Nonprofit Administration and Management Commons^™

Health And Healthcare: Designing For The Social Determinants Of Health And Blue Zones In North Nashville, Rebecca Tonguis, Honor Thomas, Olivia Hobbs

Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

Owned by North Nashville’s First Community Church, a now empty site in the Osage-North Fisk neighborhood of North Nashville has been identified as a potential site for a new location of The Store, in addition to a community-centric architectural development based on the social determinants of health and informed by the principles behind Blue Zones, the locations with the highest lifespans in the world. Opened by Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams-Paisley, The Store is a free grocery store that “allow[s] people to shop for their basic needs in a way that protects dignity and fosters hope”, for which North Nashville …

Break Even Analysis: A Tool For Budget Planning (Revised), Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Applications of the tools of modern business and public management to human service administrative problems has become increasingly sophisticated. In this article, the author presents Break-Even Analysis (BEA) as one such management tool useful for financial planning in nonprofit and public human services organizations, particularly those with multiple sources of funding. The original article, published in 1976, was the first-ever presentation on this topic in human services, and the core of the author's 1980 first-ever book on financial management in nonprofit human services. In this revision of the original article, Break-Even Analysis is presented as a compact, easily administered “early …

And Lettuce Is Nonanimal: Toward A Positive Theory Of Voluntary Action, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Much recent conceptual and theoretical effort to identify and define the kinds of voluntary action that take place outside households, economic markets and governments has a consistent emphasis on negation: It seems to define these matters by what they are not: not for profit, or nonprofit, nongovernmental, unproductive, inefficient, examples of contract failure, market failure, government failure and more. This paper is a beginning effort to shift the emphasis to the positive and the describe and explain what voluntary action is and what it consists of. It proposes the beginnings of an economics of common goods production, and differentiates such …

Lindblom County: Philanthropic Insufficiency, Amateurism And Paternalism, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

In this fictionalized case study, a group of friends from graduate school compose a community elite with responsibility for human services decision-making in rural Lindblom County. They must deal with issues of insufficient resources, amateurism among other community officials, and challenges posed by opposing and emergent groups of aspiring community leaders. Discussion questions and questions of strategy and calculation are posed for further examination of the issues raised.

Cash Versus In-Kind Transfers: Comparative Differences And Individual Best Practices To Benefit Recipient Communities, Sarah Wicker

Senior Honors Theses

This research paper seeks to compare cash and in-kind transfers in the context of foreign poverty aid to determine which transfer style is most beneficial and to evaluate long-term best practices of each kind to more positively benefit the recipient communities. It does this by comparing arguments for and against each transfer model. The first argument discusses the differences in distribution costs between the two models. The second compares the cash transfer’s strong concept of choice with in-kind transfer’s typical style of controlled consumption of goods. The second argument discusses the timing and impact of targeting communities in connection to …

#Keepvolunteeringcool - A Marketing Analysis Of The Uri Service Corps, Caroline L. Hacunda

Senior Honors Projects

Since 2009, the University of Rhode Island has offered Alternative Spring Break trips to students who are passionate about service and want to become more involved within the community doing meaningful and engaging volunteer work. These trips are completely student planned and fundraised with the guidance of a group of student leaders for each trip. Over the years, this program has exponentially grown, leading to our biggest year yet with two trips staying in Rhode Island and three out of state trips offered in 2017. In the past, the spring break trips were hosted by URI S.A.V.E.S and URI Habitat …

A Primer On Grant Writing For Foundation Support For First-Time Grant Writers In Academic Libraries: Challenges And Opportunities, Peter L. Kraus

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

In a majority of academic disciplines, grant writing is a skill that is often self-taught or acquired informally by trial and error. Few academic disciplines have grant writing as standard part of their curriculum at the graduate level. In the past, grant writing has received little or no emphasis in traditional library education since library science faculty themselves have a poor record of pursuing external funding. Yet, grant writing is a critical skill for new and experienced librarians. For many librarians, the prospect and challenge of writing a grant can seem daunting; however, with institutional support and the support of …

Child Welfare Financing Structure: A Breakdown Of The Major Federal Funding Stream, David A. Merchant Jr., Theodore Byrley Ph.D.

NYS Child Welfare/Child Protective Services Training Institute

As it remains today, the financing structure for child welfare in the United States is convoluted with the intricacies of funding sources. Because of these complexities, employees of child welfare agencies find it difficult to understand where these funds come from, what requirements must be made to obtain them, and how these funds should be used appropriately. The inefficient use of these funds is a major problem in the child welfare system. This paper explains the general financing structure for child welfare, and in turn, develop provides a better understanding of the complex funding that supports child welfare services.

Perhaps …

Associations, Movements, Dialogues, Social Problems And News: Voluntary Action And The Life Cycles Of The Third Sector, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This is one of two summation papers presented at the conclusion of the 2012 Queensland University conference on the third sector, looking to the future. The focus initially is on the concept of the social imaginary as offered by the Canadian social philosopher, Charles Taylor. Much of the previous conceptual and theoretical work in third sector studies during the past few decades has been focused on questions of the best ways to imagine the community and national social configurations of increasingly large numbers of nonprofit, voluntary and nongovernmental organizations. The concepts of nonprofit organization and nonprofit sector have been most …

(Re)Considering The Third Sector, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Richard Cornuelle’s Reclaiming the American Dream: The Role of Private Associations and Voluntary Associations (RtAD) has been subjected to numerous interpretations in the more than half a century since its original publication in 1965. In this conference paper, the continuing importance of this work is reconsidered. Several of the issues that Cournelle raised are still important today. Thus, the label Independent Sector offers one possible solution to the continuing question of how to refer to the third sector.

Book Review: Sievers, B. R. (2010). Civil Society, Philanthropy, And The Fate Of The Commons, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The selection of civil society institutions (which the author refers to as strands) around which the volume is woven is interesting because it contains several novel elements in a novel combination: civil society is said to consist of philanthropy, the common good, rule of law, nonprofit and voluntary institutions, individual rights, free expression and tolerance. This book is important reading for political philosophers, doctoral students and theorists interested in the connection of civil society and philanthropy. Yet it has a number of weaknesses that are enumerated in the review.

Hard Truths About Heart Work: An Interview With Jennie Chua, Lien Centre For Social Innovation

Social Space

Just as there are calls for leadership to bridge the business and social worlds, there are also calls for new models and inspiration in the nonprofit sector. Social Space catches up with the inimitable Jennie Chua,fundraiser and chairman of the Community Chest, to hear her thoughts on these issues. True to form, Jennie delivers a few hard truths about fundraising and charity in Singapore.

Storytellers As Philanthropic Champions: An Interview With Claire Chiang, Lien Centre For Social Innovation

Social Space

Singapore’s charity sector is undergoing significant changes to enhance management quality, accountability and transparency. But despite these positive changes, Ms Claire Chiang, entrepreneur and philanthropist, argues that Singapore also needs to cultivate a more visionary and global approach to philanthropy. She shares with Social Space her thoughts on storytelling and the need for mentors to champion the most urgent causes of the day.

Giving Circles, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

A giving circle is a group of members pool their funds and information in collective or joint donations to organizations, causes or individuals. The article reviews some of the research on giving circles in the first decade of the 21st century.

Commons, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The commons is a theoretical formalism that is useful in understanding many diverse problems of civil society. A common (or commons) is an economic, political, social, and legal institution that enables joint, shared, mutual or collective natural or social action by agents using a “pool” of shared or jointly held or mutually controlled resources. A substantial body of work exists detailing natural common resource pools acted upon by physical or biological agents. Another large body of work on humanly-directed natural resource pools study the human-natural environment interface, interspecies conflict and population density. Studies of social commons have also looked at …

The Growth Of Nonprofit Accounting And It's Impact On Human Services, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Changes in nonprofit accounting standards and practices have spearheaded a quiet revolution in financial management practice in social agencies and the delivery of human services during the past three decades. These changes have gone hand-in-glove with other changes in the political arena to dramatically transform the ways in which human services are organized and delivered. At the core of this transition has been the movement from fund to enterprise accounting, together with such larger political developments as the expansion of grant-based relations with government into the performance management environment of purchase of service contracting.

Philanthropy: Giving Meaninfully, Gerard Ee

Social Space

Helming one of Singapore’s more prominent non-profit organisations, the National Kidney Foundation, at a time when public confidence has been severely shaken, is a feat that requires more than just heartwarming feelings of goodwill. As the giving climate in Singapore gives way to donor fatigue and a degree of scepticism, Gerard Ee tells Social Space the kind of philanthropic acts that he thinks will bring local charity to the next level.

The U.S. Social Economy And The Commons Model Of Production, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Recent work in Canada and Europe has re-emphasized the place of nonprofit organizations, as that term is conventionally understood in the broader context of social economy. Although not generally recognized by U.S. and international scholars, a distinctive concept of social economy largely compatible with the Canadian and European formulations is embedded in U.S. constitutional, corporate, charitable and tax law. However, its full recognition is discouraged in the current U.S. political culture and third sector studies. The U.S. social economy provides full and robust, recognition of the social, political and economic organizations known as commons, as well as nonprofit firms.

Tracing Singapore's Social Sector, Sharifah Maisharah

Social Space

How has the face of Singapore’s social sector changed through the shifting landscape of state provision? Sharifah Maisharah looks at the evolution of the social sector pastiche starting from colonial rule in 1819.

Resuscitating A Healthcare Charity, R Akhileswaran, Seet Ai Mee

Social Space

When government funding policies change, voluntary welfare organisations that depend largely on subsidies to run their services can find their survival at stake. Dr R Akhileswaran and Dr Seet Ai Mee present the case study of HCA Hospice Care.

When Is A Voluntary Code Not Voluntary?, Yuen Teen Mak

Social Space

Many countries have adopted the ‘comply or explain’ approach to raise standards of corporate governance in listed companies. The approach has now found its way into the charity sector in Singapore. Mak Yuen Teen highlights some misconceptions about the voluntary nature of the approach and provides suggestions for its effective implementation.

Financial Management: Social Agency, Social Enterprise And Social Economy, Roger A. Lohmann, Nancy Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

There has been a quiet revolution in financial management practice in social agencies in recent decades, symbolized by the transition from fund to enterprise accounting and increasing recognition of the ‘third sector’ of the social economy. The traditional voluntary agency model of donations has been joined by grants, performance contracts, ‘managed care’ and an array of other options, and traditional voluntary agency based and public agency practice now exist alongside corporate for profit service delivery and various forms of private practice. Social enterprise and entrepreneurship are a common theme in all this diversity, as social agencies must aggressively seek out …

The Practice Of The Commons, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This paper

This paper lays out some of the basics of a language-based, person-centered, or agentic model of practice for nonprofit organizations, voluntary action and philanthropy within the emerging domain of commons theory. Six principles are identified for the practice of commons. Two threats to the production of common goods - bureaucratization and colonization of the life world - are discussed and evaluated as limitations of the practice of commons.

Multiple Roles Of A Rural Administrator, Roger A. Lohmann, Nancy Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Basic administrative procedures are similar in rural and urban areas. Even so, rural human service administrators are often not prepared for the many roles they must assume in small and underfunded rural agencies. The roles may include personnel director, budget officer, accountant, fundraiser, supervisor, building and maintenance supervisor, volunteer coordinator, group developer, community organizer, public educator, policy analyst, and director of public relations and marketing.

Neighborhood Associations: The Foundation Of Community Development, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Neighborhood associations are one of the most ubiquitous types of voluntary organization. This paper reviews a variety of theoretical and practical perspectives on the concept of neighborhood and the various organized expressions of neighborhood organizing in rural and urban communities.

Community Foundations In West Virginia, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This report is part of an ongoing investigation of the support of neighborhood associations by community foundations in three states – Michigan, New Mexico and West Virginia. The findings are primarily negative: There is no evidence that the 22 community foundations of West Virginia have provided support for the development or continuation of neighborhood associations in the state.

Community Practice And The Internet, Roger A. Lohmann, John Mcnutt

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This article examines several developments in electronic technology which appear to hold great potential for advancing human well-being and community organization and have already manifested some important portion of that potential in recent years. They are, in order of presentation, electronic communication and networking, electronic advocacy, fund raising support, geographic information systems and data base management. We conclude this brief article with a brief discussion of information poverty and the growing disparity of information haves and have-nots.

Charismatic Authority And The Board Of The Hull House Association, 1895-1935, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Discussions of boards in the third sector literature usually proceed from assumptions grounded in Weber’s rational-legal authority and international management principles like those of Henri Fayol. The generalizations made about boards are based on rational-legal views of the board as the principal governing body of a nonprofit organization. Much less frequently examined are the roles and functions of boards in organizations grounded in other forms of authority. In particular, the relationship between charismatic authority and boards has seldom been studied. This paper will examine the role of one such board, the Board of Trustees of the Hull House Association through …

Has The Time Come To Evaluate Evaluation? (Or Who Will Be Accountable For Accountability?), Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

A review essay of six recent books represents an occasion to examine the very idea of accountability, and to examine what the effects of several decades of emphasis on evaluation have been.

The Future Of The Third Sector, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

The U.S. "nonprofit sector" and other forms of contemporary national third sectors which are currently spreading around the world arose in a unique historical moment and for distinct historical reasons and are unlikely to outlast that moment in history. Voluntary action on the other hand has deep roots reaching far back in human history and is likely to be around far into the future.