Increasing Fundraising Efficiency Through Evaluation: Applying Communication Theory to the Nonprofit Organization— Donor Relationship

Light has documented a decline in the public confidence expressed in charitable organizations. Given the importance of individual donors to the sector, it is vital to understand how these organizations cultivate relationships with donors to survive sectorwide controversies. The organization—public relationship (OPR) framework allows the current study to assess the well-being of the nonprofit organization—donor relationship.Through 1,706 surveys administered to randomly sampled donors at three western United States nonprofit hospitals, the results indicate that the nonprofit— donor relationship is healthy in terms of the relationship evaluation; however, the impact of cultivation strategies suggested by communication theory varies significantly for major gift and annual giving donors. Structural equation modeling provides insights for fundraisers on how they can streamline their fundraising programs to maximize the impact of their cultivation efforts.