2026-09-24T06:47:45Z https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/132529 2026-02-20 col_2142_5131 col_2142_8800 com_2142_5130 com_2142_5132

application/pdf en text Submission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2026-02-19 without embargo terms The student, Tara Adams, accepted the attached license on 2025-11-25 at 10:43. The student, Tara Adams, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2025-11-25 at 10:49. This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2025-11-25 at 16:24. DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #22947 on 2026-02-19 at 18:25:18 Donors with cognitive impairment: an inevitable situation for higher education fundraisers Adams, Tara Elise 2025-11-25 Lindgren, Samantha Lindgren, Samantha Justice, Patricia Delaney, Jennifer Kang, Hyun-Sook fundraiser, higher education, cognitive impairment, norm, code of conduct, donor eng 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. 2025-12 Thesis https://hdl.handle.net/2142/132529 Copyright 2025 Tara Elise Adams Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Ph.D. Dissertation