Senior Thesis

Running heading: STOP THE STIGMA: RAISING AWARENESS
Stop the Stigma: Raising Awareness and Fundraising for a Nonprofit
Maggie Nelson and Abby Hanson
Spring Hill College
CMM 495; Senior Seminar
Stuart Babington
November 14, 2017

STOP THE STIGMA: RAISING AWARENESS 1
ABSTRACT
This project analyzed how the stigma against mental illness has become a problem in
today's society. To understand the view people have on mental illnesses and the incentive of
donating to a nonprofit organization, the Theory of Planned Behavior was used. The work
analyzes the effectiveness of bringing awareness to the problem through social media and
hosting an event. Secondary research was conducted to gather information on how to plan a
successful event, how to use social media platforms for fundraising and the stigma that exists
around mental illness. Further, results including both qualitative and quantitative data were
gathered to measure the success of using social media and an event to bring awareness to the
importance of mental health.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 3
Literature Review ........................................................................................................................... 6
Methodology ................................................................................................................................ 13
Evaluation .................................................................................................................................... 22
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 25
Reflection...................................................................................................................................... 27
References .................................................................................................................................... 30
Appendices ................................................................................................................................... 33
INTRODUCTION
Problem:
Nonprofits continuously struggle to collect donations. This is the main source of support
for these organizations, and without donations they would not function properly. Nonprofits are
essential for helping marginalized groups and those in need get assistance at no cost at all. They
require combined efforts of the community around them to remain open. According to the
National Center for Charitable Statistics, as of 2015, there were approximately 1.5 million
nonprofit organizations operating in the United States (2015). Unfortunately, the surplus of
organizations existing today results in many struggles for them. 1.5 million organizations is an
overwhelming amount, which results in some feeling that donating to them is a choice being
forced upon them. According to a survey done in 2005 by GuideStar Nonprofit Directory, 46%
of nonprofit organization leaders stated that their greatest struggle as a group was to find the
money to accomplish their mission (Coffman, 2005). Basically, almost half of the surveyed
group admitted that the funds were hard to come by in order to operate the way that they wish to.
The next highest barrier at 17% was their struggle at getting the word out about their
organization and their mission.
Lifelines Counseling Services is a nonprofit group that provides support to people in need
of all different types of counseling. They work with families, as well as individuals--many of
whom are struggling with mental illness or going through a crisis. Today’s society tends to view
these situations negatively, which is a problem for the organization when trying to fundraise. In
addition to an overwhelming amount of nonprofit groups in America, mental health
organizations often struggle because they are not considered the most important option for some
individuals. Many people see mental illness as a personal problem rather than a communal
problem. When someone makes a donation, they want to feel connected to the mission of the
organization--if they do not feel a connection to mental health care, then they will be less likely
to donate.
Mental illnesses have been stigmatized in our society and continue to be perceived
negatively. According to a literature review written by Parcesepe and Cabassa (2013), public
stigma is defined as “a pervasive barrier that prevents many individuals in the U.S. from
engaging in mental health care,” and goes on to explain that a social distance exists between
those diagnosed with a mental illness and the general public (p. 384). Society’s view on mental
health diagnoses has become extremely negative, which has also resulted in a significant
problem on college campuses. Students gain a new-found freedom when coming to college, and
this can come with added stress, anxiety and depression. People avoid conversations dealing with
mental illness because of the stigma that is present in society, so many individuals never seek
treatment or help (McLeigh & Melton, 2015).
Rationale:
Nonprofit groups can only succeed if donations are consistent and guaranteed. The
problem with a significant lack of donations is that marginalized and struggling individuals will
not get the help that they need. Therefore, it is important for this study to be done to analyze how
successful social media and event planning can be to fundraise for a nonprofit and promote
mental health awareness.

Purpose:
The purpose of this work is to bring positive awareness to mental health and to promote
the advantages of seeking professional help when dealing with a mental illness. The work will
analyze the effectiveness of bringing awareness to the problem through social media and hosting
an event. The project will research why mental illnesses have such a negative stigma and
discover why people feel shameful when seeking professional help.
Theoretical Underpinning:
To understand the view people have on mental illnesses and the incentive of donating to a
nonprofit organization, we will use the Theory of Planned Behavior. This theory is an approach
to understanding why people seek out specific wants to satisfy specific needs. People are
influenced by the outcome of a situation, and they will act based on the consequences of the
outcome. The theory focuses on “three independent determinants of intention,” which are
“attitude toward the behavior,” “subjective norm,” and “perceived behavioral control” (Ajzen,
1991, p. 188). As these three determinants of the Theory of Planned Behavior are not dependent
on one another to be true, the subjective norm will be used to discuss the theory in terms of
mental health stigma, while perceived behavioral control will apply to the topic of donating to
nonprofits.
Research Question:
Can the use of social media and hosting an event be utilized to influence positive
thoughts and an open dialogue towards mental health?

LITERATURE REVIEW
The majority of research done for this project focused on mental health in the United
States, nonprofit fundraising, event planning, and the Theory of Planned Behavior. Sources
include a combination of trade journals, scholarly articles and books. This literature review
describes why mental health is an important cause in America, the struggles nonprofit
organizations face while attempting to fundraise and how event management has evolved in
today’s society to become a multi-billion dollar business. The Theory of Planned behavior is
used to analyze why individuals donate to specific causes.
Mental Health in America:
According to the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, mental health has drastically
evolved over the years to the point where it has created a major generational gap (McLeigh &
Melton, 2015). Compared to Baby Boomers, the Millennial generation faces a constant pressure
that no other group has before. The generation has been raised with the ideology that they must
always be the best, and that failing is never an option. Due to a gap in trust, religious affiliation,
wealth, optimism, education, etc., Millennials face much greater levels of stress, anxiety and
depression than any other generation in history (McLeigh & Melton, 2015). As a result,
resources such as counseling and therapy are needed more than ever before.
As for collegiate students, young adults are now leaving for school “overwhelmed and
more damaged than those from previous years” (Kitzrow, 2003, p. 167). Almost 30% claim to
feel frequently overwhelmed and alone their first year, and almost 10% report feelings of
depression. However, most do not feel comfortable seeking out help on their own, and college
campuses in the country are majorly lacking in counseling and therapy services. By age 25, over
75% of those who will be diagnosed with a mental illness will have already had their first onset
(Pedrelli, Nyer, Yeung, Zulauf, & Wilens, 2013, p. 504).
Stigma on Mental Illness:
While mental health may be more prevalent than ever in this era, unfortunately a public
stigma around the topic still exists. According to Angela M. Parcesepe and Leopoldo J. Cabassa,
of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Columbia University, respectively, the
general public perceives those with mental illness as a danger to both themselves and also
society (2013, p. 386). In 1993, the general population believed those with a diagnosis to be
violent 2.3 times more than the general population in 1950. In addition, the scholars found
studies to show that adult respondents hold a “greater desire for social distance from individuals
with schizophrenia, depression, alcohol dependence, or drug dependence than from a person with
‘normal’ troubles” (Parcesepe & Cabassa, 2013, p. 386).
Suicide specifically carries its own stigma in society. Heeringen (2001) stated that “the
meaning of suicide emerges from and is part of the complex pattern of beliefs, attitudes, norms,
traditions, etc. that we refer to when we talk about culture — and which is varying over time
between societies and even within societies” (p. 182-183). Suicide needs to be a topic of concern
in society and people should not feel uncomfortable to talk about it. The more people know
about suicide and the stigma, the more awareness is brought to the topic.
“Most researchers and advocates agree: people with mental illness suffer the greatest
impact from stigma” (Corrigan, 2006, p. 17). The stigma associated with mental illness alters a
person's life in several different ways. This can be seen through the research of Benjamin Druss
and his colleagues. They completed two studies on archival data that suggested people with
mental illness receive fewer medical services than those not labeled in this manner. In addition,
individuals with mental illness are less likely to receive the same insurance benefits as those
without a diagnosis (Corrigan, 2006, p. 21). This supports the idea that those dealing with mental
illnesses are not only stigmatized socially, but are also affected by the stigma in both their
medical and financial lives.
Stigma changes the entirety of society and the way people live. Individuals close to those
being stigmatized are also negatively affected. Referred to as “courtesy” or “associative” stigma,
this idea states that the family and friends associated with those diagnosed with a psychiatric
disorder are also impacted by prejudice (Corrigan, 2006, p. 22). In turn, this discrimination
results in injustices and diminishes the value of those with mental illnesses as useful members of
society. Corrigan also concludes that the stigma “robs society” of individuals that could
potentially make a contribution to the community, as the “stigma perpetuates the personal fears
of citizens about becoming mentally ill and losing control” (Corrigan, 2006, p. 23).
The culture of stigmatization needs to stop in order for people to feel comfortable seeking
out the help they need. The number of mental illness diagnoses continue to rise, and when
someone is assigned a stigma based on an illness they have, it affects them for the rest of their
life. When living with a mental illness in a society steeped in stigmatizing images, those
individuals “may experience diminished self-esteem, self-efficacy, and confidence in one’s
future” (Corrigan, 2006, p. 25).
Nonprofit Fundraising:
According to an article discussing financial challenges of nonprofit organizations, the
main issue they face is developing a coherent fundraising plan that will be sustainable
(Sontag-Padilla, Staplefoote, & Gonzalez, 2012, p. 8). Nonprofits continuously struggle
financially due to their strict reliance on external sources to fund projects and pay their
employees. Most importantly, nonprofits must be ethical while crowd-funding, as to not tarnish
their reputation (Pettey, 2008, p. 5). They must be honest with their spending practices and be
consistent with how much they claim will actually be going to their cause.
All coordinations with groups and organizations need to remain professional and cordial;
however, a level of personality needs to also remain in order to connect with potential sponsors
and donors. It is important to make donors feel a personal connection to your cause, as tapping
into their emotions will make them more likely to want to help (Hoyle, 2002, p. 44-45). This idea
is one of the reasons the Theory of Planned Behavior was chosen as the theoretical underpinning
for this research project. As the theory states that all behavior is intentional and goal-driven, so is
a donor’s choice to contribute to a cause. An individual will feel self-gratification knowing that
their choice to contribute money or material donations will help benefit somebody in the world.
Especially with social pressure to do good things in society, donating to a nonprofit is done with
a goal in mind to either present oneself in a positive light or to make themselves feel good.
One of the main fundraising techniques of nonprofit groups is through hosting an event.
To make an event successful, one must know how to properly promote it--especially, online and
through social media. In addition to the event itself, online donation portals need to be used as
well for those who are not able to physically participate or attend (Kachinske, 2009, p. 246).
Online fundraising sites have become statically higher with the increase in social media usage.
Knowing how to get donors on an online platform can boost the amount of donations raised for
an event (Smith, 2016). For this reason, nonprofit groups need to ensure they have staff on-hand
with fundraising and event planning experience in order to be successful in this sector.
Event Planning:
In 1955, Robert Jani, entertainment event aficionado, defined an event as simply as just
“different from a normal day of living” (Damm, 2012, p. 7). Today, with how event planning has
become a large part of public relations, the definition has evolved to include more high profile
managed events--like the Olympics or World Cup. The event industry has grown to be a thriving
sector full of profit. Ten years ago, the industry was a $300 billion business, and has only
continued to grow since with modern technology and social media (Saget, 2006, p. 45).
However, the industry would not be as successful as it is without the event practitioners who
execute their plans.
According to Damm (2012), a study done by Nelson in 2004 concluded that event
managers in the field feel “extremely lucky to be able to work at something every day that they
love.” The professionals are described as individuals who feel as if they are “making dreams
come true” by building a dream for somebody else (p. 12). Event planners are most commonly
working in an industry that they feel passionate about, which inspires them to get the job done
and do it well. At the same time, “event professionals suffer from particular career challenges,
such as long working hours and reduced employees benefits” (Damm, 2012, p. 13). The author
concluded, however, that these are only minor considerations upon career entry.
One of the most important things to understand when hosting an event is that “a well-run
program is an investment in the future” (Saget, 2006, p. 45). An event itself never stands alone.
Instead, it is an integral part of the overall marketing strategy--which includes public relations,
advertising, direct marketing, telemarketing, online communications, research, and personal
selling (Saget, 2006, p. 46). While an event seems to be a one-time occurrence, it is only one of
the many aspects within a successful marketing campaign. When executed properly--with the
right event strategy, company goals and target audience--an event may turn into a notable, annual
occurrence. Event planning must be able to answer the question “Why are we doing this and who
is interested?” in order to be successful (Saget, 2006, p. 47).
In Damm’s book, the Four Pillar Approach is described as a technique for proper event
management. The pillars include time, finance, technology and human resources. The most
pressing of these is time—“without a good timing, events could never run as smooth as most of
them do” (Damm, 2012, p. 32). Event managers understand that their job is very time consuming
and their time must always be valued, which is why time management is so crucial to the success
of an event. The next pillar, finance, is a huge concern for event planning—especially, a
fundraising event for a nonprofit that aims to donate as much money as possible to their cause.
Damm (2012) reminds readers that not a single event has an unlimited budget to spend, and
money always becomes relevant when discussing sponsorships, marketing and promotions and
any materials necessary to host the event (p. 33). It is vital for events to have a reasonable
budget, and to make sure that the budget will result in a profit. The third pillar, technology, is
especially important in today’s world of planning. Technology is needed to “communicate with
people around the world, get information and do the research necessary to evaluate the chances
of an event” (Damm, 2012, p. 34). Right now, social media is a tactic that all public relations and
event management professionals must take advantage of to assist with promotion. Finally, human
resources is concluded by Damm to be the basis of an event. To put it simply, without people, no
one would come to organized events. From managers, technicians, sponsors, volunteers, etc., the
plans would never be possible without them. While they are the most overlooked of the planning
industry, volunteers are crucial for success and they are the face of the event to the
attendees—and at absolutely no cost (Damm, 2012, p. 35).
Theory:
The Theory of Planned Behavior states that all behavior is intentional and goal-driven. It
is “a theory designed to predict and explain human behavior in specific contexts” (Ajzen, 1991,
p. 188). In short, individuals will always have specific intentions behind their actions depending
on the context of the situation. All behaviors and actions have specific motives behind them, and
often times include “personal feelings of moral obligation or responsibility to perform” (Ajzen,
1991, p. 188).
The theory focuses on three independent determinants of intention. The first of these is
the “attitude toward the behavior,” which refers to a person’s favorable or unfavorable
perception of the action in question. The next determinant is “subjective norm,” or the perceived
social pressure around a behavior. Finally, the last determinant is “perceived behavioral control,”
which refers to the ease or difficulty of the action (Ajzen, 1991, p. 188). In terms of this project,
the subjective norm is relevant to the mental health stigma due to the social pressure to give into
the stigma. Perceived behavioral control helps understand why or how people donate to a
specific cause, with online donation portals allowing for an easy action. On the other hand,
attending an actual event may be perceived as more difficult and result in less fundraising.
In addition, the theory explores the idea that individuals act based on peer influence and
will make decisions based on the people and cultures around them. If these factors are present,
then people will be more likely to be persuaded into a certain action. As mentioned before, it is
important to make donors feel a personal connection to your cause, as tapping into their emotions
will increase the likelihood of them making a donation (Hoyle, 2002, p. 44-45). Understanding
the Theory of Planned Behavior is extremely helpful when planning an event, especially when
understanding target audience and marketing strategies.
METHODOLOGY
Target Audiences:
The audience targeted for the project included those involved with Lifelines Counseling
services, friends and family of Madeline Limber, Spring Hill College Students and those
concerned about mental health. The audience was mostly determined based on psychographics,
rather than demographics. The focus was on those who had a personal connection to the cause
and to the organization, rather than on specific demographic types.
Strategies:
The event title “Hits fore Hope” was chosen, along with the slogan “Your Hole-in-One
Could be Hope for Someone.” From there, a rough draft of a logo and graphic was created with
assistance from Rachael Hatley, a graphic design professor at Spring Hill. Once the logo and
slogan were finalized, the event coordinators created a page on Facebook with details of the
event, the story of Madeline Limber, information on Lifelines Counseling Services and statistics
on mental illnesses. An email was created with the same title as the Facebook link (hitsforehope)
in order to have one consistent contact for all coordinations. Then, a Facebook event page was
created to help spread the word over social media and to inform people of the date and time of
the event. The event page also helped gauge expected attendance prior to the day of, in order to
plan for the proper amount of food, drinks, prizes, etc. The Facebook pages and the logo can be
found in Appendices A and J.
A GoFundMe page was created so people could make donations online. This allowed
family and friends in other cities to support the mission of the event, even though they were not
able to physically attend. The GoFundMe can be found in Appendix R.
A public relations plan was created to curate content for social media for the month
leading up to the event. The event coordinators also created a press release and a sponsorship
letter for donors. The press release created was distributed to students and the public, and
donation letters were taken to many different restaurants, retail stores, and other businesses. The
initial businesses focused on for donations were local stores, such as u&i boutique, Raising
Cane’s chicken restaurant, PDQ chicken restaurant, Foosackly’s chicken restaurant, Tropical
Smoothie Café, Red Beards outdoor outfitters, Alabama Outdoors Outfitters and the Spring Hill
Golf Pro Shop. All social media content, the press release and the sponsorship letter can be found
in Appendices O, S and T.
Strategies were put into place to ensure there would be solutions for potential problems.
The event coordinators brainstormed several times prior to the event to work through any
possible issues or conflicts. Problems addressed included the weather and the refund process if
the event was to be canceled. The event was held outside, and seeing as it was being held in
Mobile, Ala., rain was a concern. The solution created for this potential threat was to move the
event to the next day—Sunday, Nov. 5th. The event coordinators also created a plan for the
possibility of refunds in light of a cancellation. Since entry fees were to be paid at the door,
rather than prior to the event, refunds would not be necessary as the rest of the funds raised were
donations to the cause. Donations would not be refunded, due to the fact that the purpose of them
was to be given straight to the organization no matter the status of the event. Fortunately, none of
the potential problems occurred, so all backup plans were not necessary and all other plans ran
smoothly.
Objectives & Goals:
According to Saget (2006), “deciding on what the message is and what it is that you
want your target audience to walk away remembering are key ingredients within the event cycle”
(p. 75). The main objective of this research project was to stop the stigma against mental illness
and to encourage an open dialogue on the topic.
The objectives for the social media campaign were to raise awareness about mental
health and to promote the event. One specific objective was to gain 50 followers on the
Facebook page before Oct. 31. Another was to reach 25 people “attending” on the Facebook
event page before the event occurred. The last objective for the social media campaign was to get
the hashtag “#stopthestigma” trending. The monetary goal for the project was to raise $2,000 in
donations by Nov. 4 for Lifelines Counseling Services.
Materials & Budget:
The budget set for the event was approximated at $100, as a way to focus on receiving
maximum donations. This decision was made in order to contribute the majority of the profits to
the organization. Donations were received from businesses, family members, friends and those in
the community. The GoFundMe page generated a majority of the donations, accumulating
$1,035. The businesses who contributed material donations included Raising Cane’s chicken
restaurant, Foosackly’s chicken restaurant, Tropical Smoothie Café restaurant, Alabama
Outdoors Outfitters, Bella Boutique women’s store, Zoe's Kitchen restaurant, Chick-Fil-A
chicken restaurant, Old Dutch ice cream shop and Oyster House restaurant. Donations from these
businesses included door prizes, food donations and coupons. The $100 budget was provided by
family members to purchase last minute items needed for the event. The materials used for the
event included sign-up sheets, flyers, posters, yard signs and rule sheets. All materials
distributed were consistent in branding and design, including both the Lifelines logo and the
event logo. The materials were printed using the Integrated Multimedia Center on Spring Hill’s
campus. All printed materials can be found in Appendices E, I, L, M and N.
Lifelines Counseling Services also provided information on mental health and suicide
prevention on the day of the event. The organization had a table set up right next to the check-in
table that provided attendees with information on all of the programs they have available to the
public. They also handed out pens, stress balls and bracelets with the suicide hotline printed on
them in order to promote their suicide prevention program and spread the word about suicide
prevention.
The materials used for participating in the contest included golf balls, golf clubs and pins
to mark the balls. Each set of ten balls was marked with the same number for each participant.
Golf clubs and pins were provided by a Spring Hill College golf team member and one of the
event coordinators.
The entry fee was $5, and it included food and non-alcoholic drinks. Every entry ticket
was added to a door prize drawing, which also consisted of donated gifts from local businesses.
It also cost $5 to receive a bucket of golf balls, provided by the course, in order to aim for a
hole-in-one. All money collected from the check-in table was added to the total money collected
on the GoFundMe page.
Miscellaneous materials such as tablecloths, an ice chest, chairs and tables were also
used. The tablecloths were bought using the budget, and all other items were borrowed or
already owned. Tables and chairs needed were requested from Spring Hill College Plant
Operations to be set up the morning of the event.
Timetable:
During summer of 2017, possible event ideas and nonprofit groups to to work with were
considered. The initial plan was to host a golf tournament to benefit sorority philanthropy
organizations. However, the Panhellenic Council on campus was hosting a golf tournament for
their semester fundraiser, so the original idea had to be changed. Several different options were
considered, and eventually the final plan of hosting a hole-in-one contest on the Spring Hill
College golf course driving range was chosen due to logistics and timing. Then, the organization
at the center of the fundraising changed because having multiple organizations would have been
difficult, and the project planners felt a deeper connection to another group. After considering
various nonprofit organizations in the Mobile area, Lifelines Counseling Services was selected
due to the event coordinators’ personal experience with mental health awareness. Last summer,
they lost a dear friend, Madeline Limber, to suicide. The nonprofit was chosen to support the
mental healthcare community of Mobile and to honor her legacy.
On Sept. 15th, Sarah Bumgarner—Marketing Manager of Lifelines—met with the event
coordinators at her business office to discuss specifics of the event. Plans for this meeting to
occur were made on Sept. 7, as seen in Appendix B. She agreed to assist in any way necessary,
to help promote the event. Bumgarner also supplied the event managers with donation letter and
press release templates consistent with the branding of Lifelines. A date of Nov. 4th was selected
for the event at this meeting, due to the availability of all parties included and a realistic timeline
for planning. On the same day, the former golf course manager, Shane Allen, confirmed the
reservation from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for the date selected.
To gather specific details and rules about the hole-in-one style event, coordinations via
email with Cathy Bennett of Memphis, Tenn. were done on Oct. 9. Bennett was the contact of
choice, due to her husband being in charge of the hole-in-one tournament hosted by St. Louis
Catholic Church, also of Memphis, Tenn. Bennett provided their general rules and directions, the
fees they charge for participation and how the event process works. This email coordination can
be seen in Appendix C.
On Oct. 9, the Facebook page was created, and the GoFundMe link was created and
distributed on social media. The monetary goal was set at $2,000 to hopefully be raised between
the online donation portal and on-site donations at the event.
On Oct. 11, through coordinations on Facebook, Madeline Limber’s mother, Joyce
Limber, gave permission to talk in her honor at the event and to mention her name in any social
media post. After this confirmation, previous posts and descriptions were edited to include her
name and story to show a personal connection to our cause. These coordinations can be seen in
Appendix B.
On Oct. 12, one of the event managers put together a social media plan leading up to the
event. The plan not only included reminders about the event, but also the link to the GoFundMe
page, statistics about mental health, articles and personal stories shared and more. The plan
aimed to provide insight into mental illnesses and stigmas, while also promoting the event and
the cause itself. Simple social media graphics were created on Adobe Illustrator on a Macbook
Pro laptop to include on certain posts to better display statistics. After the plan was created, each
post was scheduled on Facebook using the publishing tools available on the platform. The social
media plan can be found in Appendix O, the individual posts can be found in Appendix D and all
graphics can be found in Appendix G.
On Oct. 13, a meeting was held between the event coordinators and the secondary advisor
for the project, Dr. Sharee Broussard. She offered tips for clean up on the social media, and also
advice on how to properly connect the GoFundMe to the event itself. This clarified that all funds
from online and the event would be included together.
Throughout the last few weeks of October, event coordinators visited local businesses in
the Mobile, Ala. area with a sponsorship letter and a press release. At each location, they asked
to speak to the manager and described the event to said manager in detail, while also providing
them printed materials. On Oct. 20, a gift basket donation was confirmed from Alabama
Outdoors retail store and picked up. Jimmy John’s sandwich restaurant confirmed they would
donate a sandwich tray for the day of the event. On Oct. 21, a very successful day of donations
happened. Old Dutch ice cream shop gave the event managers five gift certificates, Tropical
Smoothie Cafe donated six gift certificates, Foosackly’s chicken restaurant donated six gift
certificates, Bella Boutique women’s retail store donated a $25 gift card, and Chick-Fil-A
chicken restaurant donated 50 free breakfast coupons. Dunkin’ Donuts offered to donate three
dozen donuts and coffee for the event, and Carpe Diem coffee shop donated four gallons of their
locally brewed coffee.

On Oct. 27, donation requests were submitted online to Raising Cane’s chicken
restaurant, Oyster House restaurant and Zoe’s Kitchen restaurant. On Oct. 29, follow-up emails
were sent to these locations, as well as a request email to PDQ chicken restaurant. On this day,
Oyster House confirmed two $15 certificates and Raising Cane’s confirmed a gift basket. The
event managers went on-location to Zoe’s to speak to their manager, who then donated two $25
gift cards and offered to cater the event with three trays of food. PDQ chicken never returned any
attempts to contact them. All email coordinations with potential donors can be found in
Appendix C.
On Oct. 30, Dr. Samantha Church in the Office of Development was emailed to confirm
we could hold a fundraising event on campus. Said email can be seen in Appendix C.
On Oct. 31, a follow-up meeting was scheduled with Shane Allen to discuss last minute
details of the event and what materials the Spring Hill Golf Course Pro Shop would be
providing. To the event coordinators surprise, they were told upon arriving for the meeting that
Allen had been fired effective immediately that morning. Instead, the new contact from the Pro
Shop became a young man named Gabe. Gabe confirmed that he would close off the driving
range for the event starting at 10 a.m., and that the shop would be providing over 400 golf balls
for participants to use.
On Nov. 1, a meeting was held with the secondary advisor on the project to discuss
specifics about the event coming up. Topics such as contingencies, writing to standards for the
paper and objective evaluation were discussed. Event managers also updated the advisor on
donations received, planning that had been done and asked specific questions to get advice about
the event.
That same day, a booking request was submitted to Spring Hill College Plant Operations
for tables, chairs and trash cans. Unfortunately, many issues arose from this booking request. The
event was never activated on the website, and multiple emails went ignored by those in charge of
booking. Due to Allen and the leadership at the Pro Shop being abruptly changed, the request
was never confirmed online by the Pro Shop, and in turn was never confirmed to the booking
staff. Luckily, Mandi Moore got in contact with one of the event coordinators the night of Nov.
3, and she made a personal phone call to one of her staff members to have all tables, chairs and
trash cans on-site by 9:30 a.m. the next morning. After receiving this confirmation, a layout for
the event—as seen in Appendix F—was designed for set up in the morning. All email
coordinations with Moore can be found in Appendix C.
On the evening of Nov. 3, after the materials from Plant Operations were confirmed, the
event managers went to the Integrated Multimedia Center on campus to create and print
materials. Flyers, direction sheets, sign-in sheets, posters and more were created with the
Lifelines and Hits fore Hope logos. An event kit was also created on this evening, full of any
materials that could be needed last minute such as Sharpies, tape, scissors, pens, etc. All printed
materials created for the event can be found in Appendices I, L, M, and N.
On the morning of the event, Nov. 4, the event managers and their volunteers woke up at
7 a.m. to begin picking up supplies and orders. Erin Schell, Theresa Bertini and Adele
Lemm—all volunteers—picked up food and drinks from Zoe’s Kitchen, Carpe Diem, Dunkin’
Donuts and Jimmy John’s. The event coordinators picked up previously placed orders at
Walmart and Dollar Tree for drinks, tablecloths, event signs and other last minute supplies. After
all materials were picked up, set up began around 9 a.m. for the check-in table, food and drink
table, and the driving range. Lifelines arrived around 9:30 a.m. to set up their table and hand out
information to guests. Volunteers helped work the check-in table while the project planners
organized details for the contest, and another volunteer took pictures of the event using a Nikon
D3300 camera with an 18-55 millimeter AF-S NIKKOR lens to be posted on Facebook after the
event.
The expected outcome of the event was for about 50 guests to attend and at least 10
participants for the contest. In reality, about 30 guests attended the event, with about 6
participants in the actual contest. Guests included students, faculty, and a few members of the
local community who came out to support. The food and drink donations collected were the
perfect amount for the size of attendance, and the amount of prizes far exceeded the amount
needed for the participants. Many of the prizes ended up being raffled off with the entry tickets
given to guests. In the end, Spring Hill students Mac Corbin and David Kirkman were the first
and second place winners of the contest. The event itself raised $187, to be added to the
GoFundMe donations for a total of $1,222.
After the event, a survey was created on Google Forms in order to receive feedback from
the event. All questions were designed using a Likert-scale format. The questions focused on
topics about the event, mental health awareness and the social media plan created. The survey
and its specific results can be found in Appendices P and Q.
Evaluation:
In general, data collected from the Google survey and Facebook analytics proved to be
positive. Survey results were able to provide qualitative data that gave insight into reactions and
opinions of attendees on the success of the event and social media campaign. On the other hand,
the Facebook analytics showed quantitative data through the user reach and interaction with the
posts.
Of the responses to the survey, 90% of respondents either strongly agreed or agreed that
the event and social media campaign were successful in promoting mental health awareness. In
addition, 89% also agreed that the social media posts leading up to the event were informative.
83% of respondents agreed that the event was enjoyable, and that they would be willing to attend
it annually if it was to occur again. 93% of attendees stating that mental health awareness is a
topic that they value. It is important to note that of the 58 Facebook page “fans,” the survey was
only completed by 30 individuals.
While response numbers to the survey were not as high as hoped, the results did show the
effectiveness of the social media and event in correlation with the message that was supposed to
be conveyed. Respondents agreed, between the posts, speaking points at the event, and the
information table set up by Lifelines, that the open dialogue about positive mental health
conversations was successful. Attendees and followers did not allow the stigma around mental
health to prevent them from talking about it and opening themselves up to learning more about it.
The Facebook page ultimately gained 58 “likes,” which provided a decent-sized platform to
share information with.
In terms of social media, posts on the Facebook page were widely viewed due to shares
from personal profiles--especially, from Madeline Limber’s mother and their family friends. The
first post on the page reached over 400 users within the first 48 hours of it being posted. The
most viewed post, with 794 Facebook users reached, was a shared article discussing our
generation’s struggle with mental health on Oct. 17. On average per post, the reach came out to
be 262 users. The most popular posts were those that contained either a link to click, or a curated
social media graphic to provide visual interest. As for the event page, the total reach came out to
be 1,000 users, with 31 total users either “attending” or “interested” in the event. With a total of
30 attendees, the Facebook event page proved to be mostly accurate in speculating the actual
number of guests that attended.
While reach to users was significant, engagement on posts was very low in comparison.
Between likes, comments, shares, and post clicks, the average for all posts was only 24 users.
The majority of users interacted with posts by clicking on links or images, with sharing as the
next most common interaction. The post with the highest engagement was the same one with the
most users reached, with a total of 47 click links and 9 shares of the article. All Facebook
analytics can be found in Appendix K.
The online fundraiser link through the GoFundMe page was shared a total of 183 times
on social media. All of the shares helped raise $1,035 online from 20 people within one month.
The majority of donations through the online fundraiser came from Madeline Limber’s family
and friends, and those connected to the project planners. Most Spring Hill students that donated
to the cause did so at the event through paying to participate. Despite the means by which people
donated, all donors had some sort of personal connection to the cause or those involved with the
project. Through the lens of Theory of Planned Behavior, it can be deducted that those who
donated did so due to an emotional response they felt upon reading the story and purpose behind
the fundraiser. Their connection to the cause resulted in their feeling of a need to donate.
As previously mentioned, the fundraising goal for the event was $2,000. Although the
monetary goal was not met, the fundraiser was still successful at raising over $1,000. In addition,
the event proved to promote the desired message to the audience based on the data received in
the survey. However, interactive activity on the Facebook page was much lower than anticipated,
showing the social media presence could have been stronger. The lack of interaction also
ultimately led to the hashtag #stopthestigma not trending.
CONCLUSION
Fundraising for nonprofit organizations has its challenges, but it is absolutely necessary
for their success. Many times, nonprofits will not be able to help every person in need due to lack
of funding. Due to the stigma in the United States around mental illnesses, mental health
nonprofits are not often considered when it comes to donating to a cause. Much like the study
done by Parcesepe and Cabassa states, society tends to wish to keep a social distance from those
diagnosed with a mental illness.
Using the Theory of Planned Behavior, one can say that this need for social distance
stems from the need to follow a norm in society. The social pressure of giving into the stigma
around mental illness, through the subjective norm, has the power of influencing an individual to
not donate to a mental health nonprofit. As Hoyle (2002) states, this theory explores the idea that
individuals act based on peer influence and will make decisions based on the people and cultures
around them (p. 45).
The beginning of this project presented the research question, “Can the use of social
media and hosting an event be utilized to influence positive thoughts and open dialogue towards
mental health?” Results from the survey and Facebook analytics show that while the event
succeeded in promoting this idea, the social media content could have been improved to be more
interactive. The event allowed for open conversations about mental health and the celebration of
a life of an individual gone too soon. Lifelines also provided plenty of information on how to get
help and how to help those around you struggling. The intern on-site met one-on-one with many
of the guests to give them more in-depth information. The responses to the survey have shown
that attendees valued mental health awareness, and the majority of survey respondents agreed
that the event correlated well with the topic. However, the data collected from Facebook
analytics was not sufficient enough to prove that the posts had any effect on the attitudes of users
who “liked” the page. Therefore, it cannot be concluded that the social media campaign
encouraged an open dialogue about mental health.
An important thing to note about the lack of social media interaction is the fact that all
posts were organic posts that were not promoted. Most established organizations and events with
larger budgets can afford to pay for sponsored posts on social media. For a small-scale event
without a prominent name, it was difficult to bring a significant amount of attention to the posts.
Social media has the power to send a strong message and initiate change, but only if used on a
larger scale than the project presented.
As for the theoretical underpinning, the Theory of Planned Behavior is useful for
explaining the success of nonprofit fundraising due to the fact that the majority of donors had a
personal connection to Madeline Limber’s story. Many of the donations came from individuals
unrelated to Spring Hill, but who knew her family and felt a connection to the cause. Some of the
largest donors contributed funds in honor of her and the emotions her story made them feel,
rather than due to a relationship with the project planners. In addition, almost all donations were
made using the GoFundMe link--rather than at the event--showing that the perceived behavioral
control of online donations was easier for individuals.
Reflection:
For us, our senior seminar project was more than just a task to complete for graduation.
Ever since our close friend Madeline Limber passed away from suicide, our whole friend group
has become much more aware of mental health and of watching for signs of struggle happening
to those around us. Having such a strong connection to the cause and the mission of the project
allowed us to complete it with stronger passion than those who might not have had such a
personal connection. When losing a friend to suicide, people often wonder “what could I have
done?” or “how could I have stopped it?” More often than not, individuals never consider the
possibility of losing someone to this tragedy until it is too late. This life experience has helped us
realize the importance of talking about mental health and ending the stigma that comes with it.
Anxiety, depression and other emotional disorders are so common for our generation, and we
should not be afraid to openly discuss it. While our small group in our circle has realized this, we
knew we had to do something to spread the message even wider.
Both of us have had previous internship experience that led us to the moment of realizing
what we wanted out of our life’s work. For Abby, she changed her major from business to
communications during her sophomore year. Her first semester in the program, she shadowed at
JJPR for the day, and she absolutely fell in love with public relations. She knew when she left
that day, that she wanted to do that job forever and loved the small agency life. One year later,
she had an internship there for eight months that taught her so much. For Maggie, her lifetime
dedication to service and multiple trips to Guatemala have instilled a love for nonprofit work in
her. It is safe to say, after this project, both of us would not want to be event planners as our
full-time jobs later on in life. While the project was a learning process and very informative, our
future career goals are still the same as they were prior to doing it. For Abby, she still wants to
begin her professional career at a boutique agency, where the team is totally collaborative and
works together to plan and execute everything. Maggie, on the other hand, is very passionate
about nonprofit work and still aims to start her own one day. Until then, she wishes to work for a
larger nonprofit agency where she has a wide variety of clients.
In this exercise of our life’s work, we learned a great deal about how we each handle time
management and event promotion. We have both had experience assisting with event planning at
our previous internships, however we have never had to put on a full event on our own time.
Especially, we have never had to do a project on this scale while also taking four other college
courses. One of the biggest things we learned about ourselves throughout the exercise was the
different skill sets we brought to the table. While Abby had the strong writing skills, knowledge
of social media management, and ability to collect donations from local businesses, Maggie had
the organization and time management skills to get things done in a timely manner and the
communication skills to follow up with all potential donors.
When analyzing what went well and what went not-so-well, we reflected on our
deadlines and our efforts to promote the event. At the beginning of the project, we stayed on top
of our deadlines. As the semester went on, we struggled to meet the deadlines we had set for
ourselves due to workloads continuing to get heavier in our other classes. While many of them
were collected later than anticipated, we did a good job of getting donations and food for the
event. We had more than enough prizes and food for the amount of guests that attended.
However, attendance at the event was also something we could have improved on. The turn out
of the event was much lower than expected and it affected the way the contest worked. We
should have gotten more people in the community involved, and not just students and faculty
from Spring Hill. A few people who were from the community did show up throughout the day,
but the number definitely could have been bigger. In turn, we could have been closer to our
monetary donation goal as well.
REFERENCES
Ajzen, I. (1991). The Theory of Planned Behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human
Decision Processes, 50, 179-211. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
Corrigan, P. W. (2006) On the Stigma of Mental Illness: Practical Strategies for Research and
Social Change. Washington, DC. American Psychological Association
Coffman, S. E. (2005, April). Nonprofits' Three Greatest Challenges. Retrieved November 4,
2017, from https://www.guidestar.org/Articles.aspx?path=/rxa/news/articles/2005/
Nonprofits-three-greatest-challenges.aspx
Damm, S. (2011). Best Practices in Event Management (Master's thesis, Unitec New Zealand,
2010). Diplomica Verlag GmbH. Retrieved November 1, 2017, from
http://unitec.researchbank.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10652/1416/Sven%20Damm%20MBus
.pdf?sequence=1
Heeringen, K. V. (2001) Understanding Suicidal Behaviour: The Suicidal Process Approach to
Research, Treatment and Prevention. West Sussex, England: John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Hoyle, L. H. (2002). Event Marketing : How to Successfully Promote Events, Festivals,

Conventions, and Expositions. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [US]. Retrieved
September 13, 2017 from, http://shclibrary.worldcat.org/title/event-marketing-how
-to-successfully-promote-events-festivals-conventions-and-expositions/oclc/51296954&r
eferer=brief_results
Kachinske, T. (2009). 90 days to success in fundraising. Retrieved September 15, 2017, from
http://shclibrary.worldcat.org/title/90-days-to-success-in-fundraising/oclc/560619342
Kitzrow, M. A. (2003). The Mental Health Needs of Today's College Students: Challenges
and Recommendations. NASPA Journal, 41(1), 163-179. Retrieved September 20, 2017,
from,
http://depts.washington.edu/apac/roundtable/1-23-07_mental_health_needs.pdf
McLeigh, J. D., & Melton, G. B. (2015). Addressing Mental Health Challenges Facing the
“Next America”: A Call for Culture Change. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry,
85(5), S1-S3. Retrieved September 20, 2017, from
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=aeb9d3c1-3cc1-4f4d-
b920-18377316643e%40sessionmgr4008
Parcesepe, A. M., & Cabassa, L. J. (2013). Public Stigma of Mental Illness in the United
States: A Systematic Literature Review. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and
Mental Health Services Research, 40(5), 384-399. doi:10.1007/s10488-012-0430-z
Pedrelli, P., Nyer, M., Yeung, A., Zulauf, C., & Wilens, T. (n.d.). College Students: Mental
Health Problems and Treatment Considerations. Academic Psychiatry, 39(5), 503-511.
doi: 10.1007/s40596-014-0205-9
Pettey, J. G. (2008). Ethical Fundraising: A Guide for Nonprofit Boards and Fundraisers.
Retrieved September 15, 2017, from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/springhill-
ebooks/detail.action?docID=335808
Quick Facts About Nonprofits. (2015). Retrieved November 2, 2017, from
http://nccs.urban.org/data-statistics/quick-facts-about-nonprofits
Saget, A. (2006). Event marketing: beyond logistics and planning. Retrieved September 13,
2017, from, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/springhill-ebooks/reader.action?docID
=3016143
Smith, A. (2016). Shared, Collaborative and On Demand: The New Digital Economy (pp.
1-84, Rep.). Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. Retrieved September 15, 2017, from
http://www.pewinternet.org/2016/05/19/the-new-digital-economy
Sontag-Padilla, L. M., Staplefoote, L., & Gonzalez, K. (2012). Challenges and Promising
Practices of Financial Sustainability in Nonprofit Organizations (Financial Stability for
Nonprofit Organizations). Retrieved September 20, 2017, from
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/j.ctt5hhvjg.8
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Logos
Appendix B: Facebook Messages
Appendix C: Emails
Appendix D: Social Media Posts
Appendix E: Flyer
Appendix F: Event Setup
Appendix G: Facebook Graphics
Appendix H: Lifelines Counseling Services Logo
Appendix I: Event Form
Appendix J: Facebook Page (About, Community, and Event)
Appendix K: Facebook Analytics
Appendix L: Signs for Event
Appendix M: Directions for Hole-in-One activity
Appendix N: Sign-up Sheet

Appendix O: Social Media Calendar
Appendix P: Survey
Appendix Q: Survey Results
Appendix R: GoFundMe
Appendix S: Press Release
Appendix T: Sponsorship Letter
Appendix A
Logos
Appendix B
Facebook Messages
Appendix C
Emails
Appendix D
Social Media Posts
Appendix E
Flyer
Appendix F
Event Setup
Appendix G
Facebook Graphics
Appendix H
Lifelines Counseling Services Logo
Appendix I
Event Form
Appendix J
Facebook Pages (About, Community, and Event)
Appendix K
Facebook Analytics
Appendix L
Signs for Event
Appendix M
Directions for Hole-in-One activity
Appendix N
Sign-up Sheet
Appendix O
Social Media Calendar
Appendix P
Survey
Appendix Q
Survey Results
Appendix R
GoFundMe
Appendix S
Press Release
Appendix T
Sponsorship Letter

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Running heading: STOP THE STIGMA: RAISING AWARENESS

Stop the Stigma: Raising Awareness and Fundraising for a Nonprofit

Maggie Nelson and Abby Hanson

Spring Hill College

CMM 495; Senior Seminar

November 14, 2017

importance of mental health.

Literature Review ........................................................................................................................... 6

organization and their mission.

addition to an overwhelming amount of nonprofit groups in America, mental health

treatment or help (McLeigh & Melton, 2015).

mental health awareness.

discover why people feel shameful when seeking professional help.

thoughts and an open dialogue towards mental health?

used to analyze why individuals donate to specific causes.

Mental Health in America:

According to the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, mental health has drastically

(Pedrelli, Nyer, Yeung, Zulauf, & Wilens, 2013, p. 504).

Stigma on Mental Illness:

‘normal’ troubles” (Parcesepe & Cabassa, 2013, p. 386).

medical and financial lives.

individuals “may experience diminished self-esteem, self-efficacy, and confidence in one’s

future” (Corrigan, 2006, p. 25).

According to an article discussing financial challenges of nonprofit organizations, the

(Sontag-Padilla, Staplefoote, & Gonzalez, 2012, p. 8). Nonprofits continuously struggle

execute their plans.

advertising, direct marketing, telemarketing, online communications, research, and personal

is interested?” in order to be successful (Saget, 2006, p. 47).

especially important in today’s world of planning. Technology is needed to “communicate with

attendees—and at absolutely no cost (Damm, 2012, p. 35).

understanding target audience and marketing strategies.

and to the organization, rather than on specific demographic types.

found in Appendices A and J.

able to physically attend. The GoFundMe can be found in Appendix R.

Objectives & Goals:

and to encourage an open dialogue on the topic.

donations by Nov. 4 for Lifelines Counseling Services.

Materials & Budget:

restaurant, Foosackly’s chicken restaurant, Tropical Smoothie Café restaurant, Alabama

campus. All printed materials can be found in Appendices E, I, L, M and N.

on the GoFundMe page.

Operations to be set up the morning of the event.

mental healthcare community of Mobile and to honor her legacy.

On Sept. 15th, Sarah Bumgarner—Marketing Manager of Lifelines—met with the event

reservation from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for the date selected.

the online donation portal and on-site donations at the event.

On Oct. 11, through coordinations on Facebook, Madeline Limber’s mother, Joyce

graphics can be found in Appendix G.

from online and the event would be included together.

locally brewed coffee.

for participants to use.

coordinations with Moore can be found in Appendix C.

materials created for the event can be found in Appendices I, L, M, and N.

GoFundMe donations for a total of $1,222.

and its specific results can be found in Appendices P and Q.

only completed by 30 individuals.

share information with.

number of guests that attended.

analytics can be found in Appendix K.

ultimately led to the hashtag #stopthestigma not trending.

diagnosed with a mental illness.

around them (p. 45).

encouraged an open dialogue about mental health.

larger scale than the project presented.

Decision Processes, 50, 179-211. Retrieved November 8, 2017.

Hoyle, L. H. (2002). Event Marketing : How to Successfully Promote Events, Festivals,

“Next America”: A Call for Culture Change. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry,

85(5), S1-S3. Retrieved September 20, 2017, from

Health Problems and Treatment Considerations. Academic Psychiatry, 39(5), 503-511.

Practices of Financial Sustainability in Nonprofit Organizations (Financial Stability for