Influence of Media Relations on Donor Retention in Nigerian Humanitarian Non-Governmental Organisations

This study examined the influence of media relations on donor retention in Nigerian humanitarian non-governmental organisations (NGOs), addressing the escalating challenges in sustaining funding amidst prolonged conflicts, health emergencies and natural disasters. The main problem stemmed from precarious donor retention due to economic volatility, donor fatigue, misinformation amplified by social media and local barriers such as insecurity and regulatory hurdles, which eroded trust and led to funding withdrawals, as evidenced by a 56% shortfall in Nigeria's 2024 humanitarian response plan. Guided by general objectives to investigate media strategies' enhancement of retention, identify barriers hindering donor trust, the research drew on social exchange theory and diffusion of innovations theory to frame media relations as mechanisms for reciprocal trust-building and narrative diffusion in a crisis-prone context. A library research approach was adopted, involving a systematic review of secondary data sourced from databases like Google Scholar and ResearchGate, with thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke's (2006) framework and PRISMA guidelines for rigour. Key results revealed that strategic media relations, including social media campaigns and press engagements, significantly boosted donor retention by fostering transparency and emotional connections, with hybrid digital-traditional approaches yielding up to 30% improvements in renewal rates through culturally resonant content. However, barriers such as misinformation, digital divides, and skill gaps in NGOs undermined these efforts, leading to 20-30% attrition in conflict zones and exacerbating inequalities during donor transitions. The study concluded that effective, localised media relations were pivotal for transforming fleeting support into enduring partnerships, filling critical gaps in Nigeria-specific literature and empowering humanitarian NGOs to navigate funding dynamics for resilient aid delivery. Key recommendations included establishing national training programmes for media skills, adopting hybrid strategies to bridge urban-rural divides, prioritising youth-focused digital campaigns, advocating regulatory reforms for freer communication, and conducting longitudinal studies to evaluate long-term impacts. Keywords: NGO Media Relations, Donor Retention, Humanitarian Organisations, Nigeria, Misinformation