FOUR DIAMONDS PUBLIC REALTIONS ANALYSIS

Four Diamonds public relations analysis

Megan Anderson

Messiah College
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Four Diamonds, a nonprofit located in Hershey Pennsylvania, dedicates its resources to

support the research and treatment of childhood cancer and the families affected by this disease.

Four Diamonds serve the children and families who receive treatment from Penn State Milton S.

Hershey Medical Center. Obtaining the funding to support its programs requires vigorous

fundraising efforts. Susanne Graney, who serves as Four Diamonds Certified Fundraising

Executive and Director, manages this successful organization by practicing ethical public

relations.

History of Four Diamonds

Charles and Irma Millard founded the nonprofit, Four Diamonds, in honor of their son

Christopher in 1972. Diagnosed with pediatric cancer at age 11, Christopher fought for three

years before he lost his life to the disease. During his fight he wrote a story about a knight who

searched for four diamonds in order to escape from a villain. The four diamonds represented

courage, wisdom, honesty, and strength while the villain represented cancer. Christopher

believed these where the main characteristics needed to fight cancer. Charles and Irma used

Christophers story as the inspiration for their organization. Created not only as tribute to

Christopher. Four Diamonds provides hope to the many families who experience a similar

tragedy.

Four Diamonds recognizes the many hardships cancer thrusts upon children and their

families. The organization seeks to provide services which help alleviate the some of the

familys suffering and support the in their fight against the cancer. Created in 1972, Four

Diamonds perseveres in their mission to conquer childhood cancer by assisting children treated

at Penn State Hershey Childrens Hospital and their families through superior care,
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comprehensive support and innovative research( Four Diamonds). Each year, Four Diamonds

accomplishes their mission by assisting 600 children during their fight. Since 1972, Four

Diamonds has helped 3,600 children. Through generous donations, they have provided help to

100% of the children and their families treated at Penn State Hershey Childrens Hospital.

In 1977, Four Diamonds began its partnership with Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical

Center. Four Diamonds now assists all the children who receive treatment at Penn State Hershey

Medical Center. The organization partners with Penn State University to raise awareness of

childhood cancer and the services available through Four Diamonds. Penn State holds an annual

dance-a-thon, known as THON, where all of the funds support Four Diamonds. THON, Four

Diamonds biggest fundraiser, has raised $127 million to support the hope of conquering

childhood cancer.

Structure of Four Diamonds

A part of the University of Development at Penn State University, Four Diamonds

headquarters based at the Hershey Medical campus consists of 42 fundraising professionals.

Graney supervises the whole team. One team member directs the communication of the

organization. However, every employee takes part in developing communication materials that

adhere to the brand standards. As Director, Graney oversees all communication and serves as the

of primary owner and ambassador of the Four Diamonds brand(personal communication, April

6, 2016). An internal group manages the communication, marketing, as well as advertising. Four

Diamonds and the teams at Penn State University and Hershey Medical Center, work together to

handle the diverse communication, marketing, and advertising needs.

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Although considered fundraising professionals, all team members at Four Diamonds practice

public relations within day to day activities. They practice public relations while they interface

with the donors, students, families, and people in hospital (personal communication, April 6,

2016). The Four Diamonds team also holds a forward facing role in the community. They

constantly represent Four Diamonds even when they act as individuals in their neighborhood or

on their personal social media page. The Four Diamonds team has to practice ethical PR in order

to keep their brand high in the publics regard.

Researchers conducted studies which compared fundraising initiatives to public relations

initiatives. In order to achieve success with any fundraising communication strategy, it is

critical to have a consistent, clear, and inspiring message with a call to action (Clark, 2009). PR

professionals need to demonstrate expertise in creating messages that the public can understand,

similar to what fundraising professionals must create. A different study collected responses from

both PR practitioners and fundraising practitioners. Findings of this study concluded that a

fundraising leader must have, foremost, a strong public relations background to ensure

emphasis on all organizations relationships (Swanger & Rodgers, 2013). Expanding on the need

of a base of public relations knowledge, the study further concluded that fundraising is a

specialization of public relations (Swanger, 2013). Four Diamonds reflects this theory because

all staff members understand and practice PR in the many facets of their responsibilities.

Successful fundraising professionals primarily act as public relations professionals. If a

fundraising professional acts without a focus in public relations a negative outcome could occur.

A likely outcome would consist of focusing undue attention on donors at the expense of other

strategically important publics, leaving the organization vulnerable to loss of support (Kelly,

1994). Four Diamonds requires an awareness of how just focusing on fundraising can become
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detrimental to its organization. Currently, Four Diamonds functions well without a high focus on

strictly public relations professionals in its organization. They employ one communication expert

who also acts as the PR expert. Adding an expert in public relations who would incorporate a

strong PR focus throughout the organization, would prove beneficial for a long term growth

strategy for Four Diamonds.

Due to the close correlation between the two professions, the theories practiced by each

overlap. Fundraising professionals need to understand and implement public relations theories

to assist in persuading their public. The social exchange theory, a theory that tries to explain as

well as predict behavior by looking at ways the public makes decisions based on rewards and

costs, can help explain why donors chose or chose not to donate. Donors rewards commonly go

by the term of utility. The benefits of their donations can fall under the category of emotional,

familial, demonstrable, practical, and spiritual utility. The higher the donor believes the utility of

their donation, the more likely they will donate (Sargeant & Shang, 2010). The public relations

situational theory also correlates to fundraising tactics. The situational theory segments the

public of an organization into groups based on the likelihood of them participating. Situational

theory practiced in fundraising happens when non-profit segments their public into who displays

the highest probability of donating to the cause. Models also overlap between the two careers.

The personal influence model of PR becomes implemented when a practitioner tries to establish

personal relationships with key individuals (Lattimore, Baskin, Heiman, & Toth, 2012). Similar

to this PR model, fundraising professionals create relationships with potential donors as well as

current donors. Methods and techniques used within the world of public relations become helpful

while fundraising as well.

Public Relations Plans and Activities

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Research

In order to execute any successful PR plan, research becomes an essential step. Four

Diamonds hired an external consultant to assist in research in order to receive unbiased results.

The consultant conducted a situational analysis of Four Diamonds. A situational analysis

includes an in-depth understanding of the field the organization works in, the organization itself,

the customers or users, and the competition (Daugherty, 2003). The external consultant worked

through these steps by identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of Four

Diamonds. This research method commonly goes by the acronym of SWOT. Four Diamonds not

only conducted a SWOT analysis on its organization as whole, but also on each program it runs.

As the final step of situational analysis the consultant also compared Four Diamonds to other

similar organizations. The consultant compared staffing size, messaging channels, and identity

based on visuals. Analyzing the competition holds importance because an organization that

learns tactics from similar organizations creates the opportunity for growth within their own

organization. Also, competition takes market share or funding away as well as attention and

media coverage way (Daugherty, 2003). Using situational analysis as a research method

allowed Four Diamonds to obtain a holistic look of its current organization and identify areas for

improvement.

Four Diamonds also uses focus groups to conduct research. Focus groups include a small

group of participants and a facilitator. The facilitator holds the responsibility to monitor time,

follow protocol, as well as foster open communication (de Sonneville-Koedoot, Adams, Stolk &

Franken, 2015). Focus groups, a qualitative research technique, used in marketing and corporate

communications programs help an organization with development of a brand (Clark, 2009).

Conducting a focus group also determines audience perceptions of the effectiveness of

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collateral materials (Daugherty, 2003). Four Diamonds used students of Penn State, donors,

board members, and key volunteers to participate in their focus groups. Four Diamonds used the

focus groups to evaluate if the public understood the difference between THON and Four

Diamonds. This study identified communication gaps between the two organizations.

The heavy reliance on focus groups can raise issues. Even when conducted properly, interview

bias can still effect the groups responses. Consequently Four Diamonds needs to focus more on

quantitative research. Surveys, a type of quantitative research, would still gather information

about public opinion but would reduce bias answers. In order to have successful surveys, Four

Diamonds would need to use the social exchange theory. Employing the social exchange theory

would include keeping the survey short, interesting, and including a reward (Lattimore, 2012). If

Four Diamonds used surveys in this way, they would receive high response rates. The responses

would help Four Diamonds conduct complete research.

Event Planning

The relationship between THON and Four Diamonds creates a unique way of practicing PR.

Four Diamonds main revenue comes from fundraising events that require labor intensive event

planning. Shockingly, the Four Diamonds team does not actually plan a majority of THON

events themselves, however they provide the solid understanding of the event planning process.

They train and equip others to successfully plan THON events. They train college students who

run THON as well as middle and high school students who run mini-THON at their schools.

Four Diamonds supplies the tools and information on all aspects of event planning. Their

resources range from how to advertise, how to effectively brand the event, to how to run online

giving as well as brand materials.

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Communication

In order to communicate all the resources available for events, Four Diamonds practices open

communication between itself and its public. Four Diamonds promotes these resources on a

multitude of media channels including newsletters and social media. The newsletters include

inspirational stories, tips on how to engage the student body, and tips on how to fundraise. As an

encouragement and support to volunteers, Four Diamonds created a website called FTK

Nation. FTK, an acronym used at THON, stands for For The Kids. A closed community

between volunteers, FTK Nation provides a safe channel where volunteers can become a part of

the THON fundraising conversation and to exchange advice. Four Diamonds utilizes this

communication tool to create a sense of community.

Open communication fosters a strong sense of an internal community as well.

Communication channels between the internal public differ than that for external public. A

majority of the internal communication at Four Diamonds consists of face to face interactions.

The Four Diamonds staff has a regular team meeting once a week. Staff meetings which all

include the staff from the University of Development stationed at the Hershey campus, takes

place once a month. Additionally, every other month a meeting containing staff of University of

Development from all Penn State campuses takes place. Other communication typically consists

of emails, phone calls, and texts messages.

Publications

Although the communications leader holds responsibility for the final product of publications,

every team member assists with production. Team members meet to discuss their media needs.

The meetings take place so the communications director and the team member who has the
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media need can brainstorm ideas for the publication together. The media director needs to know

the objective, the best channel, and the mood. Once the communication director gathers this data,

they work with a designer who comes back with a rough draft publication. The whole team

participates in the publications for Four Diamonds in order to ensure that each publication meets

the organizations objectives

The communications director has a strong understanding of the importance of story-telling.

According to Will Rodger the author of The Story Handbook, a Center for Land and People

believes, stories can accomplish what no other form of communication can they can get

through to our hearts with a message ( et al. Clark, 2009). Four Diamonds utilizes story-telling

to reach the public in a way traditional communication cannot.

A majority of the Four Diamonds publications focus on the organizations intention to share

its story. The organization does this by producing media that captures its success in fulfilling its

mission. Publications as simple as a visually pleasing pamphlet describing the organizations

mission and its impact create a wonderful resource for Four Diamonds public. The organization

also provides resources that range from a financial report to a success story of a child it assisted.

Every publication ties in Four Diamonds story in one way or another. The most obvious story

telling device takes form as a small book that contains the founders sons, Christophers, story.

The publications format remains in Christophers handwriting. This booklet appeals to the

emotional aspect of the organization and in turn represents the heart of Four Diamonds (Sample

A). Four Diamonds also provides a timeline of the organizations story in a clever format that

intrigues the reader to invest further time into Four Diamonds (Sample B). One of the most

popular publications include success stories of the families Four Diamonds has provided

assistance too. For example, a three year old girl named Lydia Hess has a pamphlet focused on
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the struggles of fight against leukemia. Four Diamonds highlights how Lydias family became

overwhelmed and how Four Diamonds helped them through the struggle. This story uses pathos

to raise awareness to potential donors about what Four Diamonds has the ability to do with

donations (Sample C). All publications demonstrate a strong design as well as a strong story. A

strong and universal design theme further brands the organization. Effective and visually

stimulating publications allow Four Diamonds to reach and motivate its public.

Evaluating Effectiveness

Evaluation, a vital step to all PR plan, commonly goes without proper attention. Although

many organizations do some type of evaluation, it typically does not cover all aspects.

Evaluation has three segments, they include implementation checking, in-progress monitoring,

and outcome evaluation (Lattimore, 2012). All three aspects need representation within an

organization to properly evaluate effectiveness of a PR plan.

In regards to implementation checking, Four Diamonds starts every plan with clear goals and

objectives. Goals differ from objectives because goals have a broad statement that begins with

to while objectives have specific, measurable, and attainable statements (Daugherty, 2003)

Objectives fall under the classification of either marking objectives or communication objectives.

Four Diamonds sets both distinct objectives and goals for the team to accomplish. Common

objectives include an amount of money raised, or amount of new volunteers. Goals set by Four

Diamonds include having accurate information being shared with as many participants as

possible as quickly and as consistently as possible. While elimination inbound phone calls

(personal communication, April 6, 2016). After execution of the plan, outcome evaluation of

effectiveness becomes easier since the team knows what goals they should have accomplished.
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Improvements to plans can arise after evaluating effectiveness. The Four Diamonds team knows

how to more effectively accomplish objectives during the next implementation of the plan

because they now know what did and did not work.

Four Diamonds executes outcome evaluations by complying annual impact reports. These

allow the organization, as well as the public, to evaluate Four Diamonds effectiveness. Impact

reports document how the organization effected the community. For Four Diamonds an impact

report includes how it helped children, where it dispersed donations, as well as general updates

about the organization. The team uses the Four Diamonds annual report to focus on what

questions they are getting from the community and how can they answer them within the annual

report (personal communication, April 6, 2016). Compiling the report every year forces the

team to truly reflect on how they conduct business and how they can improve. Furthermore, the

annual impact reports allow the public to evaluate for themselves the effectiveness of Four

Diamonds.

An overlap between Four Diamonds research and evaluation techniques exists. Focus groups

as well as SWOT analyses not only research but furthermore evaluates effectiveness of the

organization. Focus groups conducted by Four Diamonds highlighted communication gaps

between the organization and the public, proving the weakness of their communication methods.

SWOT lays out a direct evaluation of what works for Four Diamonds and what needs

improvement. Evaluation effectiveness requires concentrated inspection of the organization.

Focus groups and SWOT analyses demonstrate another way of outcome evaluation.

Improvements for Four Diamonds evaluations techniques include executing in-progress

monitoring. Four Diamonds does not currently use strong in-process monitoring as a part of its

evaluation of effectiveness plan. In-process monitoring can greatly improve a campaign because
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changes can take place in order to make sure a plan meets its objectives. Instating in-process

monitoring would increase the success of the organization.

Crisis Planning

Due to the close partnership between Four Diamonds, Penn State University, and Hershey

Medical Center, Four Diamonds practices a unique crisis plan. Crisis can strike any of the three

organizations and has the potential to affect the other two. A crisis caused directly by Four

Diamonds becomes the only time Four Diamonds will take lead in crisis planning. If a crisis

arises from Penn State or the Hershey Medical Center, Four Diamonds defers to the other

organizations marketing and communications team to become the crisis manager. In those

events, the Four Diamonds team will support those organizations but in no way will become the

lead.

Four Diamonds implements standing plans for crises that it typically encounter. Standing

plans mean plans for dealing with certain types of situations, particularly common situations

and emergencies (Lattimore, 2012). Four Diamonds standing plans typically include answers to

typical questions asked by their donors and the community. In order to reduce inbound questions

Four Diamonds has an extensive website, an annual impact report, a financial report for each

year, and publications sent out to the public. Other typical crises the organization encounter

include health issues. The patients assisted by Four Diamonds have weakened immune systems,

so if a health crisis arise it can become detrimental to the children. Four Diamonds has a standing

plan on how to protect the children as well as how to alert the media. Standing plans allow Four

Diamonds to quickly and effectively solve crises.

Four Diamonds assists the students who run THON with creating their own crisis planning

each year. The Four Diamonds team works with students to teach them protocol for crises. They
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instruct them to defer to the University in certain situations. Hosting a dance marathon that over

15,000 student volunteers attend provides a copious amount of potential crises. For instance, in

2015 a student died while fundraising for THON. The student participated in canning, a

fundraising tactic by standing on streets and outside of stores asking for money. He died while

partaking in this activity. The student leadership from THON decided to cancel canning for the

rest of that fundraising year. A tough decision due to the fact that canning brings in a huge

portion of their fundraising of donations. Other crises the student leadership have to deal with

include responding to on campus issues. The public expects THON to have a response to hot

topics such as the Sandusky scandal and fraternity suspensions. Four Diamonds teaches the

students ways to respond to questions and deal with the crises that arise from them.

Four Diamonds also has its own crisis plan to deal with Penn States issues. In order to stay

aware, Director Graney has constant communication with student leadership as well as student

affairs. Open communication between the two organizations insures neither organization

becomes surprised by issues the other face. Open communication benefits crisis communication

because it allows the crisis team to become a unified front. Although Four Diamonds created a

plan on how to respond to questions revolving around crises generated by Penn State, it does not

wish to become the primary source of those responses. Open communication allowed Four

Diamonds to prepare answers, based on information provided by Penn State, for questions that

media and the public could ask.

Imperative to all three of the organizations, application of the two way symmetrical

communication model helps Four Diamonds successfully manage through a crises. James E.

Grunig defines two way symmetrical communication as balanced self-interest with the interest

of others in a give-and-take process that can waver between advocacy and collaboration (et al.
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Lattimore, 2012). Four Diamonds needs to work with its partners in a way that uplifts the

organizations own brand as well as the brands of their partners. Open communication will also

foster strong relationships between the partners. Open communication based on mutual

understanding of each others interests nurtures interactions based on trust. Trust becomes a

vital key to handling crises involving other organizations. Four Diamonds must hold Penn State

and Hershey Medical Center in high regard in order to trust them to share in crisis management.

Penn State and Hershey Medical Center must also trust Four Diamonds to help when a crisis

arises within their organization and ask for assistance from Four Diamonds.

Enacting the agenda setting theory would prove beneficial to diffusing crises for Four

Diamonds. Agenda setting does not tell the public what to think, but instead tells the public what

to think about (Lattimore, 2012). Keeping ethics in mind, Four Diamonds could release positive

stories while dealing with the crisis. Even though it will not make the public forget about the

issue, it will remind the public of the good Four Diamonds does for the community.

Public Relations Issues Faced by Four Diamonds

Four Diamonds has experienced and overcome many public relations issues since its creation

in 1972. Branding, communicating, and fostering donor relations turn into common issues faced

by the organization. By practicing ethical public relations Four Diamonds handled these issues

and emerged as a stronger organization.

One example of this turn around resulted when a reporter found an issue within the Penn State

and Four Diamonds websites. A link leading to Four Diamonds as well to the Medical Center did

not appear on the University website. This lack of connection raised questions about the nature

of the relationship between THON and Four Diamonds. It raised questions about, the solidarity

of the relationship, where the money raised by THON goes, and who this money helps. This
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issue reached a crisis point due to the growing distrust from the public as well as from the media.

In order to solve the crisis, Four Diamonds set up an editorial board meeting with the media.

Representation from Four Diamonds, THON, and the Childrens Hospital, as well as the CEO of

the medical center met with the media to answer any and all questions. They all went in to the

meeting with the mentality of we are an open book, we are happy to share all information, and

we are partners as well as a unified front (personal communication, April 6, 2016). Graney

believes that holding the editorial board meeting helped foster a mutually beneficial relationship

with reporters. Since holding the meeting, an influx of positive coverage occurred. As well, the

media now shows initiative to reach out and confirm information with Four Diamonds.

If Four Diamonds practiced more proactive public relations the crisis would not have

happened. Four Diamonds should noticed communications gap between itself and Penn State

University. The systems theory would have helped Four Diamonds within this crisis. The system

theory suggests how parts of organizations work together and adapt to the environment

(Lattimore, 2012). If Four Diamonds enacted the systems theory with an open system the team

would have known that the gap existed. However, the research did not happen so the crisis did

occur. Four Diamonds team handled the crisis with poise. Implementing two way symmetrical

communication with the press allowed complete transparency and fostered a relationship of trust.

Another issue arose during THON weekend in 2016. Four Diamonds experienced a crisis that

they solved by implementing a standing plan. During a condensed period of time five students

vomited during the dance marathon. Four Diamonds needed to find out the extent of the health

crisis not only for the students well-being but also the child patients who also attended the event.

Using the same plan Four Diamonds used during a chicken pox outbreak years prior, the staff

quickly identified the sick individuals, looked for a connection, got medical professionals
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advice, found out what to tell families, decided what to release to the media (personal

communication, April 6, 2016). Referring back to standing plans as well as practicing proactive

public relations helped Four Diamonds resolve the crisis within an hour.

Conclusion

Success for any organization relies on effective public relations and Four Diamonds

demonstrates this overall success. The foundation of Four Diamonds success roots from its

intentional practice of effective PR. Overall, Four Diamonds demonstrates success with internal

and external communication. Focused on keeping two-way symmetrical communication, Four

Diamonds exhibits ethical communication. Donors, volunteers, as well as employees benefit

from Four Diamonds transparency and openness. Without the teams a solid understanding of

comprehensive public relations practice, their fundraising efforts would not succeed. Their

public relations efforts has built trust with the public, donors, and volunteers. Without their

support and trust, Four Diamonds could not continue their mission of defeating childhood cancer

and supporting those children affected by it. Four Diamonds demonstrates a passionate,

trustworthy and effective foundation.

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