ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to fill the gap in people's understanding of corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication by examining how individuals perceive CSR by nonprofits. It utilises an experimental design to present CSR messaging in several different communication channels to test how adult populations evaluate the CSR messages from nonprofits in terms of the source credibility and message believability. The chapter provides the titular question of whether CSR messaging is a successful strategy for nonprofits or if it distracts from the nonprofits' core messaging around their missions, programs, and services. From direct mail to blog posts, website articles to Facebook posts, companies are utilizing a variety of channels to communicate about their CSR efforts using less formal media channels, unlike the formal communication channels preferred by for-profit counterparts. Research has frequently shown that CSR has positive impact on organizations' reputations and community relations efforts, but this research has primarily focused on for-profit entities.
