A152. Fuller, R. P., Rice, R. E., & Pyle, A. (2023). U.S. nonprofit organizations respond to the COVID-19 Crisis: Influence of communication, crisis experiences, crisis management, and organizational characteristics. American Behavioral Scientist. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642231155380


We assess influences on crisis impacts on, and responses by, nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in the first half-year of the COVID-19 pandemic. We briefly review relevant research and theory on the nature and management of organizational crises, and NPOs, emphasizing the roles of social media and stakeholder communication in management of NPO crises, and summarize general NPO consequences of COVID-19. Hypotheses and research questions are tested by multiple data sources (institutional measures, surveys in 2019 and 2020, and Twitter use in 2019 and 2020) about 578 NPOs. Contributions include distinguishing types of social media purposes, counts and content of tweets, crises, extent of the crisis, crisis communication barriers, organizational resources, and responses as well as the application of discourse of renewal theory. While there are some common influences on NPO impacts of and responses to COVID (communication channels and extent of crisis), there are differences as well. Impacts are influenced by concerns about paracrises, readiness for renewal, and program financial emphasis; while responses are influenced by social media purpose, fewer experienced paracrises, and more liabilities, with variations by type of response.

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