Dissertation Sample Analysis Section

[This is an excerpt from an analysis chapter of my dissertation. The larger context of this section is a focus on the communication practice of storytelling and how the nonprofit I studied—which I called Holistic Children’s Care Ministries or HCCM—conceptualized success through those stories. In this piece I look at the stories in marketing materials; other sections focus on stories I heard in meetings or interviews with the organization’s staff.]

It is typical for nonprofit organizations to tell stories in marketing or stakeholder materials, and that is true for HCCM as well. When I was hired by HCCM as a Community Development Liaison, I was expected to give presentations to local churches, schools, or other groups as part of our events and fundraising. In my second week of work, my boss suggested that I put together a sample presentation to practice and get feedback from the team. I was given simple instructions: keep it under 10 minutes, focus on transformation, and use lots of visuals. I created a slideshow and speaking outline that I believed fit these expectations well. However, after giving the presentation, I was told that I missed a key element: the before and after story. I was instructed to always pick one or two children’s stories to focus on, and to use pictures that clearly juxtaposed their situations before coming to HCCM and their lives after. I was also told not to overcomplicate it with lots of text or statistics. This was my first orientation to HCCM’s genre of the before and after story.

I analyzed 20 newsletters published by HCCM, from the period of 2016 – 2020, and 50 blog posts available on the website dated between March 2017 – September 2021. The analysis revealed that before and after stories were consistently used to demonstrate the positive changes or transformation taking place as a result of the organization’s efforts. The evaluations conveyed follow a simple narrative structure: the situation before was bad and the situation after is good.

For example, these are two headlines from the Spring 2019 newsletter: “Former Orphan Who Tended Goats to Survive Now Attends College;” “Angelina Was Homeless, But You Are Sending Her to College.” These headlines set up the dichotomy between then (bad) and now (good). Longer narratives also follow the same two-part structure. Although there is a turning point, it is not directly stated; thus, I identify that feature as an “implied pivot.” In addition, there is minimal discussion of the change process or the experiences that occurred in-between the two situations. This form of storytelling focuses on the aspirational goals of the organization by showcasing an ideal example of success, meanwhile minimizing the time it took for the change to occur. Consider this excerpt from the 2018 Winter newsletter:

Excerpt 1

Winter 2018 newsletter – Estrella’s story

Line           Text

1                 Estrella’s name means “star” in Spanish, and her eyes reflect that as they

2                sparkle with joy. But this wasn’t always the case for the young Dominican

3                girl. “I would get teased a lot,” says Estrella of her life before [HCCM].

4                “People would tell my mom not to let me look at them because they

5                didn’t like the way I looked.” Young Estrella suffered from esotropia, or

6                crossed eyes. Her poor eyesight made schoolwork difficult. Since her

7                family struggled to afford food and clothing, paying expensive medical

8                bills was out of the question. Fortunately, visiting medical Venture teams

9                treated Estrella. Eventually, she was even able to have eye surgery. “It has

10               changed my life forever!” Estrella declares. “My total disposition changed

11                after my surgeries. I have self-confidence; I am happy.”

In this narrative there are two parts where evaluative distinctions are conveyed to display one part as bad and the other as good. Part 1 is the negative situation before Estrella’s surgery (lines 1-8) and part 2 is the positive change after her treatment (lines 8-11). The before situation is communicated as direct representations of facts. Before being connected to HCCM, Estrella was teased (line 3) and ostracized from her community (lines 4-5) because she “suffered” (line 5) from esotropia. Her condition made schoolwork “difficult” (line 6) and her family already “struggled” (line 7) to afford basic items like food and clothing. Each of these experiences are considered undesirable and, thus, imply an evaluation of Estrella’s situation as bad. The word choice also conveys a direct negative evaluation by emphasizing the factors as unequivocally painful or challenging. In contrast, the description of her life after receiving help is described using only positive expressions that are more generalized. She is quoted as saying that it has “changed my life forever” (line 10) and that now “I have self-confidence” and “I am happy” (line 11). These changes convey an optimistic evaluation of her situation now because most people consider confidence and happiness as signs of a good life.

The implied source of Estrella’s happiness is that she is no longer being teased or seen as an outcast and she can focus on school, though those causes are not directly stated, which suggests that the audience is expected to understand and assume the connection between the cause and effect. The only indication of a pivot is in lines 8-9 where it says “Fortunately, visiting medical Venture teams treated Estrella.” While this identifies the moment of change, it is heavily simplified. No details are given regarding the expertise of the visiting team, the medical procedures needed, or how long the change took. It is also significant that there is no discussion of money—credit for the work is given to the venture team, but it is assumed that the medical costs were covered by HCCM. In doing so, the full responsibility and logistics behind the transformation are only implied.

Estrella’s story is supported by two images in the newsletter, which mirror the two-part narrative structure. The first one is a portrait of Estrella as a young girl who has crossed eyes and is not smiling. The second image is of Estrella at an older age, most likely as a teenager (the exact ages are not listed), who is smiling and looking directly at the camera with uncrossed eyes. These images serve as clear visual representations of the two parts in the before and after story where one picture portrays the subject as less happy than the after picture. While there are criticisms on the “pornography of poverty” in nonprofit marketing, it is also clear that a visual strategy works to persuade people to donate (Clair & Anderson, 2013; Manzo, 2008; Nathanson, 2013). The pictures accompanying Estrella’s story convey a marked change between suffering and happiness, and they also suggest a transformation from struggle to success. This ties in to HCCM’s mission of transformation and reminds donors that this is a positive outcome that can be achieved through supporting the organization’s work.