Patricia Danahey Janin, PhD
Independent Researcher and Educator

This chapter reviews research about individual donors to education. In general, research finds that education donors are highly educated and wealthier than other donors. Studies typically examine either higher education donors or K-12 donors. Most higher education studies explore alumni donors—usually to refine fundraising practices: who they are, why they give, and where they give. Meanwhile, K-12 research focuses on parents, is filtered through organizations that aggregate individual gifts (i.e., parent–teacher associations, school foundations), and often reflects concern for equitable educational opportunities. In today’s rapidly changing educational context, researchers can make important contributions to inform the field. The chapter presents ideas for future research about educational donors as a group and for expanding and enhancing the distinct literatures of K-12 and higher education giving.

Genevieve G. Shaker, PhD, is a professor of philanthropic studies and the Donald A. Campbell Chair in Fundraising Leadership at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. In her two decades as university fundraising and communications professional, she helped Indiana University connect with supporters and achieve significant goals. Dr. Shaker’s research explores fundraising, the fundraising profession, donor-fundraiser relationships, workplace giving, and the philanthropic dimensions of higher education. Her work often bridges scholarship and practice, with books including Faculty Work and the Public Good, Fundraising Principles for Faculty and Academic Leaders, and the widely used textbook Achieving Excellence in Fundraising (5th edition). She is associate editor of the journal Philanthropy & Education.

Dr. Patricia Danahey Janin is an independent researcher and educator specializing in philanthropy and international governance. She earned her PhD in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University and an MBA in International Business from ESCP-Europe. Dr. Danahey Janin teaches at Sciences Po Paris and previously at Indiana University, integrating global perspectives into courses on philanthropy and social impact. Her publications include Individual Giving to Educational Institutions in Advancing Research in Philanthropy and Education (Edward Elgar, 2025), two chapters in Achieving Excellence in Fundraising (Wiley, 2022), and case studies in Nonprofit Organizational Resilience (Edward Elgar, 2025). Her work bridges scholarship and practice, fostering cross-border dialogue on giving and education.

Dr. William M. Plater
Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus of
Philanthropic Studies, Public Policy, and English
Indiana University Indianapolis

Dr. Genevieve Shaker
Donald A. Campbell Chair in Fundraising Leadership
Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, was founded as a nonprofit with a mission of ensuring that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. ChatGPT was therefore intended to advance the common good, sharing an underlying principle with philanthropy and the nonprofit organizations it supports. This was not the first association of machine learning with philanthropy, particularly in terms of algorithms designed for control versus those aimed at doing good. In 1974, a white paper by Heinz Von Foerster, a polymath scientist who happened to be president of an important foundation, considered the potential of computer-based feedback systems to improve “giving with a purpose.” A review of his paper served as the impetus for this essay, which explores the antecedents of contemporary predictions regarding the potential of AI to enhance the practice of philanthropy.

William M. Plater, PhD, is Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus of Philanthropic Studies, Public Policy, and English at Indiana University Indianapolis, where he also served Executive Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Faculties. He continues to be engaged with the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.

Genevieve G. Shaker, PhD, is the Donald A. Campbell Chair in Fundraising Leadership and Professor of Philanthropic Studies at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Professor Shaker’s research focuses on fundraising and fundraisers, philanthropy education, and higher education advancement. Emerging research interests include the roles and practices of fundraisers around the world. She is the lead editor of the fifth edition of Achieving Excellence in Fundraising (2022), a key educational resource for the field.

Dr. Genevieve Shaker
Donald A. Campbell Chair in Fundraising Leadership
Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

Dr. Meng-Han Ho
Assistant Professor of Business Administration
National Central University, Taiwan

Dr. Chen Ji
Assistant Professor of Nonprofit Administration
Louisiana State University Shreveport

The COVID-19 pandemic upended college classrooms, challenging instructors to deliver classes differently while still seeking to achieve pre-planned goals. Service-learning instructors faced a quandary: discontinuing activities could compromise course integrity, but requiring service was impossible, impractical, or inappropriate. Creative solutions were needed. This study explored the learning outcomes from a replacement activity, the philanthropic informational interview, in a philanthropy general education class and asked whether it could generate outcomes similar to service-learning. Data were drawn from student reflections (n = 145) from nine online course sections between spring 2020 and summer 2021. Thematic analysis identified eight learning outcomes: engaging with social issues, nonprofit solutions to social issues, insights into nonprofits’ innerworkings, philanthropy as everyone’s responsibility, enhanced empathetic understanding, value-driven career inspiration, developing interview skills, and building career capacities. These outcomes align with research about service-learning and suggest that the philanthropic informational interview can be a meaningful alternative to service-learning in some situations.

Genevieve G. Shaker, PhD, is the Donald A. Campbell Chair in Fundraising Leadership and professor of philanthropic studies at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Professor Shaker’s research focuses on fundraising and fundraisers, philanthropy education, and higher education advancement. Emerging research interests include the roles and practices of fundraisers around the world. She is the lead editor of the fifth edition of Achieving Excellence in Fundraising (2022), a key educational resource for the field.

Meng-Han Ho, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Business Administration and an associate director at the Asian Institute for Impact Measurement and Management at National Central University, Taiwan. She received her Ph.D. from Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Her research focuses on social enterprises, social innovation, nonprofit management, and management education.

Chen Ji, PhD, is an assistant professor at the Louisiana State University in Shreveport. Her primary research focuses are nonprofit management and philanthropy. Her research encompasses various areas including social entrepreneurship, strategic management, and nonprofit financial sustainability.