Does membership matter? Examining the relationship between alumni association membership and alumni giving

Abstract

is Associate Director for Membership at the University of Kentucky Alumni Association. She has worked in the fi eld of alumni relations for more than 7 years and during her time in the profession she has presented at numerous conferences about alumni association membership and has received multiple industry awards for her work. Recently, Newman was awarded the 2010 H.S. Warwick Research Award in Alumni Relations, Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). She received her doctorate in Educational Leadership and Organizational Development from the University of Louisville in 2009 and her research interests include the examination of the multiple facets of alumni association membership. ABSTRACT The author examined the relationship between alumni giving and membership in a dues-based alumni association. The researcher used the chi-square test of association to analyze population data derived from the database of a public doctoral-granting research university in the South. The study unveiled a relationship between membership and giving, with current alumni association members being 4.8 times more likely to be current university donors than non-members and 11.5 times more likely to be current donors with cumulative giving of at least US $ 10 000 as compared to non-members. Members were more likely to be donors and conversely, donors were also more likely to be alumni association members, but slightly more member donors became alumni association members before making their fi rst gift to the university. Across membership type, life members were the best donor prospects. Alumni association life members were 1.4 times more likely than annual members to be current donors and 5.7 times more likely to be current donors compared to non-members. Life members were 4.3 times more likely than annual members and 19.8 times more likely than non-members to have cumulative university giving of at least $ 10 000.