Donor behavior in the non-profit organizational environment is a complex matrix of social influences that include social expectations from social media sites, direct cohort and peer influence, and perceptions of organizational performance, transparency and fundraising expenditures. A widespread general problem in non-profit organizations (NPOs) is that organizational members (cohorts) can exert an influence on the donor behavior of others, and organizational fundraising objectives can be adversely impacted. The purpose of this research was to identify those predictor characteristics that negatively influence donor behavior and would assist in minimizing costs associated with fundraising. I employed a quantitative study using a correlational design of multivariate analyses to identify a set of predictor characteristics originating from the influence of organizational cohorts on donor behavior. This study used a modified original survey to collect data from 244 non-randomized participants from the State of Colorado who donated to non-profit organizations (NPOs) in the last year.

A series of backward regressions produced five statistically significant models that showed positive correlations among the fifteen dependent variables that were included in the survey. In addition, the statistical evidence (p >.001) provided additional support for the three alternate hypotheses in all three research questions. In this study, I attempt to provide correlations that serve as predictor characteristics of cohort influence in the non-profit organizational environment. This data also provides additional information on donation behavior patterns for the three-key areas of interest: Donation Amounts, donation frequency, and volunteer hours. Additional research across other demographic and geographic areas is recommended.