Chiulli Thesis FINAL

Running Header: How Non Profit Organizations Use and Misuse Social media
Non Profit Organizations and Social Media: An exploration into how Non Profit
Organizations use and misuse social media outlets utilizing framing and public spheres
A Thesis
Presented to the Faculty in Communication and Organizational Leadership
School of Professional Studies
Gonzaga University
Under the Supervision of Dr. Heather Crandall
Under the Mentorship of Dr. Carolyn Cunningham
In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts in Communication and Organizational Leadership
By
Alexandra Chiulli
December 2014

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How Non Profit Organizations Use and Misuse Social Media
ABSTRACT
This thesis researched how well social media works with NPOs to effectively
communicate with their supporters. Being in a technology age, NPOs have had to
embrace social media as being the main form of communication; however, this does not
mean that all like to use it. One of the main conflicts in NPOs using social media as the
main communicative tool is the loss of personal interaction with their supporters. NPOs
began with having to utilize interpersonal communication only and with the new age of
technology, they are struggling with keeping up with the different sites as well as the lack
of personal interaction with their supporters. Though the efficiency of social media is
appealing to NPOs, most are having difficulty finding the time and manpower to keep up
with the maintenance of the sites and maintaining the relevancy of their posts. This
requires more staff and for most NPOs, that is difficult as they do not have huge funds to
pay employees and this stands in the way of them hiring more staff. Thus, NPOs face the
problem of keeping relevant with their supporters if they are unable to maintain their
different social sites.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 4
Importance of Study 6
Statement of Purpose 8
Definitions of Terms Used 9
Organization of Remaining Chapters 10
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 11
Philosophical and Ethical Assumptions 11
Theoretical Basis 12
The Literature 15
Rationale 17
Research Questions 18
CHAPTER 3: SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY 19
Scope of Study 19
Methodology 20
Data Analysis 23
Validity, Reliability & Ethics 24
CHAPTER 4: THE STUDY 26
Analysis and Results 26
Results of Study 30
Discussion 35
CHAPTER 5: SUMMARIES AND CONCLUSIONS 41
Limitations of Study 41
Recommendations for Further Studies 41
Conclusions 44
REFERENCES 47
APPENDIX I 52
Interview Questionnaire 52
APPENDIX II 54
Interview Questionnaire Answers 54

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Chapter 1. Introduction
Introduction
Social media has the appearance of being beneficial for people in that they will be able to
connect with others so quickly and easily in order to chat, share pictures, find a new love
interest, etc. However, there are disadvantages of using social media as well, such as the
lack of human interaction, the lack of self-satisfaction and losing self-esteem. With
regard to non-profit organizations (NPOs) and the use of social media, the research
focuses on how social media enhances as well as cripples the messages that NPOs are
trying to raise awareness about or gain funding for. This thesis displays the themes of
how effective social media is in communicating effectively with supporters using
framing, how NPOs now have to depend upon the public sphere as a main tool of
communicating and the flaws that are still present in using social media as a main
communicative tool. The research focuses on how non-profits attempt to utilize social
media in order to better their organization and if these attempts are well executed or
perceived as effective tools vis a vis NPO goals.
Non-profit organizations have entered into the realm of appealing to the greater
public through the use of social media. Lovejoy and Saxton (2012) explain that
"organizations seem to employ new media for at least two primary purposes-information-
sharing and dialogic relationship-building" (Lovejoy & Saxton, 2012, p. 339). Lovejoy
and Saxton identified three major aspects of an organization's use of social media:
information, community and action. The "information" function involves spreading
information about the organization, its activities, or anything of potential interest to
followers. The second function, "community," explains how organizations can create

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relationships, networks, and build communities on social media through aspects that
promote interactivity and dialogue. The third function, which we call "action," has the
aim of getting followers to ‘‘do something’’ for the organization, whether it is to donate,
buy a product, attend an event, join a movement, or launch a protest (Lovejoy & Saxton,
2012). These three functions aid the organizations in reaching new audiences as well as
spreading awareness of their cause to other communities along with their own.
In comparison to the Lovejoy and Saxton article, Waters and Lo (2012) explain
how the bulk of information shared in social media was related to organizational
disclosure and information sharing while relationship development through engagement
was virtually neglected. Their research found that " the most often used strategy was
providing photographs and posting discussion topics or statuses to generate discussions,
which resulted in comments from their followers" (Waters & Lo, 2012, p. 306). This
allows for the nonprofits to take note of what interests their followers as well as what
kind of activities generated the most funding and dialogue. The article states that
nonprofits were open to letting others know who they were as they frequently provided a
description of the organization (95.5%), linked to their organization’s website so that
users could learn more (80%), and provided the organization’s logo as a visual reminder
as to whom the organization is (71.6%) (Waters & Lo, 2012). Nonprofits generally share
significant information about their programs and results by distributing information
through news stories, discussion- wall conversations, photographs, and other information
exchange outlets Facebook and other social media provides. Waters and Lo (2012)
explains how "the focus on achievements and results has long been a mainstay of
nonprofit organizations websites around the globe as they rely on one-way directional

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communication to develop organizational identity and publicize their successes" (Waters
& Lo, 2012, p. 313). This correlates to the ideas presented by the three major functions of
social media as discussed above in the Lovejoy and Saxton (2012) article. The theories
presented in each article outline the ways in which nonprofits utilize social media to gain
more support from the surrounding communities. Each theory explains the major
functions nonprofits use social media for as well as what type of reaction can be expected
by audiences. Having the ability to gage what type of reaction an audience is going to
have will aid NPOs in how to appeal to their audience more.
Importance of Study
Communications that help donors understand how their donations will be used to
help those in need is the single most important predictor for trust, commitment, and
satisfaction, and reinforces prior survey and focus group research (Sargeant 2001a,
2001b; Sargeant & Lee, 2002, 2004). Using social media allows for nonprofits to
communicate to their donors exactly what their donations are put towards. Social media
creates an easier way for nonprofits to communicate to present and future donors; the
donors have the ability to send in donations and learn everything they need to know about
the organization at their fingertips. NPOs are able to create structures for the donors and
audiences to follow in order to assist their community.
Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) use social media in order to connect closely to
the community members as well as to keep up to date with the values and beliefs of said
community. NPOs are ‘‘dominated by values and norms that define their behaviour and
are reflected in the way they function’’ (Hafsi & Thomas, 2005, p. 344). NPOs create a
"frame" for the intended audience to interpret the information given them in any way they

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want. Audiences interpret information through their own frames. Audiences' frames may
overlap or contradict the media's frames ("Frames" n.d., para 2). They are dependent on
their publics and held to higher expectations than most for-profit entities. They are also
organizations that are shaped by the wants and needs of their external environments
(Hafsi & Thomas, 2005). Referring to the theory that NPOs are dominated by the values
and beliefs of the community members it is supporting, social media plays a constant role
in how NPOs should behave. Framing refers to how the media packages and presents
information to the public ("Frames" n.d., para 1). This assists the NPOs in narrowing on
what values they should be advertising to gain more support from the surrounding
communities. Framing works to shape and alter audience members' interpretations and
preferences through priming (Entman, 2007, p. 164). Framing allows for NPOs to focus
on what is seemingly most important to their audiences. Working in conjunction with the
theory of framing in this study is the public sphere. Habermas (1989) defines the public
sphere as the sphere of private people who join together to form a "public." This idea of
creating publics within a certain area of one's lifestyle pertains to the idea of the
audiences NPOs are attempting to connect with via social media. They use these public
spheres as a way to find those who truly support their cause as opposed to those who are
just looking over their site or information.
Public spheres assist NPOs in navigating through the different audiences they are
attempting to gain contact with as they are able to penetrate the different groups formed
over like public spheres. NPOs coordinate with the public's opinion of their organization
in order to become more appealing to said public. "Public opinion remains the object of
domination even when it forces the [organization] to make concessions or to reorient it"

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(Habermas, 1989, p. 243). By dominating the public opinion through priming, a NPO can
remain the leader, so to speak, over the public sphere of their organization through
appealing to popular topics expressed by followers in their public sphere.
The word nonproﬁt implies a kind of organization that stands outside the laws of
economics—one that is exempt from the requirement to generate more cash than it
spends (Maguire, 2009). NPOs choose to advertise and promote through social media,
showing consumers another way to live apart from the vanity usually displayed- a way
that benefits others. With each new type of social media, there are new ways needed to be
discovered by the NPOs to reach their audiences. They are constantly competing amongst
each other to gain the most support or donations as well as competing as to how to appeal
the most to the different community members. However, in the literature focusing around
social media and nonprofits, there is a lack of information regarding how nonprofits
utilize social media in order to gain the attention of specific audiences. Therefore, the
intent of this study is to explain how nonprofits utilize the tools given to them by social
media to the best (or worst) of their ability. This will help audiences gain a better
understanding of the amount of effort NPOs put into displaying the main values and
beliefs of a community and how they try to reach out to the members.
Statement of the Problem
NPOs have the challenge of remaining relevant in their audiences lives through the use of
social media while creating meaningful relationships with these new audiences. NPOs
must maintain their pages every day with keeping the information shared up to date and
interesting to generate more attention from broader audiences. Found to be most
challenging is creating and maintaining relationships with more supporters through a

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colder style of communication through social media. NPOs rely upon these relationships
to gain more support for their organization. Support is gained through word of mouth for
most NPOs as a way to spread awareness of their cause and create a personal relationship
for the organization with a supporter. By having more intimate communication with each
other, a supporter is able to be a part of the NPO family rather than just be an outsider
donator. The challenge that social media presents is one that makes being personal and
close with supporters much more difficult through computers, and more specifically the
demand of social media outlets.
Definitions
Social media refers to the means of interactions among people in which they create,
share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks
according to Tufts University (2013).
The NPOs, for the purpose of this thesis, is defined as "small, community-based, groups
that heavily rely on volunteers. Nonprofit organizations [NPOs] tend to agree on shared
causes and are dedicated to a progressive process of social change for the betterment of
themselves and others" (Kenix, 2008, p. 409).
Framing theory and the concept of framing bias suggests that how something is presented
(the “frame”) influences the choices people make.
The public sphere is "a discursive space in which individuals and groups congregate to
discuss matters of mutual interest and, where possible, to reach a common judgment."
Further Outline
The rest of this thesis explores how well NPOs believe social media works in
effectively communicating with their supporters as well as if NPOs believe social media

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to be the best way to communicate with supporters. Chapter 2 outlines the established
research about NPOs utilizing social media in order to effectively communicate with
supporters and donors and the communication theory that guides the work. It explores
what collected research has found out about how previously interviewed NPOs view
social media and if they feel it is effective or not. Chapter 3 discusses the scope and
methodology used in collecting the thesis data as well as the ethical concerns with regard
to social media and NPOs use of it. Chapter 4 analyzes the data collected through
interviews and study of the different social media sites used by the NPOs. It connects the
data found with already established communication theories of framing and public
sphere. Chapter 5 concludes the thesis with a summary of the findings as well as how to
further the research on how to use social media effectively to gain support for NPOs.

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Chapter 2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
PHILOSOPHICAL ASSUMPTIONS
With companies and organizations having the ability to reach audiences through
many different outlets, competition becomes a way of life for said organizations. Smaller
organizations, NPOs and local businesses can suffer somewhat from the availability of
the internet as they must rely upon exposure through social media in order to gain
awareness. The internet is able to create an even playing field for all NPOs to compete
upon; however, it is up to the audience to use social media effectively and correctly. This
relates to John Milton’s Areopagitica, in which he offered the initial theoretical predicate
for modern marketplace theory. The marketplace of ideas theory stands for the notion
that, with minimal government intervention—a laissez faire approach to the regulation of
speech and expression—ideas, theories, propositions, and movements will succeed or fail
on their own merits (Pinaire, 2014). NPOs need to have the discipline to create and
maintain the social media sites necessary to promoting the NPO to its fullest potential.
When using social media, the amount of success achieved through the use of said sites
becomes the responsibility of only the organization, or person, rather than the internet
itself.
In support of Milton's modern marketplace theory, John Stuart Mill expanded on
the notion, arguing that free expression was valuable on individual and social grounds
because it served to develop and sustain the rational capacity of man and, in an
instrumental sense, facilitated the search for truth (Pinaire, 2014). Milton and Mill
developed this philosophy to explain how an organization must take responsibility for all
actions taken through social media, accepting whether they succeed or fail as they can

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only hold themselves responsible for the actions taken in marketing. NPOs, along with
many other organizations, tend to forget that "packaging" matters just as much as the
information they are trying to spread. If their social media sites are not interesting or
attention-grabbing, NPOs will realize that failure is more likely to occur as the audience
does not fully remember what they read about the NPO nor can they differentiate
between what the NPO informed them of as their mission and what hearsay they could
have heard about the NPO.
THEORETICAL BASIS
Communication—the use of available resources to convey information, to move,
to inspire, to persuade, to enlighten, to connect—is an inherently ethical undertaking.
Regardless of context, communication involves choice, reflects values, and has
consequences (Makau, 2009). NPOs must use communication outlets to connect with
their audience, which includes donors as well as supporters. Every choice made about
how a certain social media page should look or what they should say can greatly affect
how a message for a NPO is perceived by those attending to NPO messages.
Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) use social media in order to connect closely to
the community members as well as to keep up to date with the values and beliefs of said
community. NPOs are ‘‘dominated by values and norms that define their behaviour and
are reflected in the way they function’’ (Hafsi & Thomas, 2005, p. 344). NPOs create a
"frame" for the intended audience to interpret the information given them in any way they
want. Audiences interpret information through their own frames. Audiences' frames may
overlap or contradict the media's frames ("Frames" n.d., para 2). They are dependent on
their publics and held to higher expectations than most for-profit entities. They are also

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organizations that are shaped by the wants and needs of their external environments
(Hafsi & Thomas, 2005). Referring to the theory that NPOs are dominated by the values
and beliefs of the community members it is supporting, social media plays a constant role
in how NPOs should behave. Framing refers to how the media packages and presents
information to the public ("Frames" n.d., para 1). This assists NPOs in narrowing on what
values they should be advertising to gain more support from the surrounding
communities. Framing works to shape and alter audience members' interpretations and
preferences through priming (Entman, 2007, p. 164). Framing allows for NPOs to focus
on what is seemingly most important to their audiences.
Working in conjunction with the theory of framing in this study is the public
sphere. Habermas (1989) defines the public sphere as the sphere of private people who
join together to form a "public." This idea of creating publics within a certain area of
one's lifestyle pertains to the idea of the audiences NPOs are attempting to connect with
via social media. They use these public spheres as a way to find those who truly support
their cause as opposed to those who are just looking over their site or information.
Communications that help donors understand how their donations will be used to help
those in need is the single most important predictor for trust, commitment, and
satisfaction, and reinforces prior survey and focus group research (Sargeant 2001a,
2001b; Sargeant & Lee, 2002, 2004). Using social media allows for nonprofits to
communicate to their donors exactly what their donations are put towards. Social media
creates an easier way for nonprofits to communicate to present and future donors who use
it; the donors have the ability to send in donations and learn everything they need to

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know about the organization at their fingertips. NPOs are able to create structures for the
donors and audiences to follow in order to assist their community.
Public spheres assist NPOs in navigating through the different audiences they are
attempting to gain contact with as they are able to penetrate the different groups formed
over like public spheres. NPOs coordinate with the public's opinion of their organization
in order to become more appealing to said public. "Public opinion remains the object of
domination even when it forces the [organization] to make concessions or to reorient it"
(Habermas, 1989, p. 243). By dominating the public opinion through priming, a NPO can
remain the leader, so to speak, over the public sphere of their organization through
appealing to popular topics expressed by followers in their public sphere. For the purpose
of this study, working definitions of social media as well as social networking sites will
be provided. Social networking sites may be defined as:
Web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public
profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share
a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others
within the system. The nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site
to site (Boyd, D. & Ellison, N., 2007, p. 211).
These forums provide opportunities for different audiences to connect and discuss
different topics. This allows for these audiences to converse with the media
representatives for the social networking sites as they are who manage the sites.
Audiences are able to directly influence the representatives as they are able to
communicate one-on-one with said representatives. These sites give the opportunity for
people to come together over certain topics or ideas in order to be heard and possibly

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make a difference in society. With respect to NPOs, social network sites provide these
organizations with the opportunity to reach their supporters at any time of day or night
and in any location.
Social media has many different benefits for businesses and organizations (NPOs)
such as increased brand recognition, improved brand loyalty, more opportunities to gain
supporters, higher conversion rates, higher brand authority, increased inbound traffic,
decreased marketing costs, better search engine rankings, more meaningful customer
experiences, and improved customer insights. (Forbes Magazine, 2014) NPOs are able to
utilize these advantages of social media in order to remain in contact with their
customers/ supporters as these are the people that want to be able to contact the NPOs at
any time and know they will get an answer. This is one of the drawbacks of social media
as well as social networking sites in that there has to be someone always maintaining the
sites and networks for the NPOs in order for them to stay relevant in their consumers'
daily lives.
The Literature
Recent literature documents the positive and negative effects that social media
outlets have on nonprofit organizations (NPOs). The word nonproﬁt implies a kind of
organization that stands outside the laws of economics—one that is exempt from the
requirement to generate more cash than it spends (Maguire, 2009). Social media
manipulates audiences that there is always something better out there for them to donate
to or spend money on. With the ideality of how accessible material items and businesses
are through the internet, it is not hard to believe that NPOs feel a lot of pressure with
trying to compete with World Wide Web. Light (2003), for instance, has argued that

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“confidence clearly affects the public’s willingness to donate time and money, shapes the
political and regulatory environment that governs charitable organizations, and has at
least some influence on morale within the charitable workforce” (p. 1). NPOs have
begun to branch into social media in order to market and advertise to consumers in a way
that identifies with today's culture more.
The use of social media for fundraising allows nonprofits to receive money with
fewer restrictions, so they are not stuck in grant cycles where operational funding is so
urgently required that small nonprofits find themselves writing proposals tailored to
wishes of international NPOs and development institutions, having been persuaded away
from their original missions (Amtzis, 2014, p. 136).
Social media sites assist NPOs with low budget marketing for their organization
while also reaching multiple different audiences. The social media sites use a sense of
priming in order to outline for the NPOs how to proceed with their sites. NPOs utilize
priming and framing in order to prep their audiences for what changes they can expect
from the organization as the literature discusses. Social media, however, presents a
chaotic structure to gaining solidified support for NPOs. With each new type of social
media, there are new communicative strategies developed by NPOs to reach their
audiences. They are constantly competing amongst each other to gain the most support or
donations as well as competing as to how to appeal the most to the different community
members.
Practitioners have clearly adopted the more established and institutional tools (e-
mail, Intranet), yet they also seem comfortable with blogs and podcasts. They are slower
to integrate more technologically complicated tools that cater to a niche audience (e.g.,

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text messaging, social networks, virtual worlds) (Eyrich, Padman, & Sweetser, 2008, pp.
413-414).
However, in the literature focusing around social media and nonprofits, there is a
lack of information regarding how nonprofits utilize social media in order to gain the
attention of specific audiences as nonprofit organizations often deliver services on behalf
of governments, particularly in the health and community sectors. Before Facebook was
created, there were other social sites; however, they would be blogs, company websites,
etc. Kenix (2008) discusses how NPOs are able to use these pre-Facebook social media in
order to broaden their ways of communicating to consumers. It examined how NPOs
needed to break into the commercial aspect of media instead of strictly relying on
interpersonal communication. Nonprofits are often open to intense public scrutiny and are
usually accountable to more than one stakeholder group (Brace-Govan, Brady, Brennan
& Conduit, 2011). Therefore, the intent of this study is to explain how nonprofits utilize
the tools given to them by social media to the best (or worst) of their ability in order to
market towards a broader audience. This will help audiences gain a better understanding
of the amount of effort NPOs put into displaying the main values and beliefs of a
community and how they try to reach out to the members. The processes by which an
organization collects and uses information are what provide the support for fundraising
performance (Brace-Govan, Brady, Brennan & Conduit, 2011). NPOs gain and retain
support through social media as they are utilizing one of the main resources used by the
majority of people in order to raise funds for their organization.
RATIONALE

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An examination of how well NPOs utilize social media is desperately needed. The
literature currently published about this matter lacks details of the how effective the use
of social media is for NPOs. Explained is how they use the different social media sites,
but no one has truly touched upon insider perceptions of whether the social media
approach is working effectively for NPOs. It explains how NPOs use priming and
structuring in order to gain awareness of their sites. Strategic framing highlights the
causes of problems, to encourage moral judgments (and associated affective responses),
and to promote favored policies. Priming, then, is a name for the goal, the intended effect,
of strategic actors’ framing activities (Entman, 2007, p. 165). This study allows for an
opportunity to expand upon previous research and help fill in the gaps of what other
research articles are lacking. This study expands upon research that excludes how well
NPOs are grasping social media, how effective social media is in spreading awareness for
NPOs as well as how audiences react when they find a NPO on social media.
RESEARCH QUESTION(S)
RQ 1: How do NPOs effectively communicate through framing and priming with their
intended audience (s) through social media?
RQ 2: In what ways do NPOs solicit support from audiences?

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CHAPTER 3
SCOPE
The scope of a NPO can range from NPOs raising funds for cancer awareness, or
a specific ill child, homeless animals, etc. Having this capability allows for NPOs to
capture a broad audience and able to dominate the market. However, with social media
being the most used/ sought after tool in society today, NPOs are losing their capabilities
to reach the audience in general. They are new to the social media market and this causes
NPOs to lose support as they are unable to appeal to broad enough audience. Nonprofits
have been designated to the outer limits of cyber space, nowhere near the heart of the
internet. This suggests "if nonprofits do not appropriate a commercial perspective, they
may find themselves to be an irrelevant irritant on the internet" (Kenix, 2008, p. 411).
This thesis chooses to study NPOs and their use of social media as it is a consistent
aggravation for NPOs that causes the groups to lose followers in this technology age.
Social media is a constant threat to NPOs as the sites offer little space for advertisements.
Ads must be flashy and attention grabbing right away. When referencing social media,
the NPOs may also have branched into utilization of the different social sites in order to
join the cyber-community of their followers. The pages created by NPOs to further the
awareness of their cause are not always produced with the best of one’s ability as the
NPOs view social media as a last resort or something not as important as word-of-mouth
or fundraising.
In this case, the data were collected through studying the posts made by NPOs
using social media, more specifically Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. As all of these
sites named link together, mainly being examined will be the Facebook pages of the

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organizations. The research will cover all posts made by a small focus group consisting
of five NPOs, whether it is advertising for the organization, celebrating, commemorating,
etc. a specific issue. The study focuses on the techniques used by the NPOs to creatively
market their ideas to different audiences. Specifically, any pictures posted as well as
comments made by the NPOs in order to gain followers as well as how said pictures and
posts portray a positive frame to market for a NPO or if there are negative effects from
using social media.
METHODOLOGY
This thesis utilizes rhetorical analysis, which is when researchers examine how
well a text, audience and author relate. This method seemed the most appropriate to apply
to the data as the thesis centers on how well the NPOs market to the broad audiences of
social media. "When writing a rhetorical analysis, you are NOT saying whether or not
you agree with the argument. Instead, you’re discussing how the rhetorician makes that
argument and whether or not the approach used is successful" (Texas A&M University,
2011). The research gathered focuses on how well NPOs communicate their message and
need for help through social media. Data collected examines how successful different
NPOs were in utilizes different social media sites as well as the different tools on each
site. The NPOs have to employ Neo-Aristotelian rhetoric, more specifically the aspect of
pathos, in order to grab the attention of audience members in order to assist their cause.
Focusing on invoking certain emotions in audiences allows NPOs to utilize rhetoric in a
way that brings them closer to the audience. NPOs will have advertisements on the sides
of social media sites, have their own pages on said sites, use TV and radio ads in order to
spread the awareness of their use of the social media sites, etc. NPOs need to expose their

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reliability to the users as there are many false reports in social media. Reliability can be
defined as a measure’s stability, consistency and repeatability for this thesis (Rubin,
2010). In establishing their reliability, NPOs will have more viewers on their social
media sites as well as have research that provides evidence of the validity of their cause.
Utilizing rhetorical analysis, this thesis explores how NPOs address their
audiences through the Neo-Aristotelian style of rhetorical analysis as well as the variety
of social media sites. "From the earliest examples of rhetorical analysis to the present,
this analytical work has involved the analyst in interpreting the meaning of these textual
components--both in isolation and in combination--for the person (or people)
experiencing the text" (Zachry, 2009, p. 1). Through analyzing how well NPOs employ
rhetoric to gain awareness and followers, this thesis will discuss the most effective ways
to use social media in a way to profit, both financially and socially.
In order to collect data for the analysis, qualitative interviews were used in
conjunction with the Neo-Aristotelian rhetorical analysis. It is important to specify that
the interviews are qualitative, as rhetorical analysis is also a qualitative process thus
connecting the two. A qualitative interview allows for rapport to build and remain
between the interviewer and interviewee, which helps prolong the interview and extract
more information. With this type of interview, there are three types: descriptive,
structural, and contrast. For the purpose of this interview, the questions asked are
structural, and more specifically they are categorized as cover-term questions. "A cover-
term is a naturally occurring label for a given domain or grouping" (Chapter 14, p. 334).
Cover-terms are able to shed light on the different events that dictate membership into a
given domain. For example, one of the questions asked refers to NPOs using social media

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and follows up with the question of what strategies are used within the said NPO. This
allows the interviewer to further probe into how a NPO uses social media while also
gaining more insight into the means that they assume are working most effectively.
“Field research interviewers watch for markers, a passing reference made [in a field
interview] by a respondent to an important event or feeling state” (Neuman, 2012, p.452).
Using these cover-term questions as a guide, the interview is laid out as an ethnographic
conversation. This allows for the interview to be conducted informally, with or without
the participants knowing the interviewer is a researcher. In this case, the participants were
aware of the researcher; however, an ethnographic conversation lends a more casual feel
to an interview, which then leads to the interviewee feeling more comfortable with the
whole process. When an interviewee is most comfortable, they are more willing to
discuss more in-depth information about their organization rather than answer in a more
cut-and-dry manner.
This type of interview is useful for the purpose of this research as it allows for the
interviewer to gain all knowledge of how participants feel about social media and NPOs,
what current strategies are being put in place to help NPOs navigate social media, as well
as the participants thoughts on what other resources are needed to make communication
more effective for the NPO through social media. Qualitative interviewing requires the
researcher to identify their purpose and design an interview plan of how to conduct said
interview. This works as well with this topic as the researcher structured the interview so
that main topics would be covered, i.e. the use of social media in NPOs, how the
members feel about social media, what needs to change within the social media aspect of
NPOs, etc., but they also allow for a more casual conversation and natural act to occur

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between the interviewer and interviewee. Interview questions will be used to assess how
the participants and members of NPOs feel about the use of social media for advertising
for a NPO as well as if they feel that they are connecting to more audiences by marketing
through social media.
When an organization communicates solely through social media, people may
begin to question the authenticity of a NPO if they have no other source of marketing.
People would be able to see the NPO as a scam or fraud if there is no actual literature or
publications from the NPO besides what they post on social media. Social media in this
aspect should be used as an affirmation of the NPO’s authenticity rather than aiding in
fraud. Rubin (2010) defines validity, generally, as measuring what one intends to
measure; however, Rubin also introduces two types of validity: internal and external.
This thesis is utilizing the idea of external validity as it is defined in Rubin (2010) as the
results of empirical research studies that are generalizable to other people, times, etc. It is
the NPO’s responsibility to make sure that they have all information necessary and
needed for people to know that they are accredited as well as open about their efforts to
progress further. NPOs must be able to portray a strong message through the first look at
their social media sites in order to gain validity in the eyes of the audiences from the start.
If a NPO's most utilized way to promote their message is through social media,
people may begin to question the authenticity of a NPO if they offer no additional
source(s) of information to accredit their organization. NPOs should have published
works to post on their social media pages as well as links to their sponsors' sites as
features of their social media outlets. This allows the public to have access to an idea of
the truth that makes evident the authenticity of the NPO. Audiences need to be able to

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rely on the information being presented to them via social media of NPOs. By carefully
formatting their information on the different social media sites, NPOs have an
opportunity to relay their most important messages directly to a community. This also
opens up windows for the different audiences of the different sites to research further into
the mission and research behind the NPO as well as the sponsorship gained.
Ethics
NPOs have the obligation of having to validate the reliability of their organization
in that there has to be reassurance for followers to know that what they are giving their
time and money towards is a worthy cause. Reliability is defined as a measure’s stability,
consistency, and repeatability (Rubin, Rubin, & Haridakis, 2010). In regard to NPOs, the
idea of reliability relates to how often an NPO is relaying the message of their cause,
showing what the volunteers and donations are being put towards as well as posting
further information regarding the research that the NPO is dedicated to.
Today's society is one that is in need of constant verification that they are not
being taken advantage of and that they have a solid idea to believe in. This is also where
validity ties into how reliable a source is. There are two types of validity: external and
internal. For the purpose of this thesis, external validity is found to be the most
reasonable for NPOs to utilize. External validity is the result of an empirical research
study that are generalizable to other people, situations, times, and so forth (Rubin et al.,
2010). An NPO's main goal is to connect with those around them in every way possible;
they want to show how much support they have for the surrounding communities as well
as how much they want to help others. The information published through the social
media sites for NPOs is crucial in that it must apply to the most people as possible in

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order to gain more and more support. The more people that are able to identify with an
NPO's cause, the more donations and volunteers there will be. Utilizing external validity
allows NPOs to publish research articles and information that can be applied to many
different people in different situations that may just have one common goal.

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Chapter 4
Analysis and Results
As discussed, NPOs have become to rely upon social media as a way to reach out
to their supporters and potential supporters. Social media sites have become the
predominant way in which organizations are able to collect donations and
volunteers/supporters. This thesis focuses on a small sample of NPOs, five in total, each
utilizing social media in the most efficient way they have discovered. With each of the
five NPOs, an interview was conducted in order to discover how the different NPOs use
social media, if they find it efficient and whether or not the organization believes there is
something to be improved upon for the social media sites.
The analysis of the transcripts for the interviews displays the connecting themes
of the public sphere using Neo-Aristotelian rhetoric as well as the application of framing
and priming. Utilizing these common themes, the findings from the transcripts are broken
up into three major sections. The first section will examine the different mission
statements of the NPOs in order to establish background information. The second section
explores how well the NPOs believe that social media assists them in communicating
with their intended audience (RQ1), while the third section explores how the NPOs gain
the support from audiences utilizing social media (RQ2).
Missions for Good Cause
The NPOs that participated were asked to summarize what the mission of their
organization was in order to provide a background of the cause they promote and why.
This section is going to explore each of the different mission statements and compare
how the different organizations market themselves through this statement. With a mission

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statement, an organization must be able to convey a story of their journey as an NPO and
why they are dedicated to a specific cause. This allows for the NPOs to play off of the
pathos of viewers. The five NPOs that participated in this thesis were Mass General
Hospital (MGH), DOVE (Domestic Violence Ended, Inc.), Essex County Greenbelt,
Generations Inc., and City Year*. Having a variety in the NPOs interviewed allows for
more exploration of how different organizations have to adjust how they utilize social
media in comparison to other NPOs.
A mission statement is an NPO's first impression to make with viewers; this
statement is what draws people in to explore the website and research of the NPO further.
MGH's mission statement was summarized in the interview as follows: "Guided by the
needs of our patients and their families, we aim to deliver the very best health care in a
safe, compassionate environment; to advance that care through innovative research and
education; and to improve the health and well-being of the diverse communities we
serve." Michael Morrison, the marketing consultant interviewed, stated that MGH drives
towards change and with that, they are embracing social media to the best of their ability.
Their mission statement states that the organization is moving toward improving the
surrounding communities by bettering their health and well-being. This can be
accomplished through social media in that the NPOs have endless possibilities with how
they reach both old and new supporters utilizing these sites.
Having easy access to marketing for a specific cause or organization allows for
the organization to reach supporters instantaneously. Essex County Greenbelt declares
their mission as follows:

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Since 1961, Greenbelt has been working to protect the farmland, wildlife habitat
and scenic landscapes for the benefit of all who live, work and enjoy the resources
in Essex County. Our work helps to maintain clean air and water, preserve the
fragile ecosystems that harbor native wildlife and plants, sustain farmland to
assure a safe, local food supply, and protect vulnerable scenic views and open
space that contribute to our region's unique quality of life.
Greenbelt focuses mainly on the environmental aspect of life; however, with social media
being as prevalent as it is, Greenbelt must be able to connect on a more human level with
their audiences. It may seem funny that through social media the NPO would be able to
make a more human approach, but in today's society, communicating through media is
that type of approach. Communicating via computers or smart phones has taken the place
of face-to-face communication, as it is more convenient to do so. Utilizing social media,
Greenbelt is able to add more human interaction amongst their environmental projects
and missions.
Social media is a way in which NPOs can connect on a more "human" level; it
also presents a safer way to communicate with those viewers who may be looking into
getting serious help. DOVE assists those who have been the victim of domestic violence
and offer their social sites as ways in which they can seek help in a safe way. Their
mission statement is as follows: "DOVE is committed to partnering with diverse
communities, families, and individuals impacted by domestic violence. We promote
hope, healing, safety, and social change by providing a broad range of preventive and
responsive services." They utilize social media sites in order to promote a safe
environment for those looking for help. They set up an option on the sites so that the site

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will automatically close out if you need it to. DOVE makes their social media more
applicable to audiences by formatting their sites to cater to the needs of their audience
members. This allows audiences to see the enactment of DOVE's mission statement right
away before even researching more into their information.
In keeping organized, Generations Inc.'s mission statement is on display on their
website and it explains, "Generations Incorporated strives to improve the literacy skills of
young children through grade three. We do this by recruiting and training older adults to
serve as literacy tutors at our partner schools and after-school programs in low-income
communities." The recruiters and mentors help students develop better studying skills
and better ways to learn in the classroom. They utilize face-to-face interactions rather
than social media in assisting their students; however, in gaining support and awareness,
they do have some social media outlets. The spokesperson for Generations Inc., CT,
explained that they do not have enough staff to keep the social media up to date and thus,
their sites suffer. CT explained that they find that social media hinders their relationship
with their sponsors as well as their students. He does not find that social media assists
them in furthering their mission. He fears that social media will cause more of a gap
between the organization and its participants, especially where the NPO is severely
understaffed and no one is able to man the social media sites.
As with the caring of children, Generations Inc and City Year worry that social
media jeopardizes the privacy of their students. The NPOs realize how easy social media
makes it to find out all sorts of information and they risk their students' privacy if they
were to post certain pictures or articles on their sites. City Year's mission statement
outlines that they support students in grades 3-10 in a tutor/mentor program. They work

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with inner city kids to learn better skills for the classroom as well as how to utilize these
skills in order to bridge the gap between what the students learn in the classroom and then
learn at City Year. City Year is committed to their students and is trying to work with
social media sites in a way to utilize their resources for research instead of using social
media solely for recreational use.
Communicating Via Social Media
Effectively Communicating. When asked, “How do you communicate with
supporters of your organization? Is this effective?”, each of the NPOs answered in a
similar manner. Each explained the different media outlets that are utilized for
communication. Each of the NPOs answered their social media sites (Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn, Pinterest, NPO website, etc.) as the first attempt at communication with their
supporters, while “snail mail” and email blasts were listed as secondary forms of
communication. The NPOs found these ways to be the most effective in reaching their
supporters. Most found Facebook to be the most direct way to communicate with
supporters as their supporters always seemed to be on Facebook. Each organization was
asked which social media sites were being utilized. Each of the five interviewed listed
Facebook as the main social media outlet, followed by Twitter, blogging, and Instagram.
When asked, “How do you communicate with clients of your organization? Is this
effective?”, the NPOs answered similarly to the question above. Phone calls were An
additional form of communication from DOVE, in particular, stated how it was much
more effective for them to utilize the telephone when getting in touch with their clients
rather than social media. This allows a more immediate response from both the NPO as
well as the clients in gaining more support for the NPO as they are able to discuss their

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mission at length via the telephone, i.e. real time two-way communication The MGH
response to this question proved interesting as they stated that they are able to
communicate so effectively with their clients as the clients have a variety of ways in
which to reach the NPO. They explained that they are only effective in their
communication with clients because of the many options offered to clients with regard to
contacting the NPO. Greenbelt offered the aspect of one-on-one conversations as being
an effective way of communicating with their clients as well. One-on-one conversations
are extremely effective in raising awareness for causes; conversations provide an
opportunity for the NPO to get to know clients on a more personal level. This creates an
actual bond between the NPO and the clients, which also helps provide reliability of the
NPO for the clients.
The NPOs were then asked to describe their organization’s website and whether
they believe it to be user-friendly. Each answered positively, noting that their websites
were catered towards their clients and assisting them in finding the research they need.
MGH offered during their interview the insight that their website was not user-friendly
but that was why it is being redesigned. Mr. Morrison stated, “Our organization’s web
site is currently going through a redesign to focus more on usability and interaction.
Currently it is an effective way for patients to find out information about our services.”
He recognized the faults in the current design and instead of looking upon them
negatively, he saw them as the building blocks for a newly designed website. This allows
for MGH to expand their reach with their new website in making it more user-friendly
and easily navigated. As with the other NPOs, the websites are the main focal point for

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drawing in supporters and clients. The websites present the main ideas and research of
the NPOs right away for supporters and clients to utilize.
Utilizing Social Media as a Main Tool for Communication
Communicating via social media. The NPOs interviewed were asked how they
used social media, as in what websites are they utilizing and through what strategies
are they best using the social media. There was a general consensus between the
answers given that each of the NPOs does use social media to connect with the
surrounding communities through offering updated news and research on their
specific cause. MGH's Mr. Morrison responded in a way that offers a summary of
sorts of the other responses to the same question: "Our organization does use social
media. Through social media we’re able to identify and cultivate a diverse
community of people who following the hospital’s social media accounts for a variety
of reasons. We generally like to offer news and information as well as good public
health messages and sharing the latest in medical research." Receiving similar
responses to the same question from the other NPPOs, this answer offers the most
detailed account of how the NPOs use social media.
This response provides an outline of how other NPOs utilize social media in that
it offers a way in which to expand their community ties and grow in their
relationships with supporters and clients. Social media is used in order to provide
viewers further research and knowledge of the cause that the NPOs are supporting in
order to provide validity to the relationship being built. However, not everything with
social media is easy and without problem for NPOs. When asked what challenges
social media presents to the NPOs, there were two major concerns that emerged from

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the responses given: time and privacy. The NPOs expressed their concerns on not
having enough time or staff to spend with their social media sites, which can cause
those sites to suffer if they are not kept updated or run properly. If a social media site
is not maintained, viewers are able to tell and that can cause a decrease in viewing/
donating. However, it also takes someone around the clock to be monitoring the site
to make sure all inquiries are answered as well as the information on the site remains
relevant and up-to-date. This was a major concern of all of the NPOs interviewed.
They acknowledged that they need to be able to have someone available to maintain
the social media sites only, no concentration on anything else. CT from Generations
Inc. presents the challenges of social media as follows: "utilizing social media to raise
money, encouraging thoughtful and contemplative philanthropy through social media
(as nice as the Ice Bucket Challenge is, ice melts.. meaning that it draws people in,
but how to sustain and make people more thoughtful about it), and gaining new
followers." He summarizes the main challenges of social media in this statement,
opining that though social media is extremely accessible, it presents problems with
keeping close to supporters.
Competing with time as the main concern was the aspect of privacy. It was
expressed that the NPOs were concerned with keeping the privacy of their supporters
and clients safe as with social media, information is far too accessible sometimes. The
NPOs worry about their client's rights to privacy and understand the threat that social
media poses to this. Thus, even with security and privacy settings at the maximum,
NPOs know that if there is a will, there is a way for people to invade the privacy of
their supporters/ viewers. However, when asked if they think that social media is an

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effective tool being used, the NPOs opined that it is an extremely efficient manner to
communicate with those supporting them. Mr. Morrison of the MGH NPO explained
perfectly how social media aides NPOs:
Social media can be a very effective tool for non-profits. Often, non-
profits depend on a dedicated community of stakeholders for support. By
cultivating these individuals and spreading information and awareness
about the organization directly to them via social media, you can
strengthen the community and spur action. You also arm your followers
with the information and ability to spread your message in their own
community.
As explained above, social media is a way for NPOs to "arm" their audiences with the
information necessary to spread further awareness of a cause. Social media presents a
way for "word-of-mouth" to become relevant again as well as audiences are able to take
the information presented to them and spread awareness for a cause. However, CT from
Generations Inc. provided a contrary response to how well social media assists NPOs. He
believes that though it is useful, he does not believe in the hype that social media makes it
easier to plan events and gain support. He found that with Generations Inc., social media
presented to be more of an obstacle in maintaining support. CT explains how they find
that they are more likely to get a quicker response through using a telephone rather than
wait around for people to respond to a Facebook invite or Twitter blast. He states that he
does not understand the hype of utilizing only social media and feels that social media is
making the traditional ways of communication become obsolete, and not in a good way.

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He finds that the more traditional use of a telephone or face-to-face interaction is much
more efficient than relying on response times to social media posts.
The NPOs were also asked what other social media outlets they think they should
be utilizing and/or are there any other media outlets they believe should be breached. The
idea of mobile apps and mobile texting/ accessibility came as one of the more popular
responses. The NPOs recognize that there is more of a dependency on mobile devices
than in the past and with this comes a cause for change. In order to remain relevant,
NPOs need to be able to stay ahead of the change. The idea of mobile apps for the NPOs
presented a righteous change that would benefit their causes as well as their supporters.
However, Generations, Inc.'s spokesperson, CT, presented the idea of utilizing telephones
more. He explains it as, "It's an underutilized piece of technology that has the capacity to
get the job done quicker than multiple calendar invites, emails, and missed social media
postings." This contrasting opinion allows insight into the other side of NPOs, the more
traditional side that focuses mainly on the interaction between NPO and supporter.
Discussion
Results indicated a similar reaction to NPOs use of social media in terms of their
beliefs of the effectiveness of the social media sites. All but one NPO found social media
to be most beneficial to their organization; the contrasting opinion found that there was
too much up-keep for their understaffed organization. For example, the agreeing NPOs
were of larger staff than the one contrasting opinion thus maintenance was not their main
concern but rather relevancy was. The NPO that had the contrasting opinion made good
points with explaining how they do not want to lose touch with their supporters and thus,
their NPO relies more heavily on phone calls and face-to-face interactions. This response

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displayed the theme of society being too dependent on technology, as it is more common
for NPOs to create a Facebook event or blog blast rather than call a donor or supporter
and meet in person.
The findings highlight three major points of conclusion. First, of the five NPOs
interviewed, all but one agreed on the efficiency of using social media sites. The
contrasting NPO displays the idea of framing a relationship in a more traditional manner
rather than one compliant with the technology error so to speak. "Framing theory
suggests that how something is presented to the audience (called “the frame”) influences
the choices people make about how to process that information" (Goffman, 1974;
Fairhurst & Sarr, 1996; Scheufele, 1999). For example, the contrasting NPO wants to be
able to emphasize on the pathos of their audience and they are able to invoke more
emotion over the telephone or in person rather than through a social media site. Second,
NPOs depend upon the public sphere as their main form of communication. They use
social media sites to remain relevant through blog blasts, picture posts, and sharing links
to each other's articles. This allows the NPOs to utilize the public sphere in a way that
connects them most efficiently to their audience. Third, and finally, the findings highlight
the fact that though social media is effective, there are flaws that cannot be overlooked by
the NPOs. The NPOs interviewed expressed concerns about maintenance of their sites,
privacy for their supporters, and remaining relevant in mainstream social media.
Communication Theory
The findings emphasize the central themes of framing and public sphere in
communication between NPOs and their supporters via social media, as well as
highlighting the common flaws in social media for NPOs. Fully- developed frames

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typically perform four functions: problem definition, causal analysis, moral judgment,
and remedy promotion (Entman, 2007). Frames introduce or raise the salience or
apparent importance of certain ideas, activating schemas that encourage target audiences
to think, feel, and decide in a particular way. For example, City Year frames the
importance of education through engaging their students in activities that allow them to
enjoy doing school work, rather than using school work as a punishment. City Year
frames the idea of learning as fun through bulletin boards mimicking social media sites in
order to grab the attention of the students. Through these frames of displaying that
education and learning is fun, City Year is able to encourage students to look positively
upon school rather than have them dread going.
The public sphere for social media is something that requires a lot of attention by
NPOs. They must constantly be monitoring the social media public sphere in order to
maintain relevancy as well as to gain more support. For nonprofits, the consequences of
having a static web presence include the loss of potential clients, volunteers, and donors
as well as appearing to be outdated solely on the basis of their online presentation (Water
& Lo, 2012). Maintaining their presence in the public sphere is crucial as this is the
quickest way to contact new/old supporters and donors. Social media sites, such as
Facebook, provide an outlet that allows NPOs to connect with users via pictures, posts,
statuses, etc. Facebook’s wall serves as a dialogic platform for organizations to involve
their fans and build a devoted community (Waters & Lo, 2012). For example, the MGH
spokesperson explained, "We generally like to offer news and information as well as
good public health messages and sharing the latest in medical research." They use their
Facebook wall to further the information process for their supporters as well as help

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support other NPOs by sharing their research articles on their Facebook wall. They utilize
the public sphere in a way that benefits both themselves as well as fellow NPOs; this
allows for both MGH and their supporting NPOs to remain relevant and help with
maintenance for each other's social media sites. Working together allows NPOs to share
information about their work as well as help promote the work of the other NPOs that
they are working with. Social media allows NPOs to build better relationships amongst
each other as well as better relationships with their supporters and donators.
Social Media as an Effective Communication Tool
While the NPOs interviewed explained the positive aspects of social media, the
negative aspects must also be recognized. Only one NPO exploited the fact that social
media is not the perfect way to communicate, or rather, not the only way to still
communicate with supporters. With social media comes the issue of privacy and whether
or not an organization is able to keep their supporters information safe. As easy as it is for
NPOs to create an event or blog blast via social media, it is also just as easy for them to
pick up a phone and set up a face-to-face interaction. Social media may allow NPOs to
reach a broader audience, but they also jeopardize the reliability of a relationship between
NPOs and supporters as well as NPOs and other organizations. This is an aspect that each
of the NPOs interviewed addressed. They outlined why they appreciated the availability
of social media and ease of access it provides to the NPOs for reaching their audiences;
however, also outlined was the fact that with social media comes the jeopardizing of
privacy for supporters.
The ease of access that social media provides is a driving force in today's society,
not just among the NPOs. Social media provides an option of remaining close with

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supporters without having to actually meet supporters. NPOs are able to use social media
to set up online events as well as further spread information on the research being done
by the NPOs. Reliability comes when supporters are able to track the information given
to them by the NPOs as well as establish actual communication with associates of the
NPOs. Supporters need to be able to know that if there is ever the need to talk to a real
person, they will be able to reach one. Social media presents a way for supporters to
quickly reach the associates they need to in the NPOs; it provides a way in which
supporters can know that their questions will be answered by the NPO in a timely manner
and without hassle to both parties.
Traditional forms of communication such as phone calls and face-to-face
interactions act as obstacles in a relationship between supporters and NPOs in today's
technology age. Supporters very rarely want to take the time to meet with an organization
and discuss the visions and research of the organization when there is a social media site
or website that tells them the same information. Supporters would rather accept an evite
to an event that they may or may not attend rather than have to call a NPO and explain
how they may not want to attend a function but feel guilty about it. Social media presents
a much more relaxed atmosphere for NPOs and supporters to interact; however, this can
also make both supporters and NPOs lazy in their efforts to stay connected directly with
each other. CT from Generations Inc. explains, “We see greater, effective results (more
leads, donations, volunteer recruitment) from in person interaction and phone calls.”
These traditional options make both the NPO and supporter try harder at their
relationship rather than communicating solely through the computer as with traditional
efforts of communication, there is emotion that can be portrayed while the computer

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blankets over emotion, as text does not convey emotion as well as verbal communication
can.
Social media has both pros and cons when it comes to NPOs trying to find and
maintain supporters for their cause. It provides a quick and convenient way of
communicating with each other for NPOs and supporters. Using Facebook walls, blog
blasts, tweets, etc. NPOs are able to reach out to their supporters in a way that makes it
easy to perpetuate information about their cause. Social media also takes the pressure off
of supporters to constantly be calling-in or emailing, as they are able to look at the social
media sites and learn what they need to as well as send a message to an associate if need
be. Social media is a way to strengthen support for a cause; however, it should be used as
a secondary source of communication. This research found that in first establishing a
relationship with supporters, NPOs would be able to start off stronger by beginning a
relationship with a phone call and face-to-face interaction. Social media provides a
convenient way of maintaining relationships but a more difficult way in creating new
ones as it is more difficult to differentiate supporters through social media than having
one specific phone number to call, so to speak.

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CHAPTER 5. Summaries and Conclusion
Limitations of Study
As this thesis had a small focus group of five (5) local non-profit organizations,
the research is limited to what was found in the sites and the data collected from these
five NPOs. The research is also limited by the area of concentration that houses the
NPOs. The NPOs are all based out of the Boston area, though there are national
charters that allow the NPOs to reach out to the other states. The NPO representatives
that were interviewed were all from the Boston area as well which assists in framing
their responses to the interview questions. This is a limitation though in that their
answers are framed as being solely about work in the Boston area. Their answers are
outlining how social media effects their Boston audience, rather than a national
audience. Being a small focus group of NPOs, the answers given during the
interviews are extremely concentrated as the percentages are only 1 out of 5 rather
than 1 out of 100 or 5,000. There is also the limitation of the amount of diversity in
the causes that these NPOs support. Research found three major genres for the causes
of NPOs; they were education, health and environment. There was not much variety
in the types of causes being supported by the NPOs which also frames these answers
in a more limited manner.
Further Study/ Recommendations
For this study, it was found that social media, though quite effective for
communicating with supporters, still has flaws that must be addressed. The NPOs
found that social media was much more efficient in addressing the masses than
traditional forms of communication; however, they also found that there was a lot of

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maintenance and up keep to be had with social media. The NPOs expressed concerns
about not having the amount of available staff needed to maintain the social media
sites they need to remain relevant in their supporters' lives. They also showed
concern with maintaining their supporters' privacy through the use of social media
sites and the information required to input in order to create accounts for these sites.
The thesis showed how well social media can be used to reach a more broad audience
as well as help share further information about themselves and other NPOs. The data
also displayed the amount of discontent some NPOs have for social media as it brings
them further apart from their supporters. The NPOs thrive on the relationships made
with their supporters; however, social media has expanded their audiences to a point
in which it is not possible to form personal relationships with each supporter. Further
research is needed to explore how this problem may be rectified for the NPOs. They
have a need to be able to properly maintain social sites while also remaining relevant
in their supporter's lives. This has been the true struggle for NPOs as they are battling
the technology age and the larger ideals of supporters. They know that in order to
remain successful for their cause, they must reach out to further audiences. However,
with a limited staff, this presents another challenge in need of further research.
NPOs have the obligation of needing supporters in order to thrive; this presents
much of a challenge in today's technology age. Though technology makes it easier to
connect with supporters in a way that will send them more information, it also makes
it more difficult for NPOs to build meaningful relationships with their supporters.
This along with the challenge of keeping the privacy of their supporters presents a
tiresome job for the NPOs. There is further research needed in exploring how NPOs

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may utilize social media in a more productive manner as well. Of the NPOs
interviewed, all found that they did not have the time to constantly be manning the
sites. This effected how well the utilized the sites as they would have to spend less
time on the posts they were making in trying to update all social media. This strains
the amount of time and effort put into each post, potentially making each of the posts
less informative. Further research is needed in order to help figure out how NPOs can
utilize social media in a time-sensitive manner with the limited staff they have
available.
Conclusion
Social media has the ability of making advertising and marketing much easier for
organizations, in particular for this thesis NPOs. It is able to reach a much more broad
audience while also offering ways in which different NPOs can share the information
about each other and spread further awareness and support to each other. This helps
build stronger relationships between the NPOs; however, social media also presents
the challenge of remaining close with supporters. NPOs have been able to establish
relationships with supporters through ore traditional forms on communication such as
phone calls and face-to-face interactions as they ask for more attention to be paid.
Social media offers an easier way out for communicating with supporters but this
also is at the cost of the integrity of the relationship. NPOs are attempting to find the
balance between remaining close with supporters as well as remaining mainstream for
future supporters along with current supporters. In order to remain relevant, NPOs
must constantly be updating their social media pages and adding more information as
well as interactive concepts in order to keep supporters interested in their pages. This

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is a timely activity that most NPOs do not have the staff for. Hiring new staff is not
always the answer either as most NPOs do not have a huge budget to work with for
their staff. NPOs have found flaws in using just social media as their way to
communicate with supporters such as jeopardizing the privacy of supporters
potentially, maintaining the sites properly with lack of staff as well as remaining up to
date with their supporters in order to remain viewed and to gain new support. This
constant demand on maintenance is one that may prove to be too much for NPOs as
they do not have the time to dedicate to maintaining only their social pages and not
their other facets of their organizations.

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APPENDIX I
Interview questions
1. Describe the mission of the organization.
2. How do you communicate with supporters of your organization? Is this effective?
3. How do you communicate with clients of your organization? Is this effective?
4. How would you describe your organization’s website?
5. Does your organization use social media? If so, what strategies do you use
through social media?
6. What challenges does your organization face in using social media?
7. Do you think social media is a good tool for nonprofits? Why or why not?

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8. What other forms of communication should nonprofits be using?
9. What resources does your organization need to effectively communicate its
mission?
10. Anything else you want to add?

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Appendix II
Interview Answers
MGH SOCIAL MEDIA QUESTIONNAIRE
Guided by the needs of our patients and their families, we aim to deliver the very best
health care in a safe, compassionate environment; to advance that care through innovative
research and education; and to improve the health and well-being of the diverse
communities we serve.
The Public Affairs Office at Mass General is tasked with communicating to our various
internal and external audiences. We do so externally through the traditional news media,
online content, and social media. Internally we produce a weekly employee newsletter,
draft all-user emails, special announcements and manage various portions of the
employee intranet.
Various parts of the hospital, including clinical and non clinical, communicate with
patients in a variety of ways including written documents, posters and other signage on

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the property, phone calls, emails and through online patient portals. We communicate
effectively because patients have a variety of methods of interacting with us.
Our organization’s web site is currently going through a redesign to focus more on
usability and interaction. Currently it is an effective way for patients to find out
information about our services.
Our organization does use social media. Through social media we’re able to identify and
cultivate a diverse community of people who following the hospital’s social media
accounts for a variety of reasons. We generally like to offer news and information as well
as good public health messages and sharing the latest in medical research.
As always, we are concerned with patient privacy. In an increasingly less private world
we must balance those needs of our patients with providing information that can be
valuable to the public. This doesn’t necessarily hinder us, per se, but does add an extra
layer of caution to various social initiatives and projects.

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Social media can be a very effective tool for non-profits. Often, non-profits depend on a
dedicated community of stakeholders for support. By cultivating these individuals and
spreading information and awareness about the organization directly to them via social
media, you can strengthen the community and spur action. You also arm your followers
with the information and ability to spread your message in their own community.
Along with traditional online strategies, non-profits should look into how they might
integrate mobile devices into their strategy. So much communication now takes place on
mobile devices that it’s important to make sure messaging is optimized for mobile.
Another possible venue is looking at mobile apps.
mission?
In order to effectively communicate our mission, we need support from our institutional
leaders who understand the importance of letting our community know who we are, what

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we do, and what we stand for. When leadership understands that importance, those tasked
with doing so will find success.
10. Anything else you would like to add?
While certain types of social platforms may come and go, the need for good quality
content for your audience won’t. When considering using social media it’s critical to plan
for the type of content you will produce, who will produce it, and what it will convey.
Social media can be like someone giving a free home, but you still have to furnish the
entire thing. And to be more accurate, you would have to constantly change the furniture
to keep it fresh so your friends will want to keep visiting.
ESSEX COUNTY GREENBELT SOCIAL MEDIA QUESTIONNAIRE
Website: http://www.ecga.org/
Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-Essex-Countys-Land-
Trust/59778864195?fref=ts , Twitter, Pinterest, Linked-In.
Monthly e-news, ad hoc e-blasts, community-based land campaign mailings or messages,
signage and kiosks on our properties, property guidebook, annual report, articles in local
press, regional and national publications.

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Mailings, email, website, one-on-one conversations.
Good
through social media? Yes. Primarily as a communication and engagement vehicle.
The time and resources required to frequently post and keep material fresh. We cannot
afford a dedicated headcount to these responsibilities, but to do a thorough job, more time
needs to be spent in this area.
Yes, It’s cost effective and most people are engaged in the use of some form of social
media.
Instagram,

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mission?
Staff that are more familiar and exposed to emerging social media tools.
DOVE SOCIAL MEDIA QUESTIONNAIRE
DOVE’s Mission
DOVE is committed to partnering with diverse communities,
families, and individuals impacted by domestic violence.
We promote hope, healing, safety, and social change by providing
a broad range of preventive and responsive services.
2. How do you communicate with supporters of your organization?
Constant Contact, FB, and snail mail Is this effective? Yes
Phone

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4. How would you describe your organization’s website? Brand new and fabulous
5. Does your organization use social media? Yes- FB, Twitter, and Pinterest If so, what
strategies do you use through social media? Post a lot of robust content
6. What challenges does your organization face in using social media? We need a
part-time designated staff person to create and maintain the flow of content
7. Do you think social media is a good tool for nonprofits? YES, it gives us several
forums to spread the word and share our mission
8. What other forms of communication should nonprofits be using? I think we are
using everything possible at this time
mission? Additional staff, money

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10. Anything else you would like to add? No
GENERATIONS INC. SOCIAL MEDIA QUESTIONNAIRE
Generations Incorporated strives to improve the literacy skills of young children through
grade three. We do this by recruiting and training older adults to serve as literacy tutors at
our partner schools and after-school programs in low-income communities.
2. How do you communicate with supporters of your organization? Is this
effective?
Through direct mail, communications (social media platforms, blog, e-mail marketing),
peer to peer meetings, phone calls. Some channels are more effective than others. Email
marketing sees anywhere from 20-25% open rate with 1-2% click-through (in an email
list of 1300+ people). We see greater, effective results (more leads, donations, volunteer
recruitment) from in person interaction and phone calls.

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Primarily through grassroots initiatives. Information sessions, flyering in the community,
phone calls.
New, though I am always looking to improve it. Interactive, informative, and trying to
keep things simple. And, mobile friendly.
Yes. We use FB, Linkedin, and Twitter. Our strategy is to post about recruitment needs
and events, fundraising events and campaigns, special interest stories, and relevant
articles to our mission and partners. We also sync social media platforms to schedule
posts and post altogether.

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Utilizing to raise money, encouraging thoughtful and contemplative philanthropy
through social media (as nice as the Ice Bucket Challenge is, ice melts.. meaning that it
draws people in, but how to sustain and make people more thoughtful about it).
Maintaining and jazzing our existing followers. Gaining new folllowers.
Yes, though I question the hype of it for fundraising and recruitment.
The phone. It's an underutilized piece of technology that has the capacity to get the job
done quicker than multiple calendar invites, emails, and missed social media postings.

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mission?
Marketing and communications assistance around how to best determine our audience,
their wants and needs, and methods for recruitment and donation solicitation.
Happy to answer any further questions!
CITY YEAR SOCIAL MEDIA QUESTIONNAIRE
City Year is an educational NPO that works with Americore programs. The
organization supports students in grades 3-10 through tutoring and mentor programs. The
NPO targets areas of school skills in order to promote graduation and good school
conduct with their students. City Year works to bridge the gap between what students
learn at school and what they learn at home in a way to benefit the students in the best
way possible.

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We communicate with supporters through Twitter, Facebook, blogs, email, phone
calls, etc. We train our core members to actively invest in professional development
using these resources. We find it to be very effective in outsourcing our information for
further research for supporters as well as quick communication with supporters.
Our clients are our students, and we do use social media to keep in touch with
them; however, we choose to use it academically by forwarding articles and information
to them via Facebook and other websites rather than just to be “friends” on social media.
That is strictly prohibited. A lot of the communication with the students occurs in person
or over the phone. We find these to be the most effective in staying in touch and actively
being present in our students’ lives.
We still have room to grow with our website; however, in the late winter/ early
spring, we did transform our website. It is now easier to maneuver as well as find out
more information specifically for certain communities rather than a general overview of
City Year as a whole. Each community is able to reach those members specifically
dedicated to their area.

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Our organization does use social media; however, we stress to our core members
to remain unplugged during City Year time. We want people to be able to approach them
on the train or street when they are in uniform and feel comfortable asking questions
knowing they will receive full responses. Once students get to City Year after school, we
still do not allow them on social media; this helps reiterate the fact that it is not ok to be
on social media during class time. We do set up bulletin boards to look like certain media
pages so that it is somewhat similar to what they would be reading on Facebook or
Twitter. Our social media pages are “used” when being maintained by members or
sending out information blasts.
The main challenge we are faced with is the compromising of our student’s
privacy and safety. We have to always be monitoring what is posted on our social media
sites in order to not exploit our students or organization members. We also find that the
idea of social media being readily available is very distracting for the students in paying
attention to their school work.
I think social media is a good tool for NPOs to use in that it creates mutually
beneficial relationships between supporters and the organization. It also helps build
beneficial relationships between different organizations as they share information from
each other’s pages and have links to each other’s pages for further information on a
certain cause. Social media makes it easier to connect with more supporters as well as

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maintain relationships built with existing supporters and businesses. Social media allows
for our organization to remain “relevant” in the eyes of the public as well as in the eyes of
other NPOs.
I still stand by that you should never underestimate the power of a phone call. I
think that phone calls and in-person meetings are what build the relationships between
NPOs and communities; social media is a way to maintain and keep those relationships
fresh. Word of mouth is also a very powerful tool in spreading awareness of a message.
mission?
Our organization relies on phone calls, word of mouth and recruitment to
effectively communicate our mission while using social media to keep the message and
awareness relevant.
10. Anything else you want to add?

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