The Influence of Communication Strategy on Resource Mobilization Efforts by Non Profit Organizations: A Case of Fellowship of Christian Unions (Focus) Of Kenya

Abstract

Resource mobilization and effective communication strategy go hand in hand in any non-profit organization. This study sought to find out whether communication strategy has influence on resource mobilization results. The study focused on non-profit organizations and used Fellowship of Christian Unions (FOCUS Kenya) as a case. FOCUS Kenya is a non-profit Christian organization whose main mandate is to reach students on campus through evangelism, leadership development, discipleship and integral missions and social transformation programs. The study reviewed the level of funding at FOCUS Kenya from 2006 to 2016, to determine the relationship between corporate strategy and the level of funding at FOCUS Kenya and also the perception of stakeholders on the effectiveness of communication strategies in resource mobilization as established by FOCUS Kenya. This study was guided by the stakeholder theory that focuses on relationships between an organization and stakeholders’ influence on how the organization conducts its activities (Freeman, 2010). The research used descriptive design using both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. Data was collected using questionnaires and interviews and analysed using Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) for the questionnaires, and thematic discussions for the interviews. The findings indicated that in 2016, FOCUS Kenya level of funding was at Ksh 32M, which was four times lower than expected needs despite the efforts employed to mobilize adequate resources. Additionally, the findings revealed that FOCUS staff members were not involved in the formulation and implementation of the communication strategy. The study recommends that stakeholders be involved in formulation and implementation of communication strategy for a greater, resource mobilization success.