Dive Brief:

• A new study looks not at the donors who make big gifts to schools, but at the schools that receive big donations.
• The researchers found that a good student experience, a long-serving president, and generous trustees who led by example were among the factors that fostered big donations.
• Wealth begets wealth too: Institutions that had bigger endowments received higher dollar amounts as gifts. 

Dive Insight:

Some of these factors are beyond the institutions' control. Schools can't control how long they've existed or where they're located (two factors researchers cited). Happily, other donor-attracting factors align with positive experiences for others at the university. It's good to see that content students mesh with big-money goals.