked to describe the process of making a gift, none of the
interviewees knew how to make a gift to the school, unless they gave cash at an event.
Interviewees who attended events described the process of giving cash donations. One stated, “I
pulled money out of my wallet and gave it to the alumni director to help cover the cost of the
event.” Another interviewee said, “I have never made a gift so I do not know how.” Another
said, “I actually have no idea.”
Knowing how to make a gift online or in person is an example of procedural knowledge.
When reviewing the solicitation information sent to alumni, the instructions on how to make a
gift were not in alignment with best practices because the information was buried within the
solicitation letter. Mayer (2011) suggested information should be presented in such a way that it
is straightforward and does not overload learners with extraneous and unnecessary details. When
alumni know the funding goals, such as a new lower-school playground, they must also have the
knowledge of how to make a donation to complete the task.
Motivation Findings
Rudea (2011) reported cited motivation as a key factor to the successful accomplishment
of a stakeholder goal. Motivation plays a key part in how a person not only continues with a task
but also completes it (Rudea, 2011). The findings below present the gap in motivation identified
in the data collection.
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Value. A full 100% of the participants signaled the need for donors to see the value in
donating. What individuals valued in the gift-giving process varied greatly. Some expressed the
value as outward—as in the school needs the funds—others expressed value as inward—what
the giver receives from giving. One alumni stated:
I have given mainly to just charities. You know, things that I believe in. Things to do
with the environment or underprivileged children, low-income families, that sort of stuff.
I think CIS is quite a well-financed institution. I think it’s quite well-funded. It’s quite
self-sustainable. It’s always been profitable. Yeah, I would have no idea why CIS would
want sponsorship.
This interviewee gave the impression that CIS was not in need of donations and that he did not
value what CIS would do with financial support. Giving to those in need rather than an
institution of learning was of more value to this individual.
In speaking to his or her own motivations, one interviewee explained:
Giving has a lot to do with Guan xie connection. Guan xie is a connection and is seen as a
reciprocal relationship. So, if you give, you are establishing a connection with a place, or
an institution, or a person. From some perspectives, it can be perceived as not being very
altruistic, sort of like giving with an expectation of something coming back in return, but
giving is not theoretically really perceived that way. Giving is really from your heart.
This comes into play because if an alum isn’t a permanent stakeholder at the school, like
having kids or nephews and nieces at the school, then they are not really going to get
anything in return. Or, they are not going to see how their gifts have manifested into
something, right? But if they are giving and they have got little kids at the school and
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38
their kindergartner or their second grader comes back being able to program a bee-bot
then they fell like, “Oh! there is a reason that I’m contributing financially to the school.”
This response describes the relationship as a value to the donor. The value this donor found in
giving came through a family member. Making a gift benefitted the school by allowing students
to do more, but it also benefitted the family, as a niece or nephew was a direct beneficiary of the
support.
Similar to the above response, another participant explained that the value of giving could
be found in social status or a business relationship:
I think giving in this culture, people give or donate, potentially, I do not have any science
behind this or whatever, but in general, it’s probably maybe perceived as prestigious or
done to be more of an investment in reputation, more of a social status symbol.
The theme of seeing value in giving arose in another comment:
In this culture, there are a lot of reasons people give and there is this honor and face-
saving aspect to giving here. The gift isn’t about what the gift would benefit on the other
end, but more about your own personal reasons, that surface level reason for giving.
Interview participants expressed that the value found in giving was not solely defined by
knowing that the school valued the gift. Knowing that the school needed the funds and how they
were used was important. However, the evidence in the interviews indicates that the value
derived by the donor making the gift is equally important. The value placed on their donation
was defined by how it was perceived by others or how it would benefit the donor or others close
to the donor. In their answers to questions about culture, the participants clearly indicated that
donations were to support the institution as well as to help their family, themselves, their
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39
business or social setting. The responses did not seem self-congratulatory, but rather conveyed
that to make a gift to an institution, the institution needs to be connected to the donor—for
example, part of the donor’s inner circle. The value of the gift is in the relationship, not the
outcome of the organization’s work with the funds. How the organization uses the fund is
important and needs to be communicated, but to get to that point, the organization must be
positively intertwined in a way with the donor. This finding is evident in interview responses and
how participants connected value to cultural norms. Family, social status, business relationships,
and the success of the future generation of the family is of great importance and a cultural norm
in Asian culture. Participants expressed that they valued relationships and the benefit to those
relationships of making a donation. The institution’s needs were not diminished by participants
when they answered questions around value. Value in this setting needs to be identified from the
institution and connected to the individual.
Emotion. Approximately 60% of participants revealed that a positive emotion played a
role in their decision to make a donation, illustrating the finding that positive emotional
environments support motivation (Clark & Estes, 2008). Participants revealed that when giving
to any organization, an emotional pull that motivated the decision to give. For example, one
interviewee said that he gave because a relative was affected by a disease, so the cause was
meaningful to him:
I think what motivated me was mostly because I had family that had struggled with breast
cancer and recently passed away. I feel that was the number one motivating factor for me
at least. I’ve donated a lot to breast cancer research specifically. In my free time, I play
Overwatch [a video game] competitively. One of the things that they do in their
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40
community is they hosted this event where you can buy an online item in the game and
all the proceeds would go to breast cancer research. I think they broke a world record for
that for the largest amount of donations given to a virtual video game. I think that was
really cool, to be part of a community that wants to give back.
Another participant revealed an emotional connection to giving when discussing what he
supported, “You know, things that I believe in and have an emotional connection to. Things to
do with the environment or underprivileged children, low-income families, that sort of stuff.”
Another participant explained that people give to causes they really care about, “So once
something that really matters to people, what they really care about, and then they can see where
their donation is making some kind of contribution.”
Another important factor in making a donation was an emotional connection to the
institution or cause someone was supporting. The interviewees stated that they either knew
someone who was in need or cared deeply about the issue that affected people. Responses
indicated that the participants again were interested in people. They did not use words like
“institution” or “school” or “program” or “fund,” but mentioned people, children, and family.
The emotional connection to their charitable giving was based around value to the institution or
the donor, which also goes back to cultural norms.
Organizational Findings
Improving organizational performance in a practical manner is a priority for all
organizations, and analyzing the influences within the organization in relation to cultural setting
and model can help identify organizational gaps (Clark & Estes, 2008). The findings below
present organizational gaps identified in the data collection.
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41
Cultural setting. The conceptual framework shows an intersection between the
knowledge and motivation of the alumni class agents and the cultural setting. As Knowles (1980)
pointed out, people are task oriented and more motivated to participate when they see the
relevance of information, a request, or task. If the school does not provide relevant information
on why it needs philanthropic support and develop relationships or engage with alumni, they are
less likely to make a donation. Based on the interviews of 10 alumni class agents, CIS had not
been putting emphasis on effectively communicating with alumni. Eight out of 10 participants
could not remember being contacted by the school, “I can't think of anything right now as well.
Probably you, for asking in an interview.” Another answered, “No, but I wouldn’t be sure what
they would be contacting me for.” Yet another participant added, “Not other than those emails
that just say here’s the newsletter.” Further, six of the 10 had not read the website or any print or
emailed information from CIS to which they had access. The document analysis revealed the
school’s failure to cultivate alumni relations. It had made no effort to communicate with them in
order to build an emotional connection or reveal any need or value around giving to the school.
Furthermore, there were no indications that the school was working to develop relationships with
all alumni to show value to the school or to the alumni around giving. Because an email address
was not recorded for everyone, more than 5,000 alumni had never been contacted about
participating in the giving program. Hall’s (2010) theory suggests that, just like an iceberg,
culture is made of a visible and an invisible part. Communication is a visible part of the cultural
setting; a lack of communication with alumni is evident from this study. Therefore, the assumed
need of the organization to reach out to alumni is validated by evidence that 8 out of 10 of the
participants could not recall being engaged by the school. Building a relationship with the
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42
school, its representatives, or volunteers is an important step in the process to increase alumni
giving.
Cultural model. Organizations often suffer from differences in cultural beliefs and
expectations from people within the organization (Clark & Estes, 2008). Hall’s (2010) iceberg
theory is reflected in this study’s findings. The cultural findings from the interview are below the
surface and not easily seen. Based on information from the interviewees, culture played a part in
what motivated alumni to participate in the giving program. Ten out of 10 participants indicated
a cultural component in their motivation to give, or the motivation of others to give. One
participant commented:
I think it has to do a little bit more with your face, you’re saving face or a little bit of
pride. The more obvious answer would be similar to if I went to a wedding in Asia—we
always have to give red envelopes. The amount is written down and people would be able
to see and say, “Oh, he gave that much,” and I would be able to say, “Yeah, I gave that
much.” But I know in say, in American culture, they don’t really have that. But in Asian
culture, the amount you donate, people actually see how much you donate. It’s cultural
and you expect to get that much back at your wedding.
This is an example of how giving is seen within Asian families. In American culture,
philanthropy and a wedding gift are not typically in the same conversation. However, when
family and extended family are a prominent and deep part of your culture, giving to family and
friends in this culture is associated with giving. During Chinese New Year, red envelopes with
large sums of money are passed out among friends, family members, and business associates.
The red envelope is an established giving practice within the Asian culture (Shapiro et al., 2018)
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43
and a large part of giving in Asia. Giving norms between the East and the West differ
dramatically. Drawing comparisons is complex because what is considered philanthropic giving
in one culture may not be seen that way in another.
The solicitation plan for the alumni office did not take cultural differences into
consideration when soliciting alumni. The same, standard email was sent to every alumnus
regardless of cultural norms, and that email came from the school, not a peer, classmate, or
beloved faculty member the alumni might admire. The tax benefit of giving was prominent in the
letter even though many people could not use a tax advantage from a country for which they did
not file taxes. The interview analysis and document analysis provide evidence that the cultural
nuances that accompany giving and building relationships were not taken into consideration in
the CIS annual giving program.
Solutions and Recommendations
The recommendations section below is based on the KMO model for which this study
was organized. The following section provides recommendations to address the gaps found in
declarative and procedural knowledge, value and emotion regarding motivation, and the
organizational influences around cultural model and cultural setting that play a role in the lack of
alumni giving.
Knowledge Recommendations
The assumed knowledge influences identified in this study were declarative and
procedural knowledge gaps. Both of these gaps were identified as having a high probability of
being validated as gaps in knowledge. These two gaps were prioritized as having high impact as
they were identified in the literature review and validated in the data analysis. Clark and Estes
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44
(2008) guided the conceptual framework used to analyze the assumed knowledge, motivation,
and organizational influences that contribute to reaching the organizational goal.
Recommendations, based on theoretical principles for those influences, are shown in the
implementation plan in Tables 4, 5, and 6.

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Table 4
Influence Findings and Recommendations: Knowledge
Assumed
Knowledge
Influence
Validated
as a Gap?

Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle and
Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Alumni need
knowledge of
what
initiatives are
made possible
through
fundraisings.
YES
Declarative
(Factual)
YES, HIGH
Lack of
declarative
knowledge
to achieve
goal was
revealed
during
informal
interviews
in this area
among 80%
of
respondents.
HIGH
Cryder et al. (2013) provided
evidence that knowing more
about organizations’ impact
increases donors’ perceptions
that their support will make a
difference.

Help individuals meaningfully
organize and connect new
knowledge to prior knowledge
to construct meaning (Schraw
& McCrudden, 2006).
Provide alumni
with information
on what
enhancements
were made
possible when
they were at CIS
as well as those
that can be made
possible through
new donations.
Alumni need
to know how
to make a gift.
YES
Procedural
YES, HIGH Mayer (2011) suggested that
information be presented in
such a way that it is
straightforward and does not
overload learners with
extraneous and unnecessary
details.
Procedural knowledge is a
critical part of alumni giving,
as alumni must know how to
make a gift when they are
motivated to do so (Clotfelter,
2012).
According to Rueda (2011),
one feature of procedural
knowledge is that once
individuals know how to do
something, and they practice it,
that knowledge becomes
automated.
Provide alumni
with step-by-step
instructions on
how to make a
gift when asked.

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Table 5
Influence Findings and Recommendations: Motivations
Assumed
Motivation
Influence
Validated
as a Gap?

Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle
and Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Value: Donors
need to see the
value in
making a gift
to the school.
YES
V
Yes, HIGH.
The need
for donors
to see value
in the
school’s
funding
priorities
revealed
during
informal
interviews
in this area
among
100% of
respondents.
Value: Wigfield and
Eccles (2000) reported
that the more a person
values a task and expects
success, the greater their
motivation is to do it.
Show the donors how
donations support the
school through school
tours, financial
reports, informational
mailing, and
relationship building
with the school and
volunteers.
Emotional:
Donors must
feel positive
about
cultivating an
active choice
in giving.
YES
V
Yes, HIGH.
Donor
feeling a
positive
relationship
to cultivate
active
choice
revealed
during
informal
interviews
in this area
among 80%
of
respondents
Berman (2018) concluded
in a study that when
making the active choice
to support an
organization, donors rely
more on emotion that
rationality.
Recommendation that
alumni be engaged in
experiences in
connection with CIS
that bring about
positive relationship
feelings such as
remember when
events and
opportunities to
connect with
classmates and
faculty.

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Table 6
Influence Findings and Recommendations: Organizational
Assumed
Organizational
Influences
Validated
as a Gap?

Priority
Yes, No
(Y, N)
Principle
and Citation
Context-Specific
Recommendation
Cultural
setting
influence 1:
The
organization
needs to feel it
is important to
reach out to
all alumni in
order for all of
them to know
the school’s
strategic
initiatives and
impact alumni
giving has on
the
organization.
YES
V
Yes.
Validation
of the need
for CIS to
reach out to
alumni
revealed
during
information
interviews
when 80%
of
interviewees
reported not
recalling
being
contacted
by CIS.
Improving organizational
performance in a practical
manner is a priority for all
organizations, and analyzing
the influences within the
organization in relation to
cultural setting and model can
help identify organizational
gaps (Clark & Estes, 2008).
Develop a plan of
action for CIS
alumni staff to
reach out to all
alumni.
Cultural
model
influence 1:
The
organization
needs to be
aware of
cultural
differences
around
philanthropy.
YES
V
Yes
Validation
of the need
to be
culturally
aware in the
giving
program
was
apparent
when 100%
of
interviewees
mentioned
cultural
influences
in giving.
Learning tasks that are similar
to those that are common to
the individual’s familiar
cultural model can promote
learning and transfer
(Gallimore & Goldenberg,
2001)
Train alumni
office on cultural
differences in
giving.

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Increasing CIS alumni knowledge about how to make a donation. The results and
findings of this study indicated that 80% of CIS alumni needed knowledge of what initiatives are
made possible through fundraising. A recommendation based on information processing and
cognitive load theories has been selected to help close this declarative knowledge gap. Schraw
and McCrudden (2006) reported that meaningfully organizing and connecting new knowledge to
prior knowledge helped individuals construct meaning. This finding would suggest that by
linking alumni’s already-established knowledge of the school to how their donations can further
help, new meaning could translate into increased donations. The recommendation is then to
provide alumni with information on what enhancements were made possible when they were at
CIS and those that can be made possible through new donations.
Cryder et al. (2013) provided evidence that knowing more about an organization’s impact
increases donor perception that their support will make a difference. Cryder et al. studied the
influence of detailed information on giving to determine a link between information received
about the organization and increased giving. Cryder’s et al.’s findings suggest that detailed
information on a charitable organization and the impact one will make through donating can
influence generosity. This evidence affirms the usefulness of providing information on what
donations support at CIS.
Procedural knowledge. The results and findings of this study indicated that 80% of
participants needed more in-depth procedural knowledge about how to make a donation to CIS,
which could meet the organizational goal of increasing alumni participation in the giving
program. A recommendation rooted in cognitive load theory has been selected to close this
procedural knowledge gap. Mayer (2011) suggested that information be presented in such a way
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49
that it is straightforward and does not overload learners with extraneous and unnecessary details.
Thus, providing alumni with clear donation instructions on how to make a gift would support
their ability to then make one. The recommendation is to provide alumni with step-by-step
instructions on how to make a gift when asking them to donate. A simple, step-by-step
instruction sheet inserted with the solicitation letter, and included on the website, would detail
the ways to make a gift via cash, credit card, and wire transfer.
Clotfelter (2012) described receiving information about giving as a critical part of the
solicitation and donation process. Researchers have shown that when organizations place a
greater emphasis on providing information to alumni on giving, alumni participation increases
(Clotfelter, 2012). Donors need the information required to carry out the act of making the
donation when they make the decision to give. Studies affirm that providing information on how
to make a gift in the solicitation materials and on the website (Clotfelter, 2012).
Motivation Recommendations
The assumed motivational influences identified for this study were value and emotion.
Both of these gaps were identified as having a high probability of being validated as gaps in
motivation. These two gaps were prioritized as having the most impact since they were identified
in the literature review and validated in the data analysis. Clark and Estes (2008) were used as a
guide in this conceptual framework to analyze the assumed knowledge, motivation, and
organizational influences that contribute to reaching the organizational goal. Recommendations,
based on theoretical principles, for those influences are outlined in the implementation plan
(Appendix E).
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50
Value. Approximately 80% of participants reported that knowing the value of their gift—
in that their gift mattered and made a difference—was important when considering making a
donation. A recommendation rooted in value theory was selected to increase motivation to make
a donation. Wigfield and Eccles (2000) reported that the more a person values a task and expects
success, the greater his or her motivation is to carry it out. This finding suggests that modeling
perceived value and enthusiasm around the school’s funding priorities would help increase
motivation to make a donation. The recommendation is to promote and model alumni giving and
the value of those donations in school materials and from alumni peer-to-peer relationship
building. It is recommended to ensure that the value of the donation not only to the school but
also to the individual is communicated. Using a peer-to-peer solicitation program to show donors
that others like them have given is recommended as a way of showing value on a personal or
family level. Modeling giving behavior and promoting enthusiasm around it strengthens the
value.
Frey and Meier (2004) examined conditional cooperation in charitable giving. In a field
study, their research showed that donations increased, on average, when donors knew others had
contributed. Likewise, Martin and Randal (2008) provided information on the historical
frequency of donations and reported that knowledge of individuals’ giving had a significant
impact on others’ donation behavior. This finding affirms the recommendation that modeling and
promoting current alumni giving to demonstrate the value to others can help increase motivation
especially in this environment where the relationship around giving has been identified as an
important part of the giving process.
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51
Emotion. Approximately 60% of participants revealed that positive emotions played a
role in the decision to make a donation. A recommendation rooted in emotional behavior theory
has been selected to address this gap. Berman (2018) concluded that when making the active
choice to support an organization, donors relied more on emotion than on rationality. This
finding would suggest that engaging alumni in experiences that bring about positive emotions
would be useful for increasing alumni participation. Suggestions such as “remember when”
campaigns, alumni social happy hours, and engagement with current students could be used to
create positive emotions within alumni.
Pringle (2008) reported data from 1,400 case studies on the most effective advertising
campaigns over the last 30 years to determine if emotional appeal or rational informational
campaigns are more effective. Pringle showed that advertising that appealed to individuals on a
purely emotional level performed twice as well as those that appealed to individuals on an
informational level. This finding supports the recommendation to engage alumni on an emotional
level through various events and campaigns.
Organizational Recommendations
The assumed organizational influences identified for this study revolved around culture
setting and cultural model. Both of these gaps were identified as having a high probability of
being validated as organizational influences. These two influences were prioritized as having the
most impact, as they were identified in the literature review and validated in the data analysis.
Recommendations, based on theoretical principles, for those influences are shown in the
implementation plan in Table 4.
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52
Cultural setting. Approximately 80% of participants did not recall being contacted by
the school. This lack of communication on the part of CIS did not benefit the giving program. A
recommendation rooted in communication theory has been selected to close this organizational
gap. Clark and Estes (2008) indicated that organizational performance increases when
individuals communicate constantly and candidly to others about plans and processes. This
finding suggests that CIS build relationships with alumni and communicate the funding
priorities, the need for donations, the process to donate, and how giving benefits both the school
and the individual, and highlight people who are donating to the alumni community. The
recommendation is for the organization to create a plan to include peer-to-peer relationships
among trained class agents to ensure alumni receive accurate and positive information about the
school and the giving program.
Van Slyke and Brooks (2005) sought to identify why people make charitable donations.
Using a multi-method approach of survey data and interviews, they found that just being asked
was a simple yet important step in compelling someone to make a donation. Through their
analysis, they found that communicating with potential donors was essential to the giving
process. Institutions like CIS cannot expect individuals to give if they are not communicated
with; therefore, a plan that incorporates reaching out to all alumni with accurate and relevant
information is recommended.
Cultural model. All participants interviewed revealed some type of cultural influence
affected their donating choices. The lack of training for the alumni office around cultural norms
created an organizational gap. Learning tasks that are similar to the potential donor’s familiar
cultural model can promote learning and transfer (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). This finding
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53
suggests that the alumni office take into consideration the cultural norms in giving when training
the class agents and soliciting donations for the school. The recommendation is for the
organization to provide training on cultural awareness in giving and to incorporate cultural
norms into the solicitation plan. For example, if the culture believes in giving to people you
know and have a relationship with, it is recommended that CIS create a peer-to-peer solicitation
framework using volunteers.
In her book on philanthropy in Asian countries, Shapiro et al. (2018) sought to show how
philanthropy works in Asia. Using 30 case studies and other research, Shapiro et al. reported that
philanthropic tendencies in Asia center around giving to develop or strengthen a business or
personal relationship, in addition to providing aid. Shapiro et al. stated that charity in Asian
cultures grows through longstanding traditions such as relationship building and family.
Providing training on cultural norms is recommended for the alumni office and alumni
volunteers in a peer-to-peer solicitation program.
Limitations and Delimitations
The inability to interview all 10,000 alumni is a limitation to this study. Due to time
constraints, data, and scope, such an effort would have been near impossible. In addition, of
those alumni who were interviewed, it is not possible to ensure the validity of their statements.
The inexperience of the interviewer is a limitation, as is the lack of information on philanthropy
in independent schools in Asia. However, this study could be duplicated in the future with
additional alumni using the methodology from this study.
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Conclusion
This study analyzed alumni knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences
affecting donation behavior to their alma mater. This study included two document analyses and
10 qualitative interviews with alumni who volunteered as class agents. The document artifacts
and qualitative interview data presented in this study showed that there were differences in
overall views of philanthropy and culture, and the findings support the belief that these
perspectives are important to the discussion around alumni giving.
The study was organized around the six identified KMO influencers. These identifiers
were presented in the literature review and used as the basis for the data collection and final
recommendations. Knowledge influences included declarative and procedural influences;
motivation influences included value and emotion; and organizational influences addressed the
cultural setting and model within the organization. These KMO influencers were shown to be a
factor in alumni giving and were used to develop recommendations to solve the problem. The
recommendations in this study provide a program to address the knowledge, motivational, and
organization gaps in an effort to increase alumni participation. They are presented through the
framework of the new world Kirkpatrick model (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2016).
The funding needs for education are unlimited. As economies around the world increase,
learning what motivates people to make charitable donations is helpful for educational
institutions that rely on philanthropy for financial support. This research study validated several
influences in giving, helped identify context-specific strategies to close the performance gap
created, in part, by these influences, and provides findings around the importance of cultural
norms in the giving process. It is my hope that this study, the research behind it, and the
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55
proposed recommendations not only help increase alumni giving at CIS, but also generate more
interest in best practices for garnering support for educational institutions around the world while
approaching giving in cultures other than our own in a meaningful way for donors.
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Appendix A: Participating Stakeholders with
Sampling Criteria for Interview

Alumni class agents were the stakeholder population of focus for this study. I reached out
via email to all class agents and asked them to participate in the study by taking part in a 1-hour
interview. Once participants agreed, I scheduled the interviews at a convenient time for each
respondent and requested his or her written consent for the audio recording of the interview.
Interview Sampling Criteria and Rationale
● Criterion 1: Participants must have attended CIS and be considered an alumnus of the
school based on attending at least one semester.
● Criterion 2: Participants must be alumni class agents.
● Criterion 3: Participants must not be current parents, so that they are not receiving
solicitations to give as a parent and only as an alumnus from the alumni office.
Interview Sampling Recruitment Strategy and Rationale
I used convenience sampling to get detailed, rich information to answer the research
questions, provided that participants had met the criteria established for purposeful sampling. I
was able to verify whether each person met the criteria through the alumni office class agent
roster and the school database of alumni. Marshall, Cardon, Poddar, and Fontenot (2013) stated
that15–30 respondents is adequate for a qualitative interview for a single case study. I could not
get that high of a response rate nor did I have the time to interview 30 respondents. I was able to
recruit 10 participants to engage in informal interviews so that I could glean rich data for
analysis. If more than 10 had said they would participate in the interviews and scheduled a time,
I would have taken the first 10. If 10 had not responded, then a snowball sampling approach
would have been used. I would have asked those who did respond for references of others who
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57
met the criteria and might be willing to participate (Weiss, 1994). No compensation was
provided to any interview participant.
Interview Guide
The below interview guide was used for each of the ten interviews:
Thank you for your time today. I appreciate your willingness to be a part of this study. I am
interested in hearing from you today about your experience as it relates to being an alumnus
of the school and your knowledge of the giving program. As a reminder, your participation is
strictly voluntary and at any time you are free to not answer a question or withdrawal from
participating. I intend to use pseudonyms instead of your name when using any of the data. In
addition, your interview transcript will be kept confidential and stored on my computer that
is password protected. Today I would like to use an audio recorder so that I may better ensure
I accurately reflect your answers when transcribing and analyzing the interview data. I will
delete the recording after I transcribe it, and then delete the transcriptions after three years. Is
that okay with you? I may also take notes during this interview. Is that okay with you? Thank
you. Do you have any questions? Thank you.
1. Tell me about yourself?
2. Where did you go after CIS and what are you doing now?
3. How would you describe your overall experience as a student at CIS? Follow up - were
you involved in any clubs, teams or after school activities sponsored by CIS?

4. In what ways do you stay in touch with CIS such as through school visits, alumni events,
or keeping in touch with classmates?

5. Would you like to see anything changed with the way CIS stays in contact with Alumni?

6. Has CIS ever contacted you? For what? Can you describe the experience?

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7. What types of information (print or online) have you looked at about CIS in the last 12
months?

8. Have you ever given a financial donation to any organization? If yes, which organization?
Why and Describe what motivated you to do so.

9. Has CIS asked you for a financial donation? If yes, can you please tell me about it?

10. If you were to make a financial contribution to CIS what might be your motivation to do
so?

11. Can you describe the process of making a gift to CIS?

12. Can you tell me why CIS asks alumni to make donations?

13. Can you describe how donated money supports CIS?

14. Is it important for CIS to build new facilities for STEAM education, a new playground or
bring in speakers for students and training for teachers?

15. How does CIS recognize and thank people for making donations to the school?

16. Do you know someone else who has donated to CIS? If yes, did they tell you about it?
What did they say?

17. When you think about culture, can you describe how giving is perceived in this country’s
culture?

18. Thank you for your time today. Do you have anything you would like to add or is there
anything I should have asked you that I haven’t?

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Appendix B: Protocols
Document and Artifact Sampling

In providing valuable information to answer research questions, reviewing documents
can be a valuable tool for research (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The documents analyzed were the
alumni office plan of action, and solicitation letters. In reviewing these documents, I sought to
understand the organizational issues around alumni participation.
Document and Artifact Strategy and Rationale
CIS Head of School authorized access to the alumni office plan of action and solicitation
letters from 2017–2018. All documents were stripped of identifying markers to ensure
confidentiality of the study organization. The plan of action is a road map used by the alumni
office for the engagement activities of the year. The solicitation plan is incorporated in it and
outlines the priorities, timeline, and segmentation to follow when asking alumni to donate to the
school. The solicitation letters are the documents that alumni are sent that ask them to make a
gift. It is important to look at these documents to understand organizational issues around alumni
participation.
Document Analysis Protocol
Date:12/20/2018
Document Title: 2018-19 Alumni Office Plan of Action
Document Version: 1
Document Description: The 2018–2019 Alumni Office Plan of Action is a document
describing the task the alumni office will perform during the school year. It lists the
activities, by month, that the alumni officer and the assistant alumni officer will offer the
alumni and community.
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60
Start Time of Analysis: 10:00am
End Time of Analysis: 11:30am
Location: CIS
My name: Kathy Limmer
First, I read through the entire document as a casual reader. The document
consists of four pages and was created in August of 2018 by the alumni officer. After
reviewing the document, I dug a little deeper and looked for patterns and themes within
in regard to whether the alumni office feels it is necessary to reach out to all alumni, or if
they understand and take into consideration the cultural differences when soliciting
alumni. Three key findings emerged during the document analysis. First, the plan of
action does not show that they take into consideration any cultural differences in the
solicitation process. There is no mention of looking at important holidays, translating the
solicitation into other languages, using peers to solicit, or other indicators that cultural
difference are recognized. Secondly, the plan of action does not include all alumni. Only
alumni with valid email addresses receive any information, invitations to events or
solicitations. There is no mention in the plan of action to find alumni lacking contact
information. Lastly, the plan of action did not mention any training or guidance on how
to solicit alumni. The only mention is sending out a solicitation letter in the fall and
spring.

Document Description: The 2018–2019 solicitation letter is an email that goes to all
alumni with a valid email address.
Start Time of Analysis: 11:30am
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End Time of Analysis: 12:05pm
Location: CIS
My name: Kathy Limmer
First, I read through the entire letter as a casual reader. It is a half-page, single-
spaced email message that goes to alumni with a valid email address. The letter begins
with a greeting, mentions that other alumni give, and then lists five ways gifts were used
the year before. I noted that that none of the areas that was listed as supported was a
program or facility that was around when alumni 10 years out were at CIS. All of the
examples of how gifts support the school were current and only benefited current
students. In addition, the letter is signed by the assistant head of School for
Advancement. Only alumni of the last 5 years would have been at school during the same
time as the assistant head of school and only a handful would have had contact with her.
The letter mentions that gifts help the strategic plan, but there is no reference or way for
the alumni to know what is in that plan. The letter was only sent in English. The letter
does not list or explain the current funding needs.

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Appendix C: Credibility and Trustworthiness
Merriam and Tisdell (2016) noted the importance of credibility and trustworthiness in
qualitative research. In an effort to increase and maintain the credibility and trustworthiness of
this study, I used a literature review, triangulation, peer debriefing, member checking, and
triangulation. The literature review was used to validate assumed influences and to present
knowledge around the topic. During the study, I asked colleagues to review interview questions,
collected data, and findings. Creswell (2014) stated that peer review is often used in qualitative
reviews to enhance the accuracy of the researcher’s findings. Member checking is another term
used for asking clarifying questions. These clarifying questions (Maxwell, 2013) helped to clear
up misunderstandings in the data collection process and helped minimize researcher bias in the
data collection during the interviews. Triangulation is the use and collection of multiple sources
and helps reduce chance associations (Maxwell, 2003).
Similar to the interview process, I planned to do three things in the data collection phase
to address credibility and trustworthiness. First, as Patton (2002) suggested, I took notes during
the interview. This process was important as it sent a signal to the interviewee that I was paying
attention and what he or she said was important (Patton, 2002). I kept the interview to the
allotted time provided to the interviewee and offered the interviewee the opportunity to review
the transcripts. Patton suggested having experts in the field of interest review the interview
questions. I had the interview questions reviewed by my University of Southern California peers,
fundraising experts, and the communication officer at CIS.
It is important to note that as the assistant head of School for Advancement, I might have
had biases. I kept any inclinations in check by continually reflecting on my biases through
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63
maintaining a researcher journal. Merriam and Tisdell (2016) recommended an audit trail; this
journal provided that assistance, allowing reflection during and after the data collection.

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Appendix D: Ethics
Merriam and Tisdell (2016) discussed that researchers must do their work with integrity
and maintain that integrity throughout the study. The validity and reliability of a study depends
on the ethics of the researcher and the methods used to collect, store, and analyze data (Patton,
2015). As a researcher, I provided informed consent forms to all participants for their signature
at the commencement of the study. Glesne (2015) wrote that informed consent is necessary to
ensure that participants know their involvement is voluntary, all information they share is kept in
strict confidence, and they may withdraw from the study at any time. Before the interviews, I
obtained written permission to audio record the interviews. Participants were offered the
opportunity to receive transcripts of their interviews to ensure that their words had not been
changed. All data are currently stored on a password-protected computer, and identifying
information was deleted for confidentiality. I respected the participants’ right to withdraw from
the study at any time, if so desired. I submitted my study to the University of Southern California
Institutional Review Board and followed its rules and guidelines regarding the protection of the
rights and welfare of the participants in this study. Participants were reminded that incentives
would not be given for participation, so they know they were not being coerced.
My relationship to CIS is an employee-employer relationship. I have a contract that is
renewed annually as the assistant head of School for Advancement. In this position, I manage the
alumni officer and assistant alumni officer, who are delegated the alumni fundraising
responsibilities. Major alumni donors are solicited by me. Confusion could occur when I contact
alumni to for the study because they may feel that I am soliciting them. That confusion of my
role as a researcher and not an employee was resolved by clarifying the purpose of the call up
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65
front. In addition, I excluded alumni who had children in at the school or in the application
process so there was no feeling they will receive preferential treatment for their children. As
Rubin and Rubin (2012) noted, it is important to resist the urge to express strong opinions and to
listen to hear what the interview subject is saying. Assumptions and biases that need to be
accounted for include my belief that everyone can give and that everyone can see the value of a
CIS education. This bias is based on my experience as a fundraiser and member of the CIS
community; in my position, I am responsible for helping people understand why they should
give. This is a bias that I need to account for and keep out of the research process.

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Appendix E: Implementation and Evaluation Plan
Evaluating the results of an implemented solution is an important step to guide progress
toward achievable goals. Rueda (2011) stated that, by examining the results, it is possible to
determine if the implementation solved the performance problem or added to the issues. The new
world Kirkpatrick model, developed by Donald Fitzpatrick in 1954, provides a purposeful
approach to evaluation. The model is comprised of four levels. The first level, reaction, measures
the degree to which participants find the activity in which they are engaged beneficial. The
second level, learning, measures the degree to which knowledge is transferred to each
participant. The third level, behavior, measures the participant’s ability to apply the new learning
to daily work. The fourth level, results, is the progress toward realizing the organizational goal.
By starting the evaluation with Level 4, results, it is easier to connect the implementation of
solutions to the organizational goals and work backwards to measure the behaviors, learning, and
reactions that fostered the results. This evaluation framework will be used to examine the
proposed solution to the organizational performance goal for CIS to increase alumni giving to
10% by 2020.
Organizational Purpose, Need, and Expectations
CIS is an international, independent school that provides a Western education to the
children of expatriates. Tuition alone does not cover the full expenses associated with educating
each student. The school relies on donations from parents and alumni to enhance the educational
offerings while keeping tuition increases at a minimum. Therefore, CIS has an organizational
goal to increase participation in the alumni giving program to 10% by 2020. The lack of
knowledge around how to make a donation and what donations are used for, weak connections to
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67
the school, and differences in cultural norms in philanthropy play a significant role in the lack of
participation by alumni in the giving program. The proposed solution to close this organizational
performance gap is organized by knowledge, motivational, and organizational influences
identified and validated in the data collection and analysis. The below implementation and
evaluation, organized by the new world Kirkpatrick (1954) model, outlines the recommended
solutions.
Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators
Table 7 lists the metrics that would indicate CIS is achieving its desired results. The
internal outcomes represent leading indicators and the anticipated results from training the
alumni staff through created guidelines and materials for connecting with alumni. The external
results should be achieved when the internal results are realized.

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68
Table 7
Results and Leading Indicators
Results Metric(s) Method(s)
External Results
By 2020, participation
in the alumni giving
program will reach
10%.
More than 660 alumni will
make a donation via cash,
credit, or wire transfer to the
giving program.
CIS development office will
track donations by
constituency and report in
the annual report July 1–
June 30 participation among
alumni.
Internal Results
Alumni Office must
know how to contact
alumni.
Contact information is secured
for alumni.
Reports will be run to see
how many reachable alumni
are in database on a monthly
basis
Alumni Office must
give information to
alumni on making
donations.
Donations will increase. Job aid will be created to
help alumni provide
information on how to make
a donation
Alumni Office must
understand cultural
differences in giving.
Donations will increase. Alumni office will undergo
training

Level 3: Behavior
Alumni who serve as class agents for CIS were the focused stakeholders for this research
study. The first critical behavior that the alumni office staff must understand is that there are
cultural differences around philanthropy. The alumni office also needs a plan of action to ensure
alumni know funding priorities, and that they are asked to make a gift. Because having a positive
emotion is key to making a gift, alumni must demonstrate such attitudes toward the school. In an
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69
effort to cultivate a positive emotion around giving, the stakeholder group, alumni class agents,
will be invited to join the school as volunteer
leaders of the school. The class agent program will be rebranded and those individuals will be
trained to share their good experiences with other alumni. The behavioral metrics, methods, and
timing are depicted in Table 8.
Table 8
Critical Behaviors, Metrics, Methods, and Timing for Evaluation
Critical Behavior Metric(s) Method(s) Timing
(1) Alumni must
be solicited for
donations within
their cultural
norms.
Quarterly
training on
cultural
differences for
alumni office.
The supervisor shall manage
training and document
attendance
Gap
assessment
conducted
quarterly.
(2) Alumni must
understand the
solicitation and
what the funds
support.
Enhance plan of
action to include
a solicitation
plan.
The supervisor shall help the
alumni office enhance a strategic
and comprehensive solicitation
plan, and monitor progress.
Monthly
check in on
progress.
(3) Alumni class
agents must know
what CIS uses
donations for and
be seen as leaders
in the community.
Class agent
program will be
branded as a
leadership group
attend a class
agent leadership
forum about CIS.
The class agent leadership forum
will help mobilize class agents as
leaders in the CIS community.
The training will inform class
agents of funding priorities, and
teach them how to give and how
to help spread a positive word
about giving when talking with
their classmates.
Monthly
check in with
class agents.
(4) Alumni will be
thanked and know
of others who are
giving in an effort
to create positive
emotion around
giving.
Alumni office
will thank and
profile alumni
donors
Alumni office will use an annual
report and thank you letters to
show appreciation and promote
alumni who give through photos
and testimonials. In addition,
donors at events will be thanked.
Monthly
articles about
donors and
weekly thank
you letters.

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70
Required drivers. The alumni office and the alumni class agents require mutual support
from to solve the lack of alumni giving at CIS. Reinforcing alumni critical knowledge and
motivation and providing support to them through training and job aids, are crucial to
accomplishing these goals. Table 9 shows supported methods, timing, and critical behaviors .
Progress monitoring progress will take place through weekly alumni meetings between the
alumni office and the assistant head of School for Advancement. Also, present weekly giving
reports to monitor progress on alumni participation in the giving program. These activities help
monitor progress internally and externally.
Table 9
Required Drivers to Support Critical Behaviors
Method(s) Timing Critical Behaviors
Supported
1, 2, 3, etc.
Reinforcing
Employee completion of cultural training. Ongoing 1,3
Maintain job aids such as a plan of action. Ongoing 2
Job aids to assist with communicating the funding priorities
and how to make a donation.
Ongoing 2
Encouraging
Utilize peer-to-peer solicitation plan with class agent
Leadership group and forum.
Quarterly 3
Rewarding
Use annual report for profiles of alumni donors. Annually 4
Send out gift acknowledgements. Ongoing 4
Monitoring
Provide monthly newsletter. Monthly 4
Host meaningful events. Monthly 4

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71
Organizational support. The organization will support the stakeholders’ critical
behaviors by having a well-managed, metric-driven plan of action. The plan will include tools
that report on class agent progress on soliciting their classmates for donations. The organization
will also provide cultural training for the alumni office as well as resources to rebrand the class
agents into a volunteer leadership program with an annual training for the participants. Using the
annual report and other publications, the organization will support the critical behaviors by
promoting alumni who give through articles and photos. The organization will provide resources
to host events for alumni in an effort to build a strong and positive emotional bond between
alumni and the school.
Level 2: Learning
Learning goals. Following the adoption of the recommendations, the stakeholders will
be able to:
1. Convey their understanding of why donations are important for CIS.
2. Convey their understating of why CIS asks for donations.
3. Convey their understanding of how to make a gift.
4. Convey knowledge of where to find information on CIS and the giving program.
5. Model participation in the giving program (value).
Program. Stakeholder learning goals listed in this section will increase the knowledge
and motivation of the stakeholders. By creating a volunteer leadership program for class agents,
the alumni office will facilitate this learning through training. This peer-to-peer program will
provide the alumni office the opportunity to train class agents on the giving program and then
use their support to spread correct information about the program and encourage others to give.
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72
In addition, the alumni office will be trained on cultural differences in giving and use that
knowledge to work with the class agents and other alumni. The entire plan will be documented in
a plan of action and promoted through the annual report, newsletters, and events so as to reward
the participation of class agents and donors.
Evaluation of the components of learning. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) reported
that Level 2 learning is typically conducted in isolation of the overall program and is conducted
on the five components of learning: (a) knowledge, (b) skills, (c) attitude, (d) confidence, and (e)
commitment. It is important to conduct an evaluation of the conceptual knowledge, procedural
knowledge, attitudes, confidence, and commitment levels of the stakeholders to determine if the
recommendation is valid. Table 10 shows the critical components of learning for the program
and the timing of each method or activity.
Table 10
Evaluation of the Components of Learning for the Program
Method(s) or Activity(ies) Timing
Declarative Knowledge: “I know it.”
Knowledge check-in with class agents on giving priorities After training
Procedural Skills: “I can do it right now.”
Feedback on class agent leadership forum on how to make a gift After training
Attitude: “I believe this is worthwhile.”
Alumni event observations Quarterly
Confidence: “I think I can do it.”
Feedback on commitment after class agent leadership forum After training
Commitment: “I will do it.”
Overall progress toward alumni participation goals Weekly
Individual reports on solicitation by alumni class agents Monthly
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Level 1: Reaction
To gather information on the quality of the learning components, it is important to
evaluate and measure the reaction of the participants. Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2016) stated
that reaction has three different components: (a) satisfaction, (b) relevance, and (c)
engagement. Table 11 outlines the methods or tools used to measure the reactions of the
stakeholders in the performance improvement program.
Table 11
Components to Measure Reactions to the Program
Method(s) or Tool(s) Timing
Engagement
Responds favorably to joining the rebranded alumni class
agent leadership program.
After class agent
leadership forum
Suggests others who might be willing to participate. After class agent
leadership forum
Attends the Class Agent Leadership Forum. After class agent
leadership forum
In-person observation of engagement at Class Agent
Leadership Forum.
After class agent
leadership forum
Makes a donation. After class agent
leadership forum
Relevance
Post class agent leadership forum feedback. After class agent
leadership forum
Post training survey. After class agent
leadership forum
Satisfaction
Attends monthly events. Ongoing
Encourages others to give via the new program. Monthly check in and
report.

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74
Evaluation Tools
Immediately following the program implementation. The alumni class agents will be
asked to take on a rebranded role of alumni volunteer leaders. In this role, they will be
educated on the importance of the giving program, what the donations are used for, how to give,
why people give, and how to solicit gifts in a training program called the Class Agent Leadership
Forum. These individuals will be the solicitors in a peer-to-peer program in which each class
agent is assigned to his or her classmates. The class agents will use their training to not only gain
personal knowledge and motivation, but also to pass along and engage other alumni in an effort
to fill the gap in alumni giving. A post-training survey will be administered to assess the
relevance of the training, participant satisfaction, and the level of confidence in their skills. The
alumni office employees will fill out a checklist about the training as well. The checklist will
document observations about the training as well as track attendance, engagement, and behavior.
For Levels 1 and 2, use of the surveys and checklist will provide feedback for the individual
class agents and for organization to align support.
Delayed for a period after the program implementation. As the class agents move into
the peer-to-peer solicitation after the training session, a report to track their progress of
solicitation among their classmates will be used. This report and a mid-year, post-training survey
will help track Level 3 behavior and Level 4 results of the individuals, and overall program, a
sample of which is shown below.

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75

Participant post-class agent leadership forum training
survey
Name:
Date:
Class Year:

SA – Strongly
Agree, A –
Agree, N –
Neither Agree
nor Disagree, D
– Disagree, SD
– Strongly
Disagree

1 I found the
training
interesting
SA A N D SD
2 I believe my
knowledge got
strong in the
training
SA A N D SD
3 I believe my
ability and
skills got better
in the training
SA A N D SD
4 I feel more
positive toward
the school after
the training
SA A N D SD
5 I feel like I am
valued as a
class agent
SA A N D SD
6 I would like to
have more
training like this
SA A N D SD
7 I think others
would enjoy
SA A N D SD
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76
being a class
agent
8 What was your
favorite part of
the training
Open Ended
9 How do you
feel about
asking your
classmates to
make a
donation
Open Ended
10 What do you
wish was
included in the
training that
was not?
Open Ended
Figure 2. Participant post-class agent leadership forum training survey.

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77
Alumni Office Observation Checklist
Name of Class Agent:
Date:
Class Year:
Rating Scale
1- High
2- Medium
3- Low

Comments
1 Class Agent
Attended.

2 Class Agent was
engaged.

3 Class Agent
participated in
role-playing of
solicitations.

4 Class Agent
asked questions.

5 Class agent
appeared
motivated
during the
training.

6 Class agent
exhibited new
knowledge of
CIS giving
program.

7 Class agent
appeared
interested during
training.

8 Class Agent
Made a gift.
Yes or No
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78
9 Class Agent
provided other
names for
potential class
agents
Yes or No
10 The class agent
signed up to
host an event,
speak to a class
or volunteer as a
tour guide.
Yes or No
Figure 3. Alumni office observation checklist.

Class agent mid-year survey
Name:
Date:
Class Year:

SA – Strongly
Agree, A –
Agree, N –
Neither Agree
nor Disagree,
D – Disagree,
SD – Strongly
Disagree

1 I believe that
the class agent
leadership
forum helped
me perform
my duties as a
class agent
SA A N D SD
2 I believe it is a
worthwhile
volunteer
program
SA A N D SD
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79
3 I've learned a
lot about the
school since
the training
SA A N D SD
4 I've connected
with many
classmates
since the
training
SA A N D SD
5 I believe that
the giving
program is a
worthwhile
program
SA A N D SD
6 I feel confident
in my ability to
solicit my
classmates for
donations
SA A N D SD
7 I've seen
positive results
in the giving
program since
the training
SA A N D SD
8 What would
help you in
your role as a
class agent?
Open Ended
9 Will you
continue in
your class
agent role for
the next school
year? Why?
Open Ended
Figure 4. Class agent mid-year survey.

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80
Data Analysis and Reporting
The Level 4 results goal can be evaluated by comparing quarterly results to previous
results. In addition, the individual class agent reports will help determine which class agents need
additional training and those who are proficient in their roles.
Table 12
Level 4 Quarterly Results
Month 2018–2019 2017–2018
July 0.1% 0.3%
Aug 0.3% 0.3%
Sept 0.4% 2.4%
Oct 0.9% 3.1%
Nov 1.3% 3.4%
Dec 1.9% 3.5%
Jan 2.0% 4.4%
Feb 3.7% 4.5%
Mar

4.7%
Apr 4.8%
May 5.0%
Jun 5.1%

Table 13
Level 4 Class Agent Results
To date:
class of:
2018–2019 2017–2018
1960 0.1% 0.3%
1961 0.1% 0.3%
1962 0.1% 2.4%
1963 0.1% 3.1%
1964 1.1% 3.4%
1965 1.1% 3.5%
1966 1.1% 3.5%
1967 1.0% 3.5%
1967 2.0% 3.6%
1967 0.9% 3.5%

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Class of 1971
Class Agent: Class Percentage: 50% given
Date:
Classmate Name Donate
d
Name of Classmate Y
Name of Classmate N
Name of Classmate Y
Name of Classmate N
Name of Classmate Y
Name of Classmate N
Name of Classmate Y
Name of Classmate Y
Name of Classmate N
Name of Classmate Y
Name of Classmate N
Name of Classmate Y
Name of Classmate N
Name of Classmate Y
Name of Classmate Y
Name of Classmate N
Name of Classmate Y
Name of Classmate N
Name of Classmate Y
Name of Classmate N
Name of Classmate Y
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Name of Classmate Y
Name of Classmate N
Name of Classmate Y
Name of Classmate N
Name of Classmate Y
Name of Classmate N
Name of Classmate Y
Name of Classmate Y
Name of Classmate N
Name of Classmate Y
Name of Classmate N
Name of Classmate Y
Name of Classmate N
Name of Classmate Y
Figure 5. Class agent donations checklist.

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Abstract (if available)

Abstract As the cost to educate students in independent schools continues to rise, independent schools are looking to philanthropy to fill the gap between tuition and the cost of running a school. Understanding why alumni give to their alma mater is an important factor in securing donations from them, as they are a natural fit to make donations. Cresthaven Independent School was an international school located in Asia. At Cresthaven Independent School, less than 4% of alumni were making charitable contributions to the school each year. The purpose of this case study was to focus on the knowledge, motivations, and organizational issues around the lack of alumni giving at Cresthaven Independent School.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Limmer, Kathryn (author)

Core Title Lack of alumni giving in an international school in Asia

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line)

Publication Date 04/24/2021

Defense Date 04/24/2019

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag alumni,giving,OAI-PMH Harvest

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Freking, Fred (committee chair), Bryant, Gryson (committee member), Krop, Cathy (committee member)

Creator Email limmer@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-147937

Unique identifier UC11660538

Identifier etd-LimmerKath-7279.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-147937 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-LimmerKath-7279.pdf

Dmrecord 147937

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Limmer, Kathryn

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA