Directing Audience Responses: How Nonprofit Donation Appeals Shape User Comments on Social Media

While a growing body of research has examined the features of nonprofit donation appeals on social media and online user comments, little is known about how specific message constructs shape the content of user responses. Drawing on a large-scale dataset of 674,845 user comments associated with 14,319 donation appeals posted by 794 animal-related nonprofit organizations on Facebook in the United States, this study investigates how the design of nonprofit donation appeals influences the content of user comments. The analysis reveals that emotional sentiment and narrative features of donation appeals are associated with distinct patterns of comments. Specifically, certain appeal constructs are more likely to elicit comments signaling donation action or expressing gratitude, whereas others primarily evoke sympathetic responses. These findings advance understanding of how nonprofits can strategically shape audience interaction on social media and offer evidence-based guidance for aligning message design with specific organizational objectives in digital fundraising contexts.