Profiles in workplace giving: a cluster analysis of ‘types’ of givers within a public university

This study examines public employees’ donations to a workplace giving campaign at a large public university in the south-east of the United States. First, we employed logistic regression to predict the likelihood of donating through workplace giving programmes using a sample of employees at a large public university (N = 11,726). Second, we estimated an ordinary least squares regression to identify the significant predictors of donation value with a subsample of employee donors (n=1,832). Third, we developed donor profiles (for example, clusters) of employee benefactors using K-medoids clustering. Factors such as sex, age, education and salary were significant predictors of both being a donor and the donation amount. Additionally, employment duration was significantly related to being a donor and the donation amount, while job classification only predicted being a donor. Employee donors fell into five distinct clusters. These findings contribute to our knowledge of workplace giving campaigns and can be used to develop strategic marketing campaigns.

Muslim philanthropy: living beyond a Western definition

The commonly used definition of philanthropy used in Western scholarship excludes many Muslim acts of philanthropy. This definition privileges Western scholarly framing of philanthropy, which has been heavily informed by scientific approaches to philanthropy. This article argues that this framing of philanthropy limits our understanding of Muslim philanthropy and should not be privileged over other cultural and religious traditions’ notions of philanthropy. Muslim philanthropy is explored by examining theological and cultural sources in order to point towards a broader conception of philanthropy within an Islamic context. It illustrates the challenges of strict adherence to the Western definition of philanthropy for scholars of Muslim philanthropy. Ultimately, the article suggests a framework that the field of philanthropic studies can use to go beyond its Western-centric definition to be more inclusive of other cultural and faith perspectives, and proposes that Muslim philanthropy should be interpreted as a discursive tradition.

Analysing the donor behaviour of a Muslim diaspora in Australia

Diaspora communities are an important source of charitable giving to their original homelands. This study explores a Muslim diaspora's motivations behind donation-giving. A two-year donation dataset of an overseas charity organisation registered in Australia was analysed. Findings show that, overall, donations are significantly related to the prevailing consumer confidence levels (r = 0.4277). However, there was also a strong, inverse correlation (r = - 0.4376) during 2020, suggesting that the plummeting consumer sentiment during COVID-19 did not impact donation revenue. As expected, during periods of religious significance (Ramadan) across both years, donations to the charity increased substantially, with the relative effect of Ramadan calculated as over 800%. This study makes a contribution by providing insights to donor behaviour through the examination of a donation dataset. This study also uses ‘causal impact analysis’ to calculate the effect of Ramadan on donations. Results have implications for the not-for-profit sector in Australia and other countries with Muslim diaspora communities. Limitations and suggestions for future research are also discussed.