This descriptive and causal comparative study sought to identify motivations for alumni donor acquisition and retention in Christian institutions of higher learning. To meet this objective, motivations for alumni donors, lapsed donors, and non-donors were analyzed and compared. Data was collected through an electronic survey of a stratified sample of 2,000 donors, lapsed donors, and non-donors drawn from Biola University. Thereafter, t-tests, ANOVA tests, and factorial ANOVA tests were used to analyze data and to determine the relationship between age, gender, income, and motivations for giving. It was found that alumni motivations for giving are internal, the key ones being: trust in the leadership, desire to support a cause alumni believe in, loyalty to the university, desire to help students, desire to make a difference with their gifts, the experience alumni had during student years, gratitude to the university, effective communication from the university, and alumni's faculty interactions when they were students. Additional biblical motivations for giving included passion for the cause of Christ, trust in leadership, the Holy Spirit, prayer, community of believers, obedience to God, God's calling, free will, God's eternal rewards, reverential fear of God, worship, and God's love for us. The four most prominent reasons for alumni not giving to their alma mater were having a current job with insufficient income, lack of emotional attachment to the university or college, not knowing what their money would support, and thinking their individual gifts are too small to make a difference. Furthermore, lapsed donors stop giving due to a lack of discretionary income, finding other causes more deserving of their support, lack of involvement with the institution, and change in belief structure of self or the institution. Donors and non-donors differed in the same internal motivations as donors and lapsed donors: the main ones being, trust in the school's leadership, desire to help students, desire to repay the university, and gratitude to the university for the education received. Some donor and non-donor motivations for giving varied with time. The fun alumni had while a student and their experience during student years were more important to alumni aged 20-39 years in their decision to support Biola than those aged over 60 years old. [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.]