In this thesis philanthropic motives of young patrons were investigated. In seven interviews with young patrons from the Young Patrons Circle I tried to answer the main question of this thesis: Which motives do young patrons have to become member of the Young Patrons Circle at Dutch National Opera & Ballet? Two sub questions related to this main question were: Are there differences between the motives of younger and older patrons to support Dutch National Opera & Ballet? And why does Dutch National Opera & Ballet invest in the Young Patrons Circle?

The theoretical chapters were based on an article by René Bekkers and Pamela Wiepking called “A Literature Review of Empirical Studies of Philanthropy: Eight Mechanisms That Drive Charitable Giving.” Several other sociological, psychological, economical and philanthropic studies were brought together with the mechanisms described by Bekkers and Wiepking.

The results were gathered with a qualitative method interviewing seven young patrons (25-35 years), three older patrons (65-80 years) and two coordinators of the donor circles at Dutch National Opera & Ballet. The interview were transcribed and added to the thesis as an appendix.

In the conclusion all different motives of the young and older patrons were brought together in a table. The results show that young patrons are especially driven by social mechanisms to become a patron. Reputation and finding new friends are important reasons for them to become a young patron. Besides the social aspects of being a patron, the younger people are looking for knowledge and inspiration. Older patrons are driven by psychological mechanisms. By being more conscious about the needs of Dutch National Opera & Ballet, they feel a stronger responsibility to support the institution. On top of that they feel that opera and ballet became an important part of their lives and identity.

Onderwerpen: 2000-2021 donateurs geefkringen geven aan culturele instellingen theaterwereld

Auteur: Roos Naves MA