The Use of Narratives and Social Media in Arts & Culture Nonprofit Crisis Communication During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted established communication practices for organizations across the globe. While much attention focused on the adaptability of large corporations, less attention has been paid to how nonprofit organizations have responded. At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic was creating ripple effects in social service needs, nonprofit organizations that did not directly address public health still fulfilled urgent missions and needed to communicate their legitimacy to assist with community resilience efforts. This study discovered the roles narratives and social media played in nonprofit organizational crisis communication during the COVID-19 pandemic through interviews with 12 participants. Using situational crisis communication and narrative theories, the study found that nonprofits engaged with different and diverse crisis communication strategies that extended far beyond those theorized. Nonprofit organizations successfully used narratives on social media during crisis communication to support and advance their missions in online spaces and encourage emotional identification with the organization. Most significantly, NPOs seemed concerned with appearing competent and in control throughout the crisis, and the use of narratives in crisis communication allowed nonprofits to preserve and promote organizational reputation