College - Author 1
College of Liberal Arts
Department - Author 1
Communication Studies Department
Degree Name - Author 1
BA in Communication Studies
Date
3-2026
Primary Advisor
Bethany Conway, College of Liberal Arts, Communication Studies Department
Abstract/Summary
This project examines how the YMCA of San Luis Obispo constructs its organizational identity through digital messaging by applying framing theory (Entman, 1993). Drawing from scholarship on framing, nonprofit organizational identity, dual-identity tensions, and nonprofit storytelling, I conduct an applied framing analysis of the YMCA’s website and Instagram content. Specifically, I analyze how the organization defines community problems, attributes causes to them, assigns moral values to them, and proposes solutions in its messaging. I argue that while the YMCA references its mission, its current digital communication often makes utilitarian identity elements, such as services, memberships, and facilities, more salient than its normative commitments to equity, youth development, and community health. By identifying dominant frames and areas of misalignment, this project proposes a strategic social media campaign that reframes the YMCA as a mission-driven, community-centered nonprofit.
URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/comssp/281