Emerging donors: the reliability and validity of the survey of women's philanthropic motivations (SWPM)

Abstract

This study focused on women as donors to a religiously affiliated, Research I, private university, examining their motivations for giving. This study also tested the internal consistency and reliability of the Survey of Women's Philanthropic Motivations (SWPM) developed to capture these motivations. Two-hundred seventy-nine women donors participated in the study. The independent variables that were important motivators for giving included having a sense of loyalty to the University, desiring to help the next generation of students, accessing football tickets/lottery, having confidence in the family's financial security, naming a scholarship in their or their family's names, supporting unrestricted funding, and desiring to be a member of an advisory council at the University. A common theme that evolved from the study was that women's giving level increases with both age and income and that women wished to become involved with the University. A valid and reliable instrument for determining the motivations for women's giving was developed through this study. Findings from the calculation of Cronbach's alpha indicated that the SWPM had a reliability factor of .897 which represented a high level of internal consistency.