32 Int. J. Technology, Policy and Management, Vol. 16, No. 1, 2016 Copyright © 2016 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. An exploratory study of nonprofit organisations’ use of the internet for communications and fundraising Namchul Shin* Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems, Pace University, One Pace Plaza, New York, NY 10038 Fax: 212-346-1863 Email: nshin@pace.edu *Corresponding author Qian Chen Lubin School of Business, Pace University, One Pace Plaza, New York, NY 10038 Fax: 212-346-1863 Email: qc19277n@pace.edu Abstract: This research examines how nonprofits use the internet to build public relations and increase charitable giving by analysing the content of the websites of various nonprofit organisations listed in the top 100 NPOs published by The Nonprofit Times. While there is no difference for most variables in the fundraising and communication practices between top tier and bottom tier NPOs divided by total revenue, the differences are found in such variables as campaign summary, messages from the CEO, volunteer opportunities, information sharing, social media use, and annual reports. These findings suggest that certain communication practices (information dissemination, interactive communication, and accountability) are positively associated with the level of fundraising. Compared to the findings of previous research, however, our findings show that the presence of characteristics related to communications and fundraising has increased on NPOs’ websites. This indicates that by recognising the importance of the internet, NPOs are increasingly using it as a medium for communications and charitable giving. Keywords: communications; fundraising; internet; nonprofits; online practices. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Shin, N. and Chen, Q. (2016) ‘An exploratory study of nonprofit organisations’ use of the internet for communications and fundraising’, Int. J. Technology, Policy and Management, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp.32–44. Biographical notes: Namchul Shin is a Professor of Information Systems in the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems, Pace University. He received his PhD in Management (specialisation in MIS) from the University of California at Irvine. His current research interests focus on the areas of globalisation of innovation and production networks, IT business value, organisational and strategic impacts of IT, electronic commerce, and open data. His work has been published in journals such as Industry and Innovation, Decision Support Systems, European Journal of Information