Nonprofit Administration and Management Commons^™

Emergent Learning: Increasing The Impact Of Foundation-Driven Strategies To Support College Enrollment And Completion, Kimberly Hanauer, Stacy Sneed, Bill Debaun

The Foundation Review

This article examines lessons learned as part of the continued development of the Get2College Pilot School Program, an initiative of the Woodward Hines Education Foundation, designed to test a strategy for increasing college enrollment among Mississippi students through greater college exploration opportunities and application and financial aid supports.

While a review of the first three years of the pilot found it had an impact on college-going culture at its eight participating schools, Get2College found no significant increase in college enrollment over the 2016–2018 academic years and a retrospective analysis revealed flaws in the program’s design and theory of change. In …

Advancing Social Determinants Of Health Through Investments In Postsecondary Attainment And Sustaining Employment, Melissa B. Eggen, J’Aime C. Jennings, Molly O’Keefe, Brandy N. Kelly Pryor, Leslie Clements

The Foundation Review

In 2018, the Humana Foundation shifted the focus of its work to the social determinants of health, with the key aim of promoting health equity. With this new focus came a recognition that larger, long-term investments would be needed to support strategies addressing upstream determinants of health. The foundation also recognized the need to co-create processes with communities to understand how to provide essential holistic supports.

This article explores one area of the foundation’s new efforts, the Strategic Community Investment Program, which focuses in part on postsecondary attainment and sustaining employment. The foundation partnered with the University of Louisville’s Center …

The Slow Death Of The Nonprofit Sector And How To Stop It In Three Steps, Taylor S. Mcpheeters

Marriott Student Review

What is happening to the nonprofit sector?

Taylor McPheeters explores the nonprofit Starvation Cycle—the eventual downfall of the nonprofit sector—and what you can do to end the cycle before it's too late.

Brave New World - Innovation 2.0 And Public Private Partnerhips (P3s), Rhonda S. Binda

Open Educational Resources

The trifecta of globalization, urbanization and digitization have created new opportunities and challenges across our nation, cities, boroughs and urban centers. Cities are in a unique position at the center of commerce and technology becoming hubs for innovation and practical application of emerging technology. In this rapidly changing 24/7 digitized world, city governments worldwide are leveraging innovation and technology to become more effective, efficient, transparent and to be able to better plan for and anticipate the needs of its citizens, businesses and community organizations. This class will provide the framework for how cities and communities can become smarter and more …

Global To Local: Creating 'Glocal' Links For Diplomacy, Rhonda S. Binda

Open Educational Resources

Over the past few years, “smart cities” have led in leveraging technology to modernize their services and infrastructure— and have emerged on the global stage on key issues of international concern. In 2017, Hidalgo and Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, Mayor of Buenos Aires, spearheaded the Urban 20 (U20), a platform for major cities in G20 countries to bring their “urban perspective” to the G20 member states in tackling common problems, showcasing their innovative approaches leveraging emerging technologies at the local level to tackle global issues. In April 2018, mayors from 20 cities signed the U20’s first Joint Declaration; six months later, …

Community Foundation Donor-Advised Funds: Analyzing Efficiency And Effectiveness, Megan Bartell

Master's Projects and Capstones

Philanthropy is constantly evolving, and some traditional philanthropic institutions may need to rethink their strategies to attract the next generation of donors. The younger generation of donors tends to value the broader concept of social impact through many aspects of their lives, rather than traditional philanthropy alone. One trendy giving vehicle, with extensive growth in the last few years, is donor-advised funds (DAFs). This research is an analysis of California-based community foundations and their approaches to working with DAF donors. DAFs are a popular subject today in the nonprofit world, but in fact, they were originally established in the 1930s …

Religiosity And National Political Leadership As Essential Conjoined Social Determinants Of Volunteerism: Implications For International Non-Governmental Organization Leaders, Theresa L. Koepfler Reimbold

Dissertations, 2020-current

Lack of an integrated and commonly accepted theory to explain volunteerism is a function of the multi-dimensional nature of the construct, which is positively correlated to multiple behavioral, cultural, and political attributes in myriad studies. Likely, there is a combination of social determinants that best predict levels of volunteerism better than others. The issue of overarching theory development to explain volunteerism becomes further convoluted when approaching the construct from a global perspective as commonly held definitions become eroded due to language barriers and cultural nuances. Despite these challenges, the importance of studying volunteerism and its determinants is essential for the …

Investing In Mission-Driven Advocacy, Raymond Alqaisi, Carrie Warick

The Foundation Review

Philanthropy has a significant role to play in public policy advocacy, both in involving the individuals they support in advocacy and ensuring that advocates have the tools to be successful — not only in funding, but also in robust capacity-building assistance.

Looking at the work of the National College Attainment Network, this article explores how philanthropic investments can impact advocacy, in both financial and capacity-building support, through a recounting of a recent advocacy grantmaking initiative. It also details the key conditions conducive to policy change and the supports that were provided to grantees during the funding period.

As philanthropic leaders …

Why Do Nonprofits Fail? A Quantitative Study Of Form 990 Information In The Years Preceding Closure, Mackenzie Arbogust

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

Nonprofit organizations are an important piece of the community and economy in the United States. Each year, nonprofit organizations close their doors and stop providing services to the community. While there are large amounts of literature around financial health and vulnerability and governance best practices of nonprofit organizations, few of the studies have ever looked specifically at failed organizations. In general, the end stages of the life cycle of nonprofit organizations have not been well studied and are not well understood. This study draws on resource dependency theory and institutional theory to identify financial and governance factors that may serve …

Justice And Righteousness For Creation, Renita Reed-Thomson

Business as Mission Theses and Dissertations

A hymn entitled “This Is My Father’s World,” written by Maltbie Davenport Babcock around the year 1901, includes the words: “This Is My Father’s World, O let me ne’er forget…” Unfortunately, many Christians seem to have forgotten that this world belongs to their Heavenly Father. Justice for the poor and the environment has been neglected as Christians pursue economic and material gain, as well as the church’s pursuit of converts over disciples. That the Protestant Evangelical Church may have forgotten the creation may be a surprising point for some given that it has a reputation for caring for the poor …

Scaling Jobs For The Poor: Reducing Poverty Through The Impact Sourcing Bpo Approach, Aneel Karnani, Kevin Mckague

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

The best way to alleviate poverty is to increase the income of the poor by providing productive employment. A pragmatic approach is to focus on a sector of the economy that is employment intensive and growing rapidly. A good candidate is the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector. Impact sourcing is a subset of the BPO sector that focuses on reducing poverty by providing jobs to the poor. While this sounds promising, impact sourcing has not delivered on the promise, at least not yet. We illustrate our argument using in-depth case studies of three of the largest impact sourcing service providers, …

Nonprofit Church Leaders’ Perceptions And Lived Experiences Involving Innovation Competency And Change Management: A Phenomenological Study, Charity R. Addai-Duah, Stephanie N. Hoon, Salvatore J. Sinatra

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Innovation competency among religious leaders has been an area of study as nonprofit researchers continue to discover that conventional ways of managing change are no longer effective when tackling present issues. Discussions regarding using innovation competency to manage change among religious leaders are vague, despite benefits to the nonprofit sector. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of nonprofit church leaders to better understand how innovation competency has shaped organizational change results. Boyatzis’ effective job performance model was the conceptual framework that guided this study. Interview data were gathered from 14 participants who met …

Job Satisfaction Among Faculty Members At Cccu Institutions, Heather C. Vaccaro

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

The purpose of this research study was to determine whether any significant differences existed between generational cohorts, gender and employment status, and reported levels of job satisfaction among faculty at institutions within the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). This study aimed to influence institutional objectives and values to make any necessary adjustments in the attraction and retention of faculty members. The Academic Setting Evaluation Questionnaire (ASEQ) was used to survey participants. The data suggested factors that impact job satisfaction among faculty members within CCCU institutions are not those related to generational cohort, gender, or employment status. This study …

Regional Adaptation Needs Assessment, San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative, San Diego Association Of Governments, Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, The San Diego Foundation

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

The Regional Adaptation Needs Assessment (NA) was designed to inform regional and local planning efforts and to strengthen the linkage between existing mitigation and adaptation planning efforts. The NA is multi-disciplinary, addressing multiple climate impacts to best identify cross-sectoral needs and future opportunities for collaboration. Funding for the NA was awarded to SANDAG via a Caltrans Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) adaptation planning grant, with SDRCC as a sub-recipient.

Editorial, Teri Behrens

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Is More Always Better? A Reflection On The Dynamic Nature Of Nationally And Regionally Focused Funder Collaboratives, Jo Carcedo, Merry Davis, Megan Folkerth, Lori Grubstein, Chris Kabel

The Foundation Review

Funding collaboratives allow foundations to align, increase effectiveness, and collectively address systemic issues. Such alliances are increasingly important in the quest for social change in the face of large-scale challenges like climate change, political polarization, and inequity, which require contributions from across sectors to create meaningful impact. An exploration of why such collaboratives form, how they evolve, and what impact they have offers insights for foundations interested in tackling such complex challenges.

The BUILD Health Challenge® is a funding collaborative that includes national and regionally focused funders working together to drive sustainable improvements in health. Through a reflective survey and …

The State Of Nonprofits In Southeast Louisiana: The Impact Of Covid-19, Steven W. Mumford, Kellie Chavez Greene

Political Science Reports, Studies, and Presentations

The Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF) in partnership with the University of New Orleans’ (UNO) Political Science Department undertook a study to gain insights on the impact the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is having on nonprofit organizations located in Southeast Louisiana and to share this information as a resource to philanthropy, nonprofits, and civic leaders in our region. GNOF and UNO conducted online and phone surveys beginning March 23, 2020 through April 13, 2020 which targeted 501(c)3 public charities, excluding churches, foundations, and unique groups of larger nonprofits such as hospitals, universities, and charter schools. Our research examined ten essential questions …

Lessons From The Assessment For Learning Project: Strategies For Building An Authentic Learning Community, Heather Lewis-Charp, Daniela Berman, Sarah Lench, Tony Siddall

The Foundation Review

This article explores findings from an evaluation of the Assessment for Learning Project, a grantee engagement strategy led by the Center for Innovation in Education focused on creating a learning community founded in continuous reflection and safety for risk-taking. The article shares the project’s model and approach, grounded in the core design elements of a field-facing learning agenda, grantmaking that leads with learning, and collective leadership.

This article highlights the Assessment for Learning Project’s practices, such as a Request for Learning rather than traditional Request for Proposals; a requirement that grantees provide formative feedback to each other; and public demonstrations …

Coherent Assistance In Education Improvement: How Foundations Can Help, Ann Jaquith, Rosa Chavez

The Foundation Review

Philanthropic organizations are experimenting with ways to support capacity building in order to scale innovations and leverage funding for greater social impact. Increasingly, philanthropies are also attending to their own organizational needs for learning in order to inform strategy, shape future work, and measure effectiveness.

This article shares the lessons of the Aligned Partners Project, a three-year study of a foundation-funded interorganizational collaboration to align the work of three technical assistance organizations to meet the needs of one school district. It identifies challenges to providing coherent assistance as well as grantmaking practices that could address them.

A foundation seeking to …

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.