Donors with cognitive impairment: an inevitable situation for higher education fundraisers

Adams, Tara Elise

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132529 Copy

Description

Title

Donors with cognitive impairment: an inevitable situation for higher education fundraisers

Author(s)

Adams, Tara Elise

Issue Date

2025-11-25

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Lindgren, Samantha

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

• Lindgren, Samantha
• Justice, Patricia

Committee Member(s)

• Delaney, Jennifer
• Kang, Hyun-Sook

Department of Study

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Discipline

Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

fundraiser, higher education, cognitive impairment, norm, code of conduct, donor

Language

eng

Abstract

This dissertation explored the perceptions of higher education fundraisers as it pertained to their interactions with elderly donors exhibiting signs of cognitive impairment. Significant autonomy, lack of resources, and minimal oversight in their roles result in fundraisers often being forced to make their own determinations about what interactions are appropriate when encountering an older donor they suspect has cognitive impairment issues, which can have substantial ethical and legal impacts if not handled correctly. The dissertation examined how often fundraisers in higher education institutions interact with elderly donors when cognitive impairment is suspected or confirmed, whether the perceived appropriateness of common fundraising interactions change between fundraisers and donors where cognitive impairment is suspected or confirmed based on gender or years worked in the profession, and how fundraisers perceive the need for a written code of conduct when interacting with elderly donors who may have cognitive impairment issues. This study utilized a survey instrument that collected qualitative and quantitative data, with follow-up interviews that triangulated and contextualized the survey data. The study found that many fundraisers sampled have interacted with elderly donors that they suspected or confirmed had cognitive impairment issues. However, there were no statistically significant differences in the perception of the appropriateness of behaviors based on gender or years in the profession of the study sample. An overwhelming majority of study participants agreed with the belief that fundraisers need ethical guidelines on how to handle interactions with elderly donors who may have cognitive impairment issues.

Graduation Semester

2025-12

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132529

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2025 Tara Elise Adams

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