Public Relations in the Nonprofit Sector

Nonprofi t organizations are managing to carry out sophisticated public

relations programming that cultivates relationships with their key audiences.

Their public relations challenges, however, have routinely been understud￾ied. Budgetary and staffi ng restraints often limit how these organizations

carry out their fundraising, public awareness and activism efforts, and client

outreach. This volume explores a range of public relations theories and top￾ics important to the management of nonprofi t organizations, including crisis

management, communicating to strengthen engagement online and offl ine,

and recruiting and retaining volunteer and donor support.

Richard D. Waters is an associate professor in the University of San Francis￾co’s School of Management. Author of more than 75 peer previewed articles

and book chapters, he is the associate editor of Case Studies in Strategic

Communication and serves on seven editorial review boards.

Public Relations in the

Nonprofit Sector

Routledge Research in Public Relations

1 Classical Rhetoric and Modern

Public Relations

An Isocratean Model

Charles Marsh

2 Public Relations, Activism, and

Social Change

Speaking Up

Kristin Demetrious

3 Ethical Practice of Social Media

in Public Relations

Edited by Marcia W. DiStaso and

Denise Sevick Bortree

4 The Bauhaus and Public

Relations

Communication in a Permanent

State of Crisis

Patrick Rössler

5 Public Relations and Religion in

American History

Evangelism, Temperance, and

Business

Margot Opdycke Lamme

6 Public Relations in the

Nonprofit Sector

Theory and Practice

Edited by Richard D. Waters

Public Relations in the

Nonprofit Sector

Theory and Practice

Edited by Richard D. Waters

First published 2015

by Routledge

711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

and by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group,

an informa business

© 2015 Taylor & Francis

The right of the editor to be identified as the author of the editorial

material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted

in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and

Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or

utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now

known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in

any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing

from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or

registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation

without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Public relations in the nonprofit sector : theory and practice / edited by

Richard D. Waters.

pages cm. — (Routledge research in public relations ; 6)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Nonprofit organizations—Public relations. 2. Fund raising.

3. Nonprofit organizations—Management. I. Waters, Richard D., 1976–

HD62.6.P83 2015

659.2′88—dc23

2014045190

ISBN: 978-1-138-79508-2 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-75868-8 (ebk)

Typeset in Sabon

by Apex CoVantage, LLC

This book is dedicated to those individuals working in the

nonprofi t and nongovernmental sector who fi ght for social

justice on a daily basis.

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Contents

List of Figures xi

List of Tables xiii

Foreword by Richard D. Waters xv

Acknowledgments xxiii

Part I

Strategic Management of Nonprofit Organizations

1 A Fractured Glass Ceiling in Fundraising? Examining

the Careers of Minority Healthcare Fundraisers

Using Role Theory 3

NATALIE T. J. TINDALL, RICHARD D. WATERS, AND KATHLEEN S. KELLY

2 Relying on Divine Intervention? An Analysis of

Church Crisis Management Plans 19

HILARY FUSSELL SISCO, RANDI PLAKE, AND ERIK L. COLLINS

3 PR Capacity on Nonprofit Boards 33

TIMOTHY PENNING

4 The Billion-Dollar Question: Examining the Extent of

Fundraising Encroachment on Public Relations in

Higher Education 50

CHRISTOPHER WILSON AND SARABDEEP K. KOCHHAR

5 Alumni Commitment, Organization–Public

Relationships, and Ethics 66

SHANNON A. BOWEN AND DIANA C. SISSON

viii Contents

6 Race for Crisis Control: Attitudes and Giving Responses

after Susan G. Komen for the Cure Pulled Planned

Parenthood Funding 84

EMILY S. KINSKY, R. NICHOLAS GERLICH, KRISTINA DRUMHELLER,

AND MARC SOLLOSY

Part II

Stakeholder Relations

7 New Dimensions in Relationship Management:

Exploring Gender and Inclusion in the Nonprofit

Organization–Volunteer Relationship 103

DENISE SEVICK BORTREE

8 Navigation and Grounded Communication:

Grassroots Strategies for Public Relations Practitioners

Working with Underserved Communities 124

JENNIFER VARDEMAN-WINTER

9 The Academy for Civic Professionalism: A Case Study

in Relationship Management and Stakeholder Engagement 141

BRIGITTA R. BRUNNER AND GIOVANNA SUMMERFIELD

10 Building Mutually Beneficial Relationships:

Recommended Best Practices for Online Grant

Making Procedures 154

GISELLE A. AUGER

11 Disaster Public Affairs Training: A Test of the Crisis-Adaptive

Public Information Model 167

J. SUZANNE HORSLEY

Part III

Public Awareness and Advocacy

12 Legitimation Strategies in Radical Activist Issues Management:

Congressional Testimony of the AIDS Coalition to

Unleash Power (ACT UP) 185

ERICH J. SOMMERFELDT AND SIFAN XU

13 The Cape Wind Debate: Framing by Energy Activist

Groups and Frame Salience for Active Online Audiences 203

BEN BENSON AND BRYAN H. REBER

Contents ix

14 The Influence of Message Source and Cultivation Strategies

in a Nonprofit Public Relations Context 219

LIZ GARDNER, TRENT SELTZER, ANDREA L. PHILLIPS, AND RACHEL E. PAGE

15 Public Relations for the Next Generation: An Historical

Perspective on Activism on Behalf of Children’s

Broadcasting Initiatives 232

RACHEL KOVACS

16 Digging for Victory Gardens: A Comparative Analysis of

the U.K. and U.S. World War II Gardening Campaigns 249

CHERYL ANN LAMBERT

Part IV

New Media Challenges and Opportunities

17 Tweeting Charities: Perceptions, Resources, and

Effective Twitter Practices for the Nonprofit Sector 267

JEANINE D. GUIDRY, GREGORY D. SAXTON, AND MARCUS MESSNER

18 Nonprofits’ Use of Facebook: An Examination of

Organizational Message Strategies 281

MOONHEE CHO AND TIFFANY SCHWEICKART

19 Compassion International and Pinterest: Developing Brand

Personality and Demonstrating Stewardship through Visuals 296

CAROLYN MAE KIM AND JOHN KEELER

20 Foundations: Creating Social Change through

Technological Innovation 310

GEAH PRESSGROVE AND BROOKE WEBERLING MCKEEVER

Afterword by Richard D. Waters 325

Contributors 331

Index 339

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6–1 Fully Mediated Path Model for the Theory of

Planned Behavior. 93

7–1 Model Tested to Determine the Impact of Inclusion on

Relationship Outcomes for Volunteers. 112

11–1 The Crisis-Adaptive Public Information Model. 171

11–2 Revised Crisis-Adaptive Public Information Model. 180

19–1 Screenshot of Compassion International’s Pinterest Profile. 301

19–2 Screenshot of Compassion International’s

“Letter Writing Ideas” Pin Board. 302

Figures

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1–1 Means and Standard Deviations for Four Fundraising

Roles and Cronbach’s Alpha for Role Indices. 10

3–1 Capacities Sought in Nonprofit Board Members. 41

3–2 Most Important Capacities of Nonprofit Board Members. 42

4–1 Comparison of the 17 Universities Where Public Relations and

Fundraising Were in the Same Department. 60

4–2 Frequency of Structural Fundraising Encroachment by

University Governance and Mission. 61

5–1 Alumni Commitment to the University of South Carolina. 73

6–1 Model Comparison for Theory of Planned

Behavior Variables. 92

6–2 Fully Mediated Model of Theory of Planned

Behavior Variables. 93

7–1 One-Way ANOVA on Relationship Evaluation between

Male and Female Volunteers. 109

7–2 Discriminant Analysis of Overall Relationship with

Nonprofit Organization. 110

7–3 One-Way ANOVA on Feelings of Inclusion between

Male and Female Volunteers. 111

7–4 Path Analysis of Levels of Inclusion on the Evaluation

of the Relationship Dimensions. 113

10–1 Number and Percentage of Independent Foundation

Websites with Grant Information Found

by Giving Amounts. 159

10–2 Usefulness of Grant Information Available on

Foundation Websites and Percentage of

Those with Specific Information. 160

12–1 Legitimacy Bases and Tactics. 188

12–2 Strategies for Legitimacy and Appropriate Usage. 189

16–1 Communication Typology of Wartime Gardening Campaigns. 253

Tables

xiv Tables

16–2 Primary Data Sources for “Digging for

Victory Gardens” Project. 254

17–1 Perceptions about Twitter for Nonprofit Organizations. 276

18–1 Frequency of Nonprofit Organizations’ Facebook Posts

by the Four Models of Public Relations. 288

18–2 Frequency of Nonprofit Organizations’ Use of

Digital Communication Resources on Facebook. 289