While Americans gave $471 billion to nonprofits in 2020, according to Giving USA, little is understood about the factors that contribute to the learning of philanthropy. The study's purpose was to examine how donors to institutions of higher education (IHE) acquire a philanthropic disposition, by asking the following research question: How do higher education donors learn philanthropy? A basic interpretive qualitative research approach was employed (Merriam, 2002) using in-depth interviews with 11 participants. The research findings revealed that a variety of influencers facilitated philanthropic learning, both early in life through family and religion, and in adulthood as mentors and role models, advisors with professional financial expertise, and influencers in the IHE community. Findings also address the role of social learning experiences in learning philanthropy. These lead to two conclusions (1) learning philanthropy requires scaffolding with reflection; and (2) socially-constructed learning experiences are necessary for the acquisition of a philanthropic disposition. Implications include a theoretical extension of our understanding of the role of social interaction on learning and, for practitioners, the study recommends that IHEs should dedicate more time and energy necessary to support of learning philanthropy over adulthood. [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://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]