Running Head: PORTRAYAL OF NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS IN VIDEO 1

Portrayal of Nonprofit Organizations in Video

Jessica Henry

Messiah College
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INTRODUCTION

Everyone has a story. Each person lives out a different version of the human experience

during their time on earth. Included in this story is suffering. No matter their demographics,

everyone has a relationship to suffering. They might pass a homeless person on their way to

work every day. They might have a chronically ill loved one. They might live in poverty in a

developing country.

There are thousands of organizations in the United States alone that exist to relieve

suffering. There are international organizations that dig wells in Africa or work to stop sex

trafficking in the Philippines. There are national organizations that provide relief to victims of

natural disasters. There are local organizations that feed and shelter homeless people in their

immediate community. Many of these organizations can be classified as nonprofit organizations

that operate without government funding. This means that they must continually raise money to

fund the work that they do.

Since everyone has a relationship to suffering, many of those people want to help relieve

others suffering. They will donate their money and time to organizations whose mission it is to

help forgotten and in need segments of the population. However, since so many organizations

like that exist, people have to choose carefully which ones will receive their support. It then falls

on the organizations to make sure they are not only known by the public, but that they also have

a positive reputation.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Previous research acknowledges that nonprofit organizations face unique challenges

since they rely upon donations to fund the work that they do. Research also says that their ability
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to do humanitarian work relies heavily on the media (Cottle & Nolan, 2007). Cottle and Nolan

(2007) believe that the outside news media is crucial to nonprofits public image and potential

donors. The authors also say that the media is crucial in bringing attention to crises around the

world.

With a growing number of organizations looking to help in humanitarian emergencies,

the need for nonprofits to focus their efforts on organizational branding has made itself clear

(Vestergaard, 2008). Increasingly, charity brand status is being used to communicate meaning

through a unique set of values or associations that define the charity not only in terms of what it

does (its cause) but more importantly in terms of the values it represents, (qtd. in Vestergaard,

2008). Organizations attempt to attract media attention based upon their public image (Cottle &

Nolan, 2007). One of the ways to lessen their reliance on outside news media is to communicate

directly with the public and donors.

It is important for organizations to find donors who will give annually, particularly those

with the potential to give significantly (Waters, 2011). Waters (2011) found that when

individuals trust an organization they are more likely to donate and continue to donate.

A crucial beginning step to building an organizational brand is to clarify mission and

vision (Johnson & Jian, 2017). In their study of the development of the life cycle of a nonprofit

working in the Midwest United States, Johnson and Jian (2017) found that once the founders

clarified the mission and vision of the organization it was able to develop more smoothly. They

had already started their work in the community when they discovered that they needed to revise

their mission statement.

According to Bublitz et al. (2016), organizations can build their brand by crafting a

metanarrative, a story about who they are and why they exist. The metanarrative becomes an
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umbrella under which each little story falls. There should be one person, a member of the

leadership team, who oversees all of the stories told to ensure that each story is authentic and

genuine, reflecting the overall metanarrative. Each individual story should be catalogued in a

story portfolio to show the breadth, expertise, and uniqueness of their work.

Vestergaard (2008) writes about compassion fatigue, a term that refers to the large

amount of suffering depicted in the media and how that leaves viewers numb to the tragedies of

the world. In light of this, she claims that organizations must find new ways to utilize media that

do not try to enact the public out of compassion. An analysis of a TV spot produced by the

Danish section of Amnesty International shows how the organization carves out a new space for

itself in the conversation. They do this by composing a sequence of fictional images, rather than

using a traditional documentary appeal. The visuals are aesthetic, pleasing, and detached from

natural realism. The voiceover uses the third-person pronoun they rather than first-person we,

which gives the statements an objective voice.

Perhaps a more positive way nonprofits can bring awareness to their cause is by telling

stories about people who have been positively impacted by the organizations initiative. A study

by Dush (2017) explored the use of digital-age practices by 82 nonprofit organizations. Dush

analyzed digital personal experience narratives (DPENs) on or linked to their Web sites. The

purpose of creating such a collection is to build an engaged network and demonstrate the quality

and impact of their programs and services, according to Dush (2017). The study found that 70%

of the collections analyzed used text narratives with photographs to tell stories, while only 20%

utilized video. Both first-person and third-person perspectives were used equally. 65% of the

collections had a way to share the content.

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It can be difficult for nonprofits to fully utilize all of the options that exist for digital

media due to lack of technical and staff capacity (Dush, 2017; Briones, Kuch, Liu, Jin, 2010).

Organizations that manage to create more content that is not just text narrative with photographs

are often national with more staff, money, and technological capacity.

Like other types of organizations, nonprofits have found it beneficial to utilize social

media to centralize management functions and communicate with both the general public and

those who have a specific interest (Briones et al., 2010). In a study of 409 nonprofits, Curtis et al.

(2010) found that the average number of social media tools used was 5. They also found that the

most frequently used types were e-mail, social networks, video sharing, and blogs. One

appealing characteristic of social media is that it opens a two-way dialogue that helps nonprofits

build relationships (Briones et al., 2010). Sometimes, news media will directly contact the

organization about something on the organizations social media to develop stories rather than

through press releases.

There is a decent amount of research about nonprofits and their relationship to outside

news media. There is beginning to be more research about nonprofits use of social media. There

is a gap in current research on nonprofit organizations and the messages their communication

materials send to the public. This is important to study because of the difference between for-

profit businesses and nonprofit organizationsnonprofits are trying to get people to donate

without getting a product or service in return. They need to demonstrate that what they do is

important and successful for the most part to let donors know that their money is going to good

use.

This study will continue to dig into how nonprofit organizations portray the work they do

and the impact they have on the world.

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Research Question: How do nonprofit organizations portray the work they do in in the videos

they create?

METHODS

To answer this question, the researcher performed a qualitative content analysis of videos

found on the Samaritans Purse website. The site has an extensive collection of videos that are

organized into 10 different categories: Operation Christmas Child, Crisis & Disaster Response,

Discipleship & Education, Medical Ministries, Operation Heal Our Patriots, Women & Children,

Animals & Agriculture, Construction Projects, Water & Hygiene, and Feeding Programs.

Samaritans Purse was the organization chosen to be examined in this study because of its

reputability, its presence around the world, and the extensive range of its programs. One of the

best known of their programs, Operation Christmas Child, reaches over 130 countries and has

impacted over 100 million people.

Creating videos is one of the main ways Samaritans Purse tells stories. The home page

of their website is mainly previews for videos and blog posts that can be clicked on to view the

full video or article. The researcher analyzed videos until data saturation was reached. Videos

published recently at the time of research were chosen. Samaritans Purse does not have a video

that provides an overview of the organization or this would have been one of those chosen. The

researcher analyzed videos from different categories to get a more complete picture of their work

and discover if the organization portrays themselves differently based on the program that is

being highlighted.

The videos were analyzed through the lens of the narrative paradigm, which was

developed by Walter Fisher. This theory deals with humans and their perception of life as an
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ongoing narrative. If humans are narrative beings as Fisher calls them, it makes sense that they

would like to learn about non-profit relief efforts by reading or watching stories. Whenever

people hear stories, theyeither consciously or subconsciouslyapply standards of narrative

rationality to the story. The two standards of narrative rationality are narrative coherence and

narrative fidelity (Griffin 307). To have coherence, a story must be consistent and not have left

out important details or made up facts. Narrative fidelity is the ability of the story to evoke a

response from the listener that resonates with their experiences (Griffin 309).

This study evaluates how well Samaritans Purse portrays themselves to an audience that

is evaluating their stories based on narrative rationality. When analyzing the content of the

videos, the researcher looked specifically at the language used. Do they mostly use facts or

emotional appeals? Do they talk about themselves or the people they help more? Who do they

give credit to? The visuals were also analyzed. Are they showing real people and places? Does

the majority of the video depict distress before they intervened or the blessing after? Each video

was evaluated this way, and each question was answered and described to determine if the video

has narrative rationality.

RESULTS

Six videos were qualitatively analyzed to answer the research question. Two of those

videos were from the Crisis & Disaster Response category. The remaining four were from the

following categories: Construction Projects, Operation Heal Our Patriots, Medical Ministries,

and Women & Children. There were more recent videos in Crisis & Disaster Response because

of the hurricanes that affected the southeast region of the United States just before this research

was conducted, which is why a higher number of videos were analyzed from that category than
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from other categories. This evidences that the organization wants to show the public that they are

actively helping in recent events. The five categories that were chosen had the most recent videos

that the organization created. Videos from the other five categories did not need to be analyzed

because data saturation was reached after six videos.

The two Crisis & Disaster Response videos were titled Rebuilding Hope in Houston and

A Florida Family Gives Thanks. The first had interviews with two victims of Hurricane Harvey

in Houston, who are likely husband and wife but are never specifically referred to as such. The

second tells the story of a family whose house got ruined by Hurricane Irma in Florida. The

video had interviews with the mom, dad, and son of the family and one of the volunteers who

worked on their house. The Construction Project video was titled The Church is Alive in Niger.

It covers the story of 50 churches in Niamey, Niger destroyed by radicals in January 2015 and

the rebuilding of those churches by Samaritans Purse. It includes interviews with two pastors

from Niger whose churches were rebuilt and one Samaritans Purse staff member. One of the

pastors does not speak English, so there are English subtitles. The Operation Heal Our Patriots

video was titled Not Alone and was about Samaritan Lodge Alaska, a facility where military

couples can go after deployment. This videos had interviews with many military couples and

veterans, the President and CEO of Samaritans Purse, and the Executive Director of Operation

Heal Our Patriots. The Medical Ministries video, titled The Weight of War, covers the conflict

with ISIS in Mosul, Iraq. A Samaritans Purse hospital near the city is treating those wounded in

the conflict. There are interviews with the President and CEO of Samaritans Purse and other

staff members, including hospital staff. The Women & Children video, titled God Makes All

Things Possible, tells the story of a woman who had heart surgery through Childrens Heart
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Project, a ministry of Samaritans Purse. She now helps with that program, but it is not clear in

the video if she is a staff member or a volunteer.

The researcher watched three videos from the Operation Christmas Child category but

decided not to analyze the content of those videos for this study. There were a lot of recent

videos in that category because the research was conducted in the months leading up to

Christmas. However, those videos were not included because that program is much different than

the organizations other programs. Therefore, the videos created to portray that program are

much different in form and content than other videos.

Samaritans Purse portrays its relief efforts in problem-solution format. This helps to give

the stories narrative fidelity because they are told in a logical format that viewers have seen

before.

Most of the videos had interviews with multiple people, giving the story multiple

characters. Half of the videos analyzed included an interview with at least one member of the

organizations staff in addition to people they helped. One of the videos that did not have an

interview with a staff member did have an interview with a volunteer for the organization. One

video only had one interview, which was with the woman who had heart surgery. That video was

two minutes and twenty seconds long, which was shorter than the other videos. They ranged

from three minutes and thirty-nine seconds to seven minutes and eighteen seconds.

Do they mostly use facts or emotional appeals?

Staff members give facts about the problem and what Samaritans Purse is doing to help

solve that problem. This gives the stories narrative coherence because it helps to fill in

information and give a more complete picture of their work than if the all of the videos just had
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interviews with people helped. Additionally, since Samaritans Purse works internationally,

many of the people they help have accents or do not speak English well. The staff members in

the videos are Americans, which gives American viewers a familiar face to connect with and

get the information from.

The people helped by Samaritans Purse tell their personal story, which includes

emotional appeals. In A Florida Family Gives Thanks, the mom describes her son having an

allergic reaction to the mold that grew as a result of the flood water coming into their house. She

says, I could hear him sleeping next to me just wheezing. You know your momma heart is

breaking. I was like I have to get my kid out of here as soon as I possibly can.

Do they talk about themselves or the people they help more?

The researcher found this question hard to answer about each video. None of the videos

that were analyzed had a narrator. People that were helped through the organizations work

talked about what the organization did for them and how that impacted their lives. By setting up

their videos in this way, Samaritans Purse puts the focus on the people they help more.

The organization does carefully choose which quotes to put in to tell the story. For the

most part, they choose quotes that American viewers can relate to. In The Weight of War, an

Iraqi woman says, I wish to have a happy and normal life. I wish there wasnt war. We have

lived a life of war. Though her idea of a happy and normal life is different from an Americans

idea, it is still very relatable. Americans can understand not wanting to live in a war zone. Later

in that video, there is an interview with an American nurse in the Samaritans Purse hospital in

Iraq. She tells a story about a child who came in with a head injury and had to be sent to a

different hospital without her family. The nurse says, No child should be by themselves, and we
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couldnt find her family, so she went on to Erbil. We dont know what happened, but it was just

the realization at that moment that war is an ugly thing. In this part of the video, viewers hear a

personal story from an American about what is going on in Iraq and the gravity of the situation.

Who do they give credit to?

In all of the videos, the people that told their stories thanked Samaritans Purse and

thanked God, which shows that they now have a relationship with God if they didnt before. For

Christian donors particularly, this gives the stories narrative rationality because the

organizations motto is helping in Jesus name. The videos show that their donations not only

help others physically, but also spiritually.

The woman who was healed through Childrens Heart Project says, I want to thank so

much Childrens Heart Project, Samaritans Purse in general. We believe that lives are being

changed. God is the provider, he is the healer, and he has a divine purpose for each one of us.

The Houston man whose house was destroyed in Hurricane Harvey and rebuilt by

Samaritans Purse says, Since we encountered Samaritans Purse, our lives, our families lives,

our communities lives, our churches lives havent been the same. Later his wife says, We

know that Christ Jesus lives and he lives through all these people.

The Florida mom says that they had been praying for God to lead them to the right people

and then they got the call that volunteers were on their way. She says, Its an answer to prayer.

Even though this looks like a complete disaster, Hes got us. God provides.

One of the pastors interviewed in The Church is Alive in Niger says that they didnt

know what to do, then Samaritans Purse came. He says, We realized we were not alone. The

staff member interviewed in that video says, Ive seen the joy of congregations singing,
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knowing that they are now in a new facility that God has given to them through your help and

support. This specifically connects donors to the cause and encourages them to give more in the

future.

One of the veterans in the Operation Heal Our Patriots video says, Its a family, to me

thats what Operation Heal Our Patriots is. I feel that I have gotten a family created by God for

us to help us. This connects the program to God, which is likely what donors want to hear.

In The Weight of War video, one of the American staff members says, Its ugly what we

see here, absolutely horrifying, but theres beauty in it too as we see God start to redeem tragedy

in peoples lives. Since many Americans think of the Middle East only as a dark place, they

may not be expecting to hear that there is beauty there. However, this quote shows that

Samaritans Purse is optimistic about what is going on. This allows viewers to be optimistic and

to want to get involved in bringing light to a dark place.

Are they showing real people and places?

Samaritans Purse lets viewers see the real people and places that are being impacted. All

of the videos that were analyzed for this study had footage and interviews in the environment in

which the story took place. The staff member interviews took place at the actual location, even

when the CEO was being interviewed. Visiting the actual locations across the world where

programs are taking place may not be what viewers expect a CEO to do. It shows that he does

not just sit in the office in the United States and attend meetings with men in suits. He is out in

the field meeting victims and talking to field staff. It appears that he may spend just as much

time in the field as he does in the office. This shows viewers that he knows what is going on in
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the many different aspects of the organization around the world, so he should know how

donations can be best used.

Does the majority of the video depict distress before they intervened or the blessing after?

The majority of the visuals in all of the videos depict the organizations involvement.

While distress and destruction are shown in all of the videos, it is a smaller part at the beginning.

This brings awareness to the issue while also showing what Samaritans Purse is doing to help

and why they need continued support through donations. Since some of the projects are in

progress or on-going, not all of the videos have before and after footage or images.

Rebuilding Hope in Houston starts by showing people in a large kitchen cooking gumbo.

Then it shows flooding and destruction from the hurricane, and after that, volunteers fixing

houses. Finally, there is footage of the volunteers coming to the church to eat.

In A Florida Family Gives Thanks, it shows flood water in a neighborhood. The next

visual shows the familys ruined house with their belongings outside in garage and driveway.

Finally, it shows volunteers in Samaritans Purse shirts working on house.

The Church is Alive in Niger uses some recreated visualizations of people destroying a

church presumably because the organization was not there to film when that actually took place.

It is clear that it is recreated footage and not the actual event. The video also shows the rebuilt

churches and the congregation worshipping God in them. There are also aerial shots of the city.

Not Alone shows some war footage that seems like it was not shot by Samaritans Purse

but still looks real, not recreated. The video also shows veterans looking distraught. After that,

there is footage of activities and programming at Samaritan Lodge Alaska.

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In The Weight of War, the first half of the video is footage from inside the IDP camp and

the surrounding war-torn area. There is a sequence that just shows faces of the refugees in the

camp. The video also shows food and other supplies being handed out in the camp by

Samaritans Purse staff. The second half shows inside the hospital and the work that is being

done there.

God Makes All Things Possible shows pictures of the woman when she was a child, since

she is an adult now but had the surgery when she was a teenager. There is footage inside of a

Samaritans Purse operating room and a photo of the woman in hospital as a teenager. Next it

shows footage from a Heart Camp, which is something the woman talks about in the interview.

There are photos of the woman with a mother and child on their trip to Nashville for the childs

surgery, which are shown when the woman talks about having the opportunity to be an

interpreter for the program.

DISCUSSION

The results of this study further prove and expand upon the previous research about

nonprofit communications. Because of the success of the organization that was analyzed, other

nonprofits that are struggling or looking to grow should consider using the strategies that this

study identified. Overall, Samaritans Purse does a good job of making videos that have narrative

coherence and fidelity. This is crucial to appealing to viewers.

Previous studies have found that there are many organizations that exist to provide

humanitarian aid, and they have traditionally relied on outside news media to bring attention to

their work. However, organizations are lessening their reliance on outside news sources by

communicating directly with the public. This change has come about because of societys
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increased use and reliance on the Internet and social media to get information. Samaritans Purse

produces a large quantity of high quality communication materials that they post on their website

and social media channels.

One way that organizations are trying to differentiate themselves from other humanitarian

organizations is not only by their cause, but also by the values they represent. Samaritans Purse

does this by emphasizing their Christian values in their videos. Samaritans Purse has the motto

of helping in Jesus name. It is prominently displayed on their website, and it is a major theme

in their videos. They rely on Jesus to do what they do, and they emphasize this to the public.

They have crafted a metanarrative for their organization, and each of their videos fits into it.

They catalogue all of the videos on their website, so the public can access them in one place and

by category. Since Samaritans Purse is a national organization, they have the staff, money, and

technological capacity to create videos and catalogue them. The videos have buttons which allow

people to easily share them via Facebook, Twitter, or email. This allows the word to be spread

without the organization having to do anything.

This study looks at one specific organizations communication materials, which gives a

fuller picture of how that organization portrays the work that they do. Future research could

perform a qualitative content analysis with videos from multiple organizations in the same study

to find out how different organizations communicate their values.

An area of future research using Samaritans Purse as a subject could be to examine the

communication materials produced about Operation Christmas Child. Since that program is so

different from the organizations other programs, those videos could be qualitatively analyzed in

their own study about proactive humanitarian programs.

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