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Raising Spirit In Institutional And Public Life, Jeff Coolidge

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article covers spirit and its role in invigorating and maintaining our institutions. It tracks the origin of spirit and describes the role of spirit in organizations along with its manifestations: vision and mission, each of which, the author explains, must be clearly defined and kept separate to maintain organizational spirit and effectiveness. He makes the case that spirit can be assessed and nurtured and considers it important for funders and other interested parties to do so. Such assessment must identify elements that could corrupt this spirit. While focusing on nonprofit institutions, he demonstrates where spirit and its effects are …