An exploratory study of donor stewardship on the Web framed within a cocreational public relations paradigm

American’s commitment to philanthropy reached new heights in the wake of the twenty-first century as reports of unspeakable tragedies and unforeseen disasters filled our collective consciousness. Simultaneously, the World Wide Web began to emerge as the medium through which Americans were expressing their support. With little known outside of the popular and trade press about online giving, this study examines how and in what ways nonprofit organizations are using the Web to establish and maintain relationships with online donor publics. Drawing on the excellence and dialogic paradigms found in the cocreational public relations literature, the concept of stewardship is advanced as an overarching theoretical framework for the study. A content analysis methodology was employed to examine the Web sites of 50 American nonprofit organizations that raise money online to describe stewardship, operationalized as relationship building features, found on each of the sites. The study explores found a relationship between the number of features and amount of money raised online, and the number and types of features and the organizational mission. As a result of the research, a model for studying stewardship is advanced.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical referencesIncludes vitaby Nancy A. Wience