This qualitative research study was designed as an exploration of the phenomena of alumni non-donors of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Successfully securing private voluntary support is one of the most critical challenges for higher education institutions as traditional sources of financial support diminish, and alumni giving becomes increasingly more important. The specific problem explored was why so few alumni of HBCUs contribute financially to their alma maters. The snowball, or chain, sampling approach yielded 12 participants, the point at which data saturation was confirmed. Data were gathered by individual interviews of alumni of HBCUs located worldwide who were non-donors to their alma maters. Participants responded to nine open-ended questions, and in their own words, shared their lived experiences and perceptions, thus confirming the qualitative research method and phenomenological research design as appropriate for the study. Participants' lived experiences and perceptions were clustered into thematic categories: remembering college experiences; involvement in the campus after graduation; and motivational factors that influence charitable giving, in general and to their alma maters. The major themes were as follows: the HBCU choice for college was influenced largely by family traditions, social cohesion in college was important to the memory of the lived experience, alumni non-donors lost the social connection with the campus following graduation, charitable giving is very personal and is based on trust and mission, and campus leaders must transform the communication connection with alumni if they expect to increase private support among this important constituency. Recommendations for leaders to address these thematic challenges were discussed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]