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What has emotion got to do with it: the moderating effect of mission statement polarity on fundraising performance

Sarah Willey (University of Missouri at Saint Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA)
Matthew Aplin-Houtz (University of Missouri at Saint Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA)
Maureen Casile (Donald W Scott College of Business, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA)

Journal of Strategy and Management

ISSN: 1755-425X

Article publication date: 10 March 2023

Issue publication date: 1 August 2023

214

Abstract

Purpose

This manuscript explores the value of mission statement emotional content in the relationship between money raised by a nonprofit organization through fundraising efforts and the money spent. It proposes the emotional content of a mission statement moderates money spent and earned to ultimately to impact how much revenue a nonprofit makes through fundraising.

Design/methodology/approach

The manuscript evaluates the qualitative turned quantitative data (via text mining [TM]) in mission statements from 200 nonprofits serving the homeless sector via a moderation analysis. After segmenting the sampled nonprofits by gross revenue, the authors analyze the impact of the positive and negative emotional tone in each group to determine how the content of a mission statement impacts organizational revenue.

Findings

The paper provides empirical insights about how the emotional polarity of a mission statement influences money earned through fundraising. However, the positive and negative tone of a mission statement impacts organizations differently based on size. For nonprofits that report an annual revenue of less than $1 million, a positive tone in the mission statement results in higher revenue. Conversely, nonprofits that report over $1 million earn less revenue with a positive tone in their mission statement.

Research limitations/implications

Owing to the specialized group sampled, the findings possibly only apply to the sampled group. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the relationships found in other areas of nonprofits. However, the implications of mission statement polarity influencing financial performance in any population should be of keen interest to practitioners when crafting mission statements.

Practical implications

The finding that mission statement emotional tone influences the financial performance of a nonprofit has direct implications for the effective delivery of services in the nonprofit realm. Leaders of nonprofits can use the study’s findings to position their organizations to capture potential needed revenue in the crafting of their mission statements.

Originality/value

This paper uniquely exposes the moderating impact of the emotional tone in mission statements in relationship with financial performance.

Keywords

Citation

Willey, S., Aplin-Houtz, M. and Casile, M. (2023), "What has emotion got to do with it: the moderating effect of mission statement polarity on fundraising performance", Journal of Strategy and Management, Vol. 16 No. 3, pp. 446-469. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSMA-07-2022-0127

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited

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