The purpose of this case study was to describe the experiences of Theodore University (a pseudonym for a Midwest university) student-athlete alumni in deciding whether to give philanthropically. The research questions were as follows: (1) Why do Theodore University alumni who played a sport choose to either give, or not give, philanthropic gifts to Theodore? (2) How do Theodore University alumni who played a sport view philanthropic giving to Theodore? (3) What are their motivations to either give, or not give, to Theodore? A qualitative approach; using data collection methods of interviews, archival records, and written documentation; was used to gauge the propensity and intrinsic desires of these alumni to either give, or not give, monetary support to Theodore.

Using a constructionist epistemology, and social exchange theory, the data analysis process consisted of how the participants experienced the phenomenon of philanthropy was highlighted and identified by values coding. The narrowing process of the data into codes, re-coding, and then categories led to the core themes and theories to answer the research questions.

I divided the findings for this study into categories to answer each of the research questions individually and then further divided the findings into subcategories based on themes in the data analysis. Discussion and implication of these findings for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers conclude this study.