Fundraising critique and evaluation

Sports & Nbsp;(general)

Fund raising Critque

Info: • the format will be according to APA style (typed double spaced) and in four

• parts. Written out as a paper.

is the identification of the article. What is important here is that you provide the reader with enough information about your article so that they will be able to locate the article.

• A Summary. List the main points that the author has tried to establish, i.e. 1, 2, 3 or first, second, third. There normally will be 3 to 5 main points. If you are summarizing a court case you should discuss: What provision of the law was at issue? Briefly state the facts of the case. What legal tests were applied? Were there any unusual elements in the case? Include all major key points of the author. If the author addressed any major concepts or methodology this should be explained.

• My critique - You are to provide your reaction (insightful, critical, and logical) to the points that the author tried to make, or an overall critique of the entire article. A simple statement of agreement or disagreement is not enough. While you may make such a statement by way of introduction to your reaction, you must clearly and logically state the reasons for the post that you have taken.

ABSTRACT

"Women and Athletic Fund Raising: Exploring the Connection Between Gender and Giving," by Staurowsky (1996) reports the findings of a study on the demographic profiles of male and female college sports team donors, as well as donor motivation factors. The findings suggest that females donors are younger than male donors, contribute less, are more likely to donate to women's programs, and are motivated to donate by "success" and philanthrophic factors.

SUMMARY & CRITIQUE

Staurowsky first provides reasoning for fund-raising research. She states that marketing concerns are the primary impetus for research on fund raising. Fund raising research is valuable to the marketing field because findings can be used to determine a certain demographic that is more likely to donate than another demographic. In other words, those that run fund raisers can better target those that are more likely to give, resulting in a decreased loss of time, money, and resources. However, despite the function and accessibility of fund raising research, Staurowsky reports, "the prevailing approaches to [fund raising] used by practitioners have been characterized as unsystematic and lacking in substance."

Staurowsky goes on the explain that historically, women have been overlooked by fund raisers as a serious target demographic. Fund raisers have also expected less financial commitment from women. Staurowsky points out that there have been relatively few studies on female donor constituencies, and that it "behooves" athletic fund raising professionals "to develop a greater understanding between athletic donor and gender."

Recently, however, Staurowsky reports that women in fund raising have begun to attact research attention. While in the past, colleges have dismissed women as potential donors because of the belief that they married into or inherited wealth (and thus were not in control of it), recent studies have shown that alumnae from women's colleges are almost "twice as likely to give as are either men or women who attended coeducational institutions." While this finding is not replicated for women in coeducational institutions, Staurowsky purports that the data is "clear cut evidence" against the assumption that women do not have the resources nor the inclination to donate. But despite this evidence, Staurowsky says, there is a kernel of truth to the myth. Women face economic challenges not faced by males, which results in them, on average, making two-thirds the income that men make. However, since women outlive men, it's suggested that they control 60% of the nation's wealth in the U.S.

Staurowsky's study was conducted on 400 men and women, all alumnae of gender-specific institutions. They were sent questionnaires via post and asked to return them within two weeks. After all the data was collected, there were a number of interesting findings. The main findings were these: female donors are younger than male donors, contribute less, and prefer to donate to women's athletic programs. They are not motivated by social and "benefits" factors (as are their male counterparts). Staurowsky goes on to say that females present a "largely untapped economic resource" for fund-raisers, and that more research is required on the subject.