ABSTRACT

Most studies about the public relations uses of new media for civic and social engagement focus on service-oriented nonprofits or corporate social responsibility campaigns of profit-seeking entities. Although an important part of the nonprofit sector, foundations have been largely overlooked in this research. While foundation communication officers are expected to have the tools and knowledge to create excellent communications, it is also imperative that senior management understand the role and function of communication. Thus, this chapter relies on in-depth interviews conducted with senior staff as well as communication officers of foundations, regardless of whether they are considered part of the dominant coalition. The foundation leaders and communication officers interviewed for this chapter universally agreed there is utility in online communication to achieve their mission. The foundations that participated in this study seem to be practicing "excellence in public relations" as the Grunig and Hunt (1984) theory suggests.