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Affordances of e-Newsletters for NPO General-Public Stakeholders

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VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The study investigates the affordances of email newsletters as perceived by the general public subscribers of non-profit organizations’ e-newsletters, through analyzing over 17,000 survey responses. An affordance lens acknowledges the possibility of multiple courses of action and forms of engagement in relation to the technology. Findings reveal that email newsletters may be more useful in terms of relationship cultivation than has been generally recognized, but also that perceptions of email affordances varied considerably between segments of the non-profit sector. While finding no strong links between e-newsletter receipt and volunteering or donation activity, the usefulness of email newsletters in terms of building connection between organization and recipient was confirmed at a moderate level. While illuminating the range of affordances offered by email, which has been largely overlooked in the literature, this study also suggests a number of implications for organizations in the non-profit sector.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Massey Business School, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

    F. Elizabeth Gray

  2. School of Communication, Journalism, and Marketing, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

    Nicola Murray

  3. Auckland Transport, Auckland, New Zealand

    Kane Hopkins

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Appendix 1: New Zealand Standard Classification of Non-Profit Organizations

Appendix 1: New Zealand Standard Classification of Non-Profit Organizations

1. Culture, sport and recreation

 Culture and arts

 Sports

 Other recreation and social clubs

 Culture and recreation support and ancillary services

2. Education and research

 Early childhood education

 Primary and Secondary education

 Higher education

 Other education

 Research

 Education and research support and ancillary services

3. Health

 Hospitals and rehabilitation

 Nursing homes

 Mental health and crisis intervention

 Other health services

 Health support and ancillary services

4. Social Services

 Social services

 Emergency and relief

 Income support and maintenance

 Social services support and ancillary services

5. Environment

 Environment

 Animal protection

 Environment support and ancillary services

6. Development and housing

 Economic, social and community development

 Tangata Whenua governance organizations

 Housing

 Employment and training

 Development and housing support and ancillary services

7. Law, advocacy and politics

 Civic and advocacy organizations

 Law and legal services

Political organizations

 Law, advocacy and politics support and ancillary services

8. Grant making, fundraising and voluntarism promotion

 Grant making foundations

 Fundraising

 Voluntarism promotion

 Grant making, fundraising and voluntarism promotion support and ancillary services

9. International

 International activities

 International support and ancillary services

10. Religion

 Religious congregations and associations

 Religion support and ancillary services

11. Business and professional associations, unions

 Business associations

 Professional associations

 Labor unions

 Business and professional associations, unions support and services

12. Not elsewhere classified (residual category)

 Other

 Don't know

 Refused to answer

 Response unidentifiable

 Response outside scope

 Not stated

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Gray, F.E., Murray, N. & Hopkins, K. Affordances of e-Newsletters for NPO General-Public Stakeholders. Voluntas 32, 1165–1181 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-021-00374-2

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