ABSTRACT
Fund raising is guided by theory, although time-tested principles of practitioners rarely are associated with their theoretical underpinnings. Chapter 9 identifies and discusses the theories on which fund raising is based and links them to principles commonly found in the literature. The theories, derived from such disciplines as management, sociology, psychology, and communication, have been adopted and refined for public relations. Their application to fund raising helps us understand the function from the macro level of society to the micro level of techniques, and in the middle at the meso, or departmental, level. Jacobson (1990) called for such an approach, stating, “The creative synthesis of relevant theories carefully culled from a wide spectrum of disciplines could contribute substantially toward establishing a theoretical knowledge base for the profession” (p. 467). By relating principles to theories and building each component on the others, chapter 9 results in a unified theory of donor relations.
