Agape Way Communication Audit

Riley Barnhill, Mary Elizabeth Bennet, Meredith Hunter,

Lanie Phillips, Samantha Sugerik, Paige Zartman
Background
Agape Way was founded in 1999 by Frank and Anna Li. Headed by
Frank, Agape Way grew out of his growing and abundant love for Christ that
he willed into an organization that would expand and propel Christian values
and love to all people. His main focus was to support impoverished Chinese
children and provide them with the necessary tools to get an education. From
his own experience growing up in rural poverty, education was invaluable to
his success and ascension into the academic realm, and eventually Christian
ministry. While his main study throughout his education was geology, his
acceptance of Christ was something that was strongly encouraged by his
partner, Anna. Together they forged a plan, a family, and Agape Way.
Today, they have expanded their organization through various webbased platforms to reach their followers, donors and supporters. They also
lead many trips to China to connect with local villages, scholarship
recipients, and further spread the Agape Way teachings developed by Frank.
They have also reached out to the Chapel Hill community to connect with
churches, clubs, and other Christian organizations to develop partnerships
and stimulate greater awareness and funding. This has allowed the Lis to
better serve their community and connect with other Chinese-Americans
within the area. Serving as a connecting point to other Christians and
providing a specific niche for Chinese-Americans has been vital and well-

received by the community. Ultimately, bridging the space between the two
distant countries, and the cultures shared between the two is a byproduct of
the Agape Way that Frank and Anna emulate in their day-to-day life.

SWOT Analysis for: Agape Way

Strengths
As a Chinese-American nonprofit, Agape Way has several strengths
that set it apart from other nonprofits. The first is their ability to easily
communicate with the diverse families and Chinese community that is
targeted by Agape Way in both Chinese and English. A specific example of
this is a downloadable copy of a brochure for individuals interested in getting
involved in the organization that is available on the website in both English
and Chinese. Agape Way also has a broad social media presence. The
organization is on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Their website has easily
access links to these pages and other communication platforms such as their
e-newsletter, sermons and blog. Another strength of Agape Way is their
grassroots motivation technique. They hold local events at churches that
focus on fundraising for sponsorships. Agape Way actively participates in the
Chapel Hill community through partnerships with churches and other
initiatives. A specific example of this is the Winston-Salem benefit night.
Agape Way understands the need to connect with potential donors. They
provide bible teachings on their website to enrich benefactors experiences

and involvement. The organization has established an annual New

Year/Christmas gift catalog for individuals to send gifts to the children in
Western China. This direct method of giving bridges the gap that the physical
location of China in relation to the United States creates. Finally, their
website has a donation link on every page, tab and communication medium
to promote the ease of donating.

Weaknesses
Internally, Agape Way struggles because it is a small organization run
out of the home of two individuals. Frank and Anna Li are the founders and
relatively new to the Chapel Hill area. Neither individual has access to an
abundance of resources to help the nonprofit organization grow. In addition
to limited access to resources, Agape Way does not have unlimited funds.
Fundraising is a large part of their platform. The money that is donated goes
to the education of children in Southwestern China. The limited resource and
funding issue in Chapel Hill isnt allowing the Agape Way team to sponsor
children like they would want. In addition to that, the website is bad quality
because it doesn't look professional. It has not been updated regularly which
is a weakness because individuals wanting to donate or learn more about
Agape Way are reading old information. Some of the website tabs dont have
information linked to them, which makes the website look unfinished or
incomplete. The Sermons tab has a link for where individuals can donate,
but there are not any sermons listed on the page. This might make a user

wonder what the real intentions are of the organization if there are only links
to donate and no scripture. The donate option is linked to every page, which
seems a little aggressive when the particular page is about educating the
reader about the organization or sharing a sermon. Finally, The website
contradicts itself when it says that the purpose of the organization is to
academically sponsor children in Western China, but that information is
nowhere to be found in the mission statement or on the main page of the
website. These weaknesses prohibit the organization from expanding in the
way that Frank wants it to grow.

Opportunities
Agape Way is learning from their mistakes as they continue to grow
into the organization that Frank wants it to be. An opportunity for Agape Way
is how the website explicitly states Agape Ways mission. This allows for the
reader to learn about what Agape Way stands for and the opportunity to
potentially get involved. There is a link on the website titled Support Us
which allows viewers to get involved without contacting the organization and
solely supporting the organization financially. A final opportunity for Agape
Way is that the website can be viewed in both English and Chinese. This is a
huge opportunity because the majority of the people who benefit from Agape
Way are located in China. The new found Agape Way members in China can
also read and support Agape Way through the website because it converts to
the Chinese language.

Threats
Agape way has potential threats. The tax forms submitted for 2014
display that of the $150,000 charitable contributions given to Agape Way,
only $56,000 was appropriated for the scholarship fund and aid sent to
children in Southwestern China. This aspect is questionable. The website
could also use work. The lack of professional web design threatens the
polished nature of an efficient and reliable organization. The number of
volunteer opportunities and the ways in which contributions are used are
unclear on the website, which discredits the legitimacy from a viewer
standpoint. The organization would also benefit if its title was clear.
Currently, Agape is unclear and not widely recognized, potentially deterring
potential contributors and supporters. Agape Way also has a lack of partners
that creates uncertainty and could discourage supporters from contributing.

SWOT Technique Agape Way Should Focus on This Year:

As a collective, we decided that Agape Way should focus on their
weaknesses. It is critical for Agape Way to grow because it is such a small
organization ran out of a family home. Fundraising is a key aspect that
should be increased in the future in order to reach ultimate goals. It is also
critical for the organization to update their social media sites regularly,
especially now that we have created many different popular outlets for the

organization. We believe with focus on these weaknesses, the organization

can greatly benefit and thrive in the future.

Recommendations:
Agape Way should focus on more effective fundraising communication
in order to better achieve their goal of helping those living in poverty in
Western China. This includes more effective social media, consistent
messaging across all channels, and effective outreach to potential donors.
Right now, Agape Way is lacking consistency and effectiveness in their online
presence. There is no single logo or slogan that appears on everything in
order to create uniformity across channels. In addition, their social media
presence is non-existent. This is something they could benefit from as it is
essentially a free way to promote their cause. Additionally, the lack of
recognizable logos or slogans is potentially confusing to those interacting
with Agape Way, so this is opportunity for improved communication. Overall,
Agape Way could benefit from a strong public relations push and online
presence in order to better reach potential donors and become closer to their
fundraising goals. This should be achieved through a strong social media
presence and consistent branding across all channels through creating one
logo and mission statement for consumers to recognize and associate with
Agape Way. On the website, this would include using the logo and slogan
throughout and linking to active social media platforms and posts. This would

also include updating the website to be more aesthetically pleasing and

professional looking.