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In 2011, philanthropic giving to higher education institutions totaled $30.3 billion, an 8.2% increase over the previous year. Roughly, 26% of those funds came from alumni donations. This article builds upon existing economic models to create an econometric model to explain and predict the pattern of alumni giving. We test the model using data from over 27,000 alumni at a private liberal arts college, and report on the probable profiles for annual fund donors.

Many economics majors write a senior thesis. Although this experience can be the pinnacle of their education, publication is not the common standard for undergraduates. The authors describe four approaches that have allowed students to get their work published: (1) identify a topic, such as competitive balance in sports, and have students work on various subtopics, such as specific sports; (2) develop a large data set and have students work on different problems using it; (3) divide a quantitative problem into distinct parts and have individual students work on each part; and (4) divide a qualitative problem into distinct parts and have individual students work on their own part. The authors also address the challenges of working with undergraduates: limited time and resources, limited skills, and the tedium of gathering data. (Contains 4 notes and 1 table.)