Business Commons^™

Exploring Mission Drift And Tension In A Nonprofit Work Integration Social Enterprise, Teresa M. Jeter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The nonprofit sector is increasingly engaged in social enterprise, which involves a

combination and balancing of social mission and business goals which can cause mission

drift or mission tension. A work integrated social enterprise (WISE) is a specific type of

social enterprise that focuses on integrating hard-to-employ individuals, such as ex

offenders, back into the workforce, usually through producing goods or offering services.

Little is known about how WISE organizations manage mission drift, particularly given

the unique characteristics of this type of organization. Using institutional values theory

and resource dependence theory as the foundation, the purpose of this case study …

Nonprofit Sustainability: How Does Departure Of A Founding Leader Impact Outcomes?, Lauren Mcindoo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a high failure rate among local community-based nonprofit human service organizations in New York State, which may lead to service gaps in communities. Increasing sustainability may reduce these gaps and allow nonprofits to continue following the first leadership transition. Using McGregor's human resource theory as the guide, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the relationship between leadership succession planning and how departure of founding leaders impacts the sustainability of nonprofits. Data were collected through interviews with 16 leaders that included departing founding leaders, successors, and 2 board members in 4 local community-based nonprofit human service …

African American Charitable Giving In Charlotte, North Carolina: Engagement Strategies, Keith Eric Cradle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonprofit agencies are instrumental in U.S. society and local communities. While there is significant outreach targeted for wealthy and middle-class Caucasian families, there is a lack of targeted effort for African Americans. The purpose of this case study was to explore the strategies development directors use to engage and retain African American donors. The focus of the research questions was what factors lead to successful engagement campaigns for African Americans. The qualitative case study was suitable for gathering data from multiple sources of information, including an interview questionnaire and existing literature. A purposeful sampling strategy was appropriate for choosing 5 …

Nonprofit Social Enterprise: Social Change In A New Economic Paradigm, Cyrus O. Patten

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Changes are afoot in the nonprofit sector of the economy (James, 2003). Nonprofit leaders are adopting entrepreneurial business models to sustain or expand the scope of their mission work. This change is part of a counter-hegemonic shift toward a new economic paradigm in which blended business models create both social and financial value (Sabeti, 2009; Sahakian & Dunand, 2013). The current study explored how nonprofit leaders understand the shift toward a more enterprising and entrepreneurial nonprofit sector. Qualitative methods, along with a grounded theory framework were used to elicit leaders' perspectives on the emergence of social enterprise in nonprofits and …