Shopping for Change: Commodifying Practices in Non-profit Fundraising Discourse

Arnesson, Johanna,1980Gothenburg University,Göteborgs universitet,Institutionen för journalistik, medier och kommunikation (JMG),Department of Journalism, Media and Communication (JMG) (författare)

Drawing on theories of marketized philanthropy and identity politics, this article strives to explore nonprofit fundraising as a discursive practice, connected to political, economic, and cultural processes of individualization and marketization. Fundraising texts from six Swedish aid organizations are analyzed, using critical discourse analysis, focusing on the representations of donors, and the act of giving. The research shows that fundraising messages are mainly configured around the act of donating as a form of transaction, where the donor buys a commodified version of the idea or efforts of the organization. Through the transaction of symbolical goods the organizations provide a form of participation that is quick and easy, a concrete way of ‘making change’. This suggests that the donation becomes a form of commodity activism which situates the donor in the position of customer, rather than citizen.

Göteborgs universitetInstitutionen för journalistik, medier och kommunikation (JMG) (creator_code:org_t)

Om ämnet

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP: SAMHÄLLSVETENSKA ...; och Medie och kommun ...; och Medievetenskap

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP: SAMHÄLLSVETENSKA ...; och Medie och kommun ...; och Kommunikationsve ...

Kungliga biblioteket hanterar dina personuppgifter i enlighet med EU:s dataskyddsförordning (2018), GDPR. Läs mer om hur det funkar här.
Så här hanterar KB dina uppgifter vid användning av denna tjänst.