Market Research: Why Alumni Do and Do Not Give Laurent (Lo) de Janvry University of California, Berkeley University Relations
Methodology: Sample Population Random sample of L&S undergraduate alumni who graduated between 1955-2001 and currently reside within the continental United States Proportionately representative of UC Berkeley s general undergraduate alumni population Donor status CAA membership status Demographics (age, gender, ethnicity, etc.) Geographic (Bay Area, Rest of CA, Rest of USA)
Methodology: Survey Method 405 surveys completed Telephone interviews professionally administered 24% refusal rate; All refusals were by alumni who are non-donors and non-caa members 95% Confidence Interval Margin of Error: 4.9%
Methodology: Definitions Donors: Alumni who have made a gift of any amount to any campus fund sometime during the last three fiscal years (FY99-FY01) CAA Members: Alumni who are current or lifetime members of the California Alumni Association
Cal s Ranking Among Alumni Charitable Giving Priorities 62.2% 26.2% 9.6% 1.5% High Medium Low Not a priority
University s Perceived Performance and Alumni Giving Overall sample 21.0% Excellent 20.2% 29.3% Good 39.0% 22.2% Fair Poor 7.7% 25.9% 9.7% 16.2% Perceived Performance of University in Creating Positive Student Experience Donor Participation Rate
The Alumni Giving Pyramid Major Gifts Solicitations & Stewardship Alumni Giving University Communications Alumni Relationship (Awareness, Feelings, Attitude, Impressions & Perceptions) Interaction & Involvement (Relations & Events) Student Life Experience Student Experience Academic Experience
Specific Feelings: How Cal Relates to You A Great Deal 7.9% 44.7% A Fair Bit 24.9% 30.1% Only A Little Not Much At All 29.1% 37.5% A feeling that you are an important part of the Cal community 13.6% 10.6% A feeling that you only hear from Cal when it s asking for money
Specific Feelings: How You Relate to Cal A Great Deal 72.1% 37.5% A Fair Bit 23.2% 34.6% Only A Little Not Much At All 3.5% 1.0% 10.4% 16.8% Pride in your Cal degree A strong emotional connection to Cal
Specific Feelings: How You Relate to Cal A Great Deal 12.1% 15.3% A Fair Bit 35.1% 37.8% Only A Little 28.9% 31.9% Not Much At All 23.5% A desire to remain involved in the life of the university 14.3% A personal responsibility to do what you can to help keep Cal a great university
Specific Feelings: How You Relate to Cal A Great Deal 5.2% A Fair Bit 15.1% Only A Little 24.0% Not Much At All 55.6% A strong affinity with your graduating class
Specific Reasons for Giving Reasons alumni may have for making donations to Cal My Berkeley education was made possible, in part, by the generosity of those who came before me, and I have a responsibility to help assure that future students have the same opportunity I had Giving to Cal is a way to help students and make it possible for more of them to get a Berkeley education Overall 8 7/8 Campus Campus Donors Nons 20s 30s 40s 50s Caucasian 8 3 2 3 Ethnic Background Tuition doesn t cover the full cost of a Berkeley education, so everyone - including those who paid full tuition - owes something in return Cal has had a positive influence on my life, and my donation is a way for me to give something in return Cutbacks in state funding have made alumni support more important than ever to help Cal remain a worldclass university 9 7/8 6 5 4 4 10/11 7 4 Research and scholarships done at Berkeley lead to advances in many areas, so giving helps the university have a positive impact on the world 1 3 1 The value of my own Cal degree depends upon the continued strength of the university 7 9 6 Alumni gifts demonstrate widespread support that helps Cal compete for the very best faculty and students 2 1 2 U.S. News and World Report and other national publications use alumni donations to rank and compare universities Alumni donations enable the university to fund innovative programs, address urgent needs, and take advantage of unforeseen opportunities Alumni donation support the chancellor s vision and goals by providing him funds he can use wherever the campus needs it most 11 11 10/11 5 6 5 10 10 9 Key: 1 = Largest % of Very Important Responses; 11 = Lowest % of Very Important Responses = A strong driver of alumni giving to Cal = Very Important > 40% = Weak driver of alumni giving to Cal = Not Really Important At All > 25%
Specific Reasons for Not Giving Reasons alumni may have for NOT making donations to Cal Overall Campus Donors Campus Nons 20s 30s 40s 50s Ethnic CaucasianBackground Cal just does not need my money as much as other organizations 3 3 3 My money has greater impact on smaller and local organizations 1 1 1 I don t know where my gift dollars go or how they are used 2 4 2 I feel my obligation to Cal was already fulfilled by paying my tuition 9 12 6/7 Money given to Cal is wasted on non-essential programs or an inefficient bureaucracy 6/7 5 6/7 The amount Cal asks me to give is just too high 8 6/7 8 CAA Members Only: I already support the university as a member of the CAA 5 2 11 Cal did little to build a relationship with me as a student, so I don t care to have much of a relationship with it now 6/7 6/7 5 I already support Cal simply by paying taxes 10/11 8 10 My relationship with Cal pretty much ended when I graduated 4 11 4 The amount I can give really makes little or no difference to a place like Cal 10/11 9/10 9 As a public university, Cal gets enough funding from the state 12 9/10 12 Key: 1 = Largest % of Very Important Responses; 11 = Lowest % of Very Important Responses = A strong deterrent of alumni giving to Cal = Very Important > 25% = Not a strong deterrent of alumni giving to Cal = Not Really At All > 40%
Feelings about Contributing Unrestricted Gifts to Campus Leadership No response 17% Concerned about accountability 50% Gifts are well-spent 33%
Awareness and Perceptions of the Direction that Campus Leadership Is Taking the University 57.5% 27.2% 9.4% 5.9% Right direction No sense of direction Wrong direction Not enough info
Where Alumni Get Most of Their News and Information about Cal National or local media 62.5% California Monthly Alumni, friends or relatives Newsletters College, school, major or department Berkeley Online University Web sites Daily Californian Get no information Fundraising letters or phone calls Other 23.7% 20.0% 12.3% 7.4% 5.7% 5.4% 5.2% 1.7% 1.5%
Alumni Awareness as Students of the Campus s Need for Private Support Don t know or Not sure 3.9% Made aware as students 14.1% Not made aware as students 82.0%
Alumni Awareness as Students of the Campus s Need for Private Support Overall sample 14.1% 20s 34.7% 30s 15.1% 40s 5.2% 50s 6.9% 60+ 12.3% By Age Groups
Why Care About Annual Fundraising? Principal Gifts Planned Gifts Major Gifts Special Gifts Annual Giving The Giving Pyramid Major Gifts Gift Upgrades Donor Retention ~10% of Alumni ~90% of Gift $s ~90% of Alumni ~10% of Gift $s Donor Stewardship Donor Acquisition Annual giving programs increase the base of major gift prospects