Date

5-2021

Department

School of Communication and the Arts

Degree

Master of Arts in Strategic Communication (MA)

Chair

Marie Mallory

Keywords

Nonprofit, Social Media, Millennial, Diffusion of Innovations Theory, Charitable Organization, Donation

Disciplines

Communication | Social Media

Abstract

The objective of this thesis was to quantify the impact of religious, media-related nonprofit adoption rate, online presence, and online giving technology. Specifically, this thesis focuses on the nonprofits’ adoption, use, and interactivity on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. This thesis study was rooted in Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations Theory, and its constructs were used to best understand the adoption and impact of use within the religious nonprofit sector (Rogers, 2003). First, the researcher defined and evaluated the nonprofit’s active online presence, sophistication of technology integration, and impact of these findings. Second, the researcher quantitatively examined audience interactivity. Targeting a niche nonprofit group that has an understanding of online presence and content creation (religious, media-related nonprofits) significantly revealed that the extent of digital innovation and social media used was not dependent on the amount of revenue. This study provides the level of adoption of social media and online donation tools and audience interactivity that can assist nonprofits to efficiently invest their resources for a better return on investment on a digital, online scale.

Included in

Social Media Commons

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