Major Subject: Advanced Qualitative Research Methods (EDHE 830)
Contents
Introduction
Historically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher learning in the United States of America which were created with the enactment of the 1964 civil rights act to offer education to Black Americans who were not allowed to enroll in predominantly white institutions because of their origin (Drezner, 2008). However, over time these institutions have evolved to provide education services to all Americans irrespective of their race. The unique feature about historically black colleges and institutions is that they provided education to Black Americans at a relatively low cost as compared to the other Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) (Drezner, 2008). This has led to large enrollment in these institutions because most students of African Americans origin come from aw income families.
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Since their inception, these institutions have relied heavily on funding from the federal government and big corporations to fund their activities ranging from tuition to other co-curricular activities. In the recent past, federal funding for institutions of higher education has drastically reduced, and with the biting economic times, corporate financing has decreased (Jones, 2016). This has brought about an unsuspected financial uncertainty for the HBCU, which does not have an adequate economic prowess to fill in the funding gap, thereby threatening their very existence. Research has shown that due to t the financial difficulty faced by HBCU, 2 out of 107 of these institutions have closed their doors within the last five years (Cohen, 2006).
One of the very first graduates of Fisk University, W.E.B. DuBois, challenged his fellow alumni by stating that “a tiny portion of the University’s endowment has come from the alumni which are reflecting negatively on us” (Cohen, 2006). Most of the historically Black colleges such as Fisk University continue to struggle with this same issue of inadequate giving from their alumni in this new millennium. DuBois’ alma mater is an example of the several HBCUs that were put under probation in the new millennium as a result of financial instability, which paralyzed its activities for the better part of the 1990s (Hawkins, 2004). The main issue under discussion now is whether HBCUs could attain financial stability if more significant percentage of their alumni responded positively to DuBois’ challenge f offering financial support to their struggling alma maters.
In the 1990s, alumni from HBCU showed commitment towards their alma maters. On the weekends, more than 60,000 students, alumni, staff, and community supporters from HBCU would fill sports grounds to support the school’s football or any other sport the school participated in (Gamble, 2013). HBCU current students and alumni displayed their love and affection towards their respective alma mater; however, the alumni giving rates at most if not all of these institutions remained alarmingly insignificant. During this era, Howard University posted the highest HBCU alumni giving rates at 11%, while the established institutions of higher education in the country at the time posted alumni giving rate of 31% to 64% (Reaves, 2006).
Up until 2013, alumni of HBCU displayed pride and affection towards their alma mater; however, the numbers have significantly reduced as compared to the 1990s era (Gamble, 2013). Even though the attendance of HBCU alumni to their alma maters sporting events has decreased considerably, this does not prove that there has been a decline in the overall institutional pride(Cohen, 2006). However, as shown with the earlier trend, the level of institutional satisfaction does not translate to significant alumni donations since the alumni giving rates at HBCU have always been extremely low.
In 2012, the average national alumni giving rates were slightly above 30%, while the alumni giving rate at HBCUs lagged at slightly below 9% (Gasman & Bowman, 2012). With the current economic distress, historically black colleges and universities have been forced to seek alternative sources of revenue to finance their daily operations and development projects. For these institutions, raising tuition fees to supplement the funding gap is not an option because their primary purpose is providing education services at a relatively low cost. Moreover, students from these institutions come from low-income families; therefore, raising tuition fees will lead to a reduction in the enrollment rate (Wallace C. R., 2015). Thus development officers at these colleges and universities have turned to their alumni for financial support in the form of philanthropy (Cohen R. T., 2006). Since alumni pride appears not to be contributing to the low giving rates, HBCU administrators must establish the determinants that influence their alumni.
Background of the Study
Over time HBCU funding has consistently been on the decline in total dollar amounts and return on investments (Cohen, 2006). In 2012, only one HBCU had a positive double-digit on its return on investment (Top 12 HBCU Endowments, 2013). Collectively, the HBCUs with the ten most substantial funding experienced a decline of $100 million, while the predominantly white institutions with the ten most substantial funding saw a positive double-digit slightly above 100 million dollars (Top 12 HBCU Endowments, 2013). Research has shown that Predominantly White Institutions raise more funds as compared to their HBCU counterparts (Gasman & Bowman, 2012). According to the national statistics, as of 2005/6, the combined funding of 41 private HBCUs was much less as compared to the financing of one small private PWI that posted student enrollment of less than 1,400 (Cross & Slater, 1994). Even though most HBCUs have found alternative sources of soliciting funds such as corporate donations, the alumni giving rates at these institutions have lagged their PWI counterparts. Research has shown that as t 2002, the average alumni gift to his/her alma mater in PWI was at $ 300; however, the average alumni gist from HBCU was at $ 100, this was three times less than that from PWI (State-Chartered Black Universities, 2002).
In 2004, slightly over 23% of the country’s African American graduates came from HBCUs (Hawkins, 2004). As of 2012, HBCUs accounted for the training of over half of all African American teachers in the country, Xavier University of Louisiana emerged as the top producer of African American undergraduates admitted into medical school. According to a national survey, HBCUs accounted for 40% of African American engineers’ population and 33% of minority doctors in the country (Hawkins, 2004). This rampant problem of insufficient finances has threatened the very existence of HBCUs, and research has indicated that 2 out of 107 of these institutions have ceased to exist within the last five years (Bracey, 2017). In 2015, one of the most famous HBCUs, Howard University, had to retrench twenty-two employees in an attempt to cut on their budget because of the limited financial resources (Bracey, 2017). Therefore, losing some of these institutions due to financial instability has a negative effect of limiting opportunities for minority students in the United States from obtaining a college degree. As a result, W.E.B. DuBois’ charge to fellow graduates to donate to their alma mater has become a serious issue.
Most institutions of higher learning in the country have tried capital fundraising campaigns; for HBCUs, capital fundraising campaigns heavily rely on support from large foundations and corporations. However, due to the biting economic conditions, corporate financing has significantly declined. Research has shown that Corporate pretax philanthropic findings have fallen from 2.1% in 1986 to .08% in 2012 (Stern, 2013). Some of the leading organizations that provided financial support to HBCUs are Coca Cola, the General Education Board, and the Ford Foundation, etc. (Fields, 2001). These organizations are some of the major players in the global business plane. Research has raised several grounds that can be attributed to the reduction or withdrawal of financial support of these organizations to institutions of higher learning. Fields aver that there has been a shift of priorities for these organizations, organizations such as the ford foundation is now focusing more on science and medical-related issues. Therefore, a more significant percentage of their donation has been channeled towards this field, leading to a decline of funding to institutions of higher learning. (Fields, 2001). Cohen avers that for companies such as Coca Cola, there has been stiff competition from other emerging competitors for the market share, thereby affecting their profit margins, and this has reflected negatively on their donations to institutions of higher learning over time (Cohen, 2006). There is also competition from other fields to get the same financial support (Fields, 2001). Financial support from the federal government has reduced drastically, between 2007 to 2014; there has been a reduction of 23% in state funding to higher education institutions (Foxx, 2013).
Scholars aver that as a result of the decline in their most reliable sources of revenue, HBCUs have been forced to seek financial support from their alumni (Gasman, 2010). Therefore, the administrators of these institutions need to come up with efficient fundraising campaigns that are tailored toward their alumni’s preference to raise sufficient funds.
Scholars aver that the philanthropic giving by the Black Americans to their former schools depend on the connection between the university and their personal initiative (Drezner, 2009). Therefore to bring the African American alumni to fund their alma mater, it is crucial to study and understand their giving trends and motivations. There are environments in which African Americans routinely and unselfishly give (Drezner, 2009). Personal motivation cements the foundation for giving, and research shows that there are environments that Black Americans regularly and generously donate (Jackson, 2014). Therefore it is instrumental for HBCU to study and understand the motivation and giving trends of their African American alumni. Cohen avers that there is a relationship between HBCU alumni satisfaction and their rate of giving back to the institution when called upon (Hoyt, 2004).
Collectively, HBCUs have garnered a reputation for delivering poor customer service to its students (Hammonds-Greene, 2016). Research is minimal that seeks to understand the relationship between alumni engagement and alumni giving in higher education in historically black colleges and universities (Hammonds-Greene, 2016). There is significant research showing a positive correlation between undergraduate experience and alumni giving. Poor delivery of alumni services may have an impact on the perception of their overall experience. This study will assess the gap in the literature examining factors influencing alumni giving at HBCUs (Bracey, 2017).
Statement of the Problem
Scholars aver that one of the reasons alumni fail to give back to their alma maters is because most of the time, the administration of these institutions have not asked them to contribute financially (Gasman, 2010). Therefore it can be assumed that the HBCU development officers have not engaged the alumni and asked them to help consistently or such conversations have not occurred between the two parties. Researchers claim that there is a correlation between a student’s collegiate experience and his/her giving back to the institution after graduation. However, the available literature on alumni giving is insufficient to support this assertion. Furthermore, the available research heavily relied on the data from alumni donors rather than data from non-donors. Therefore, a little research has conducted that challenged the assumptions of why HBCU alumni that are non-donors choose not to give.
Some scholars claim that alumni from predominantly white institutions tend to donate more to their alma mater as compared to alumni from HBCU because HBCU graduates generally earn less as compared to graduates from PWI. According to a study conducted by Johnson, he avers that alumni from predominantly white institutions can provide more financial support to their alma mater because of the broad wealth gap between the alumni from HBCUs and those from predominantly white institutions (Gasman, 2001). He added that a 2010 research indicated that Caucasians had six times more accumulated wealth than their Black Americans counterparts (Johnson, 2013). However, this economic theory does not explain how African Americans choose to spend their discretionary resources. With the projected increase in African Americans buying power to over one trillion dollars, HBCU graduates may have a much higher giving capacity than assumed (Gasman & Bowman, 2013).
Other scholars attribute the inadequate giving of black alumni to their alma mater to the lack of a philanthropic tradition among HBCUs (Holloman et al., 2003). A culture of philanthropy among HBCU alumni has not been prevalent, although many of the institutions have been producing graduates since the late 19th century. Alumni have not lived up to what they should do to support their alma maters (Cohen, 2006). However, research has also shown that Black Americans donate a more significant portion of their income to different fields. The only shortcoming is that this study was mainly conducted using data from donor alumni, and there is minimal research with regards to non-donor HBCU alumni. Therefore, research is required on this issue. While empirical research studies on philanthropy at HBCUs are limited, there are a few documented studies related to the subject.
Cohen recommended that research was required to determine the attitudes and perceptions of HBCU alumni who are non-donors in their alma mater. In an attempt to increase financial contributions from alumni, HBCUs need to study and understand the motivation and giving trends of their African American alumni. Cohen avers that there is a relationship between HBCU alumni satisfaction and their rate of giving back to the institution when called upon (Hoyt, 2004). Therefore, it is instrumental for the institutions to have comprehensive data from HBCU alumni who are non-donors. This will enable the institution to understand and address the problems, concerns, and barriers that deter HBCU alumni from giving back to their alma mater.
Purpose of the Study
Non-donor alumni from HBCUs are considered to have a different character from those alumni that contribute financially to these institutions (Hunter, 1999). Study shows that HBCU donor alumni tend to be satisfied with their undergraduate experiences and perceived post-graduate success (Chen, 2014). These donor alumni are usually actively engaged with their alma mater through alumni association participation or receiving consistent communication from these institutions (Chen, 2014). The purpose of this study was to examine how income, student experience, religious, charitable giving, alumni perceptions, and alumni engagement relate to alumni giving at HBCUs.
Research Questions
This study will explore the impact of alumni engagement on alumni giving rates at HBCUs. This research is designed to answer the following questions:
- What is the relationship between income and alumni giving by HBCU alumni?
- What is the relationship between student experience and alumni giving by HBCU alumni?
- What is the relationship between alumni perceptions and alumni giving by HBCU alumni?
- What is the relationship between alumni engagement and alumni giving by HBCU alumni?
Theoretical Framework
To address the issue of why HBCU alumni fail to support their alma maters financially, this research was conducted through an academic prism of racial wealth gap doctrine, the social exchange concept, and the rational choice theory.
The theory of racial wealth gap avers that there is a wide gap between the wealth accumulated between the White and the Black Americans (Barsky, 2002). According to Conley, the drift exists as a result of the type of assets the whites and the Black Americans choose to accumulate. However, Barsky avers that the distribution of income among African Americans and White Americans plays a significant role in the racial wealth gap; he asserts that the Black Americans have historically accumulated assets with lower values. Conley writes that White Americans are more likely to collect transferable forms of wealth as compared to Black Americans (Conley, 2000).
For this paper, the theory of racial wealth gap was used to understand the impact that the presumed lack of wealth and discretionary income among alumni from HBCU has had on the low giving rates to their alma mater.
The social exchange theory is premised on the belief that social behavior is a result of an exchange process, and individuals will weigh the potential benefits and risks of this exchange process. When the risks outweigh the rewards, people will terminate or abandon that relationship (Emerson, 1976). Scholars use this theory to explain the relationship between a donor and his alma mater (Drezner, 2009). In this paper, the social exchange theory was utilized to understand if HBCU graduates consider their undergraduate experiences to be rewarding enough to provide a financial gift to their alma mater in exchange for their college experience.
The rational choice theory can also be referred to as the rational action theory or simply the choice theory. Gary Becker mainly propounded this theory, and it avers that individuals within a society have preferences among the choice alternative available to them (Scott, 2000). This theory models economic and social behaviors. People are motivated by the rewards and costs of actions and by the profits that they can make (Scott, 2000). There is a common belief that every decision is well calculated to determine the losses and gains associated with the choices made (cohen, 2014). According to John Scott, this theory makes individuals anticipate the outcomes of alternative courses of action and calculate that which will be best for them; therefore, right-minded individuals will choose that which will benefit them the most. In essence, people make decisions based on how much they will benefit (Scott, 2000).
For this paper, the rational choice theory was used to understand how individuals will use their limited resources based on their rational choices. An alumni’s decision to give or not to give to their alma mater may be founded on a sensible choice to use their resources in other fields that give them the highest satisfaction. For example, HBCU graduates that support their churches, but not their alma mater, may not view their alma mater as a rational choice or preference for charitable support through the use of their limited resources.
Significance of the Study
Philanthropy began in the earlier 15th century in the United States of America as individual initiatives to do good to the overall community. Cotton Mather was the first scholar to write about philanthropy in his essay Bonifacius or An Essay to do Good, where he championed for philanthropic benefaction as a way of life. It first began as a project to develop the various cities in America. Over the recent past, philanthropy has become a common activity that has drawn a lot of attention and research. Research on this field is focused on developing a theoretical base for predicting and understanding the motivation behind personal giving.
Improving alumni giving rates can lead to an increase in total dollars raised. This can be part of an overall strategy to help HBCUs reverse their budget challenges (Meer & Rosen, 2012). While there is significant literature regarding factors of alumni giving, there is a gap in the specific impact of alumni engagement as one of the elements (Hammonds-Greene, 2016). Campus leaders need to understand all the factors that impact alumni’s motivations to give. Because the undergraduate experience is the genesis of alumni motivation (Gaier, 2005), a thorough understanding of what alumni perceive as a high-quality experience is paramount to ensuring that they graduate satisfied and more likely to make financial contributions. There are several known factors of the undergraduate experience that affect alumni perceptions, including the academic experience, involvement in campus and social activities, and relationships with faculty and staff (Sung & Yang, 2009). The findings and recommendations of this research will help HBCU have a better understanding of why some of their graduates choose not to support their alma maters financially.
This study will also add to the research that is currently available on HBCU alumni giving and perceptions that impact alumni decisions about whether to give or not. While there is limited research, particularly regarding Historically Black Colleges and Universities’ graduates of public or private colleges, there is growing evidence of strong demand for HBCUs to understand better and develop efficient alumni giving strategies. This paper will add to the evolving knowledge and practice of fundraising.
Methodology
The study sample for this research is the African-American alumni of historically Black colleges and universities HBCUs. The research was conducted as a qualitative study to enable the researcher to gain the opinion of the participants about giving of alumni to their alma mater the participants’ perceptions. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to gather data through interviews.
I have used different sources of information and data, which included institutional documents, general observations, and interviews with both current and former students of institutions of higher learning. To give the research context, I referred to both primary and secondary document analysis together with interviews to understand how the culture of philanthropy is inculcated in students of institutions of higher learning. These primary and secondary sources of data include national fundraising reports such as Voluntary Support for Education annual studies and various institutional documents such as the NPAC fundraising manuals and the Torch.
Limitations
This research was limited to two HBCUs because of time constraints and familiarity with one geographic region. These two institutions, which are located in Mississippi, were identified using convenience sampling. Therefore, this small sample of the HBCU population may hinder the generalization of the results of this study to the overall HBCU population.
Definition of Key Terms
African-American/Black American: these terms refer to Americans of African descent.
Alma mater: refers to an institution of higher learning that an individual graduated from.
Alumni: This term refers to a former student of HBCU
Alumni giving: this term refers to financial and non-financial contribution given to an institution of higher learning by its former student(s)
Co-curricular activity: any activity except one concerning studies that an alumnus might have participated in as a student example, athletics, choir, band, or intramural programs.
Donor: this term refers to a former student of an institution of higher learning that contributes to that institution
Fundraising: this term refers to seeking financial support for a particular cause or enterprise.
Historically Black College or University (HBCU): An institution of higher learning defined by Congress whose principal purpose was to offer education students of African origin.
Non-donor: A HBCU alumnus that has not made a financial contribution to the institution.
Philanthropy: this term refers to voluntary giving by an individual or group to promote the common good.
Predominantly White Institution (PWI): institutions of higher learning in which Whites account for 50% or greater of the student
Chapter Breakdown
In analyzing the foregoing this paper will be broken down into the following chapters.
Chapter one will be a brief introduction to the current issue affecting institutions of higher learning in the United States of America and the steps these institutions are taking to address these challenges.
Chapter two will conclusively address the research questions and make recommendations on how institutions of higher learning in the United States of America can address the challenges of inadequate alumni giving.