Nonprofit Administration and Management Commons^™

The Unified Outcomes Project: Evaluation Capacity Building, Communities Of Practice, And Evaluation Coaching, Jay Wade, Leanne Kallemeyn, David Ensminger, Molly Baltman, Tania Rempert

The Foundation Review

Increased accountability from foundations has created a culture in which nonprofits, with limited resources and a range of reporting protocols from multiple funders, struggle to meet data-reporting expectations. Responding to this, the Robert R. McCormick Foundation in partnership with the Chicago Tribune launched the Unified Outcomes Project, an 18-month evaluation capacity-building project.

The project focused on increasing grantees’ capacity to report outcome measures and utilize this evidence for program improvement, while streamlining the number of tools being used to collect data among cohort members. It utilized a model that emphasized communities of practice, evaluation coaching, and collaboration between the foundation …

Emergent Learning: A Framework For Whole-System Strategy, Learning, And Adaptation, Marilyn Darling, Heidi Guber, Jillaine Smith, James Stiles

The Foundation Review

The field of philanthropy is exploring what it takes to achieve impact in complex environments. The terms “adaptive” and “emergent” are beginning to be used, often interchangeably, to describe strategies by which funders can tackle complexity. This article proposes distinguishing between the two and explores more deeply how the research into complexity can inform philanthropic practice.

While approaches like systems mapping, scenario planning, and appreciative inquiry have been put forward as useful approaches to expanding perspectives and seeing whole systems, the field needs a framework for going beyond these planning tools in order to actually create the conditions in which …

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Internal Culture, External Impact: How A Change-Making Culture Positions Foundations To Achieve Transformational Change, Amy Celep, Sara Brenner, Rachel Mosher-Williams

The Foundation Review

This article argues that a foundation’s internal culture is critical to achieving large-scale social change, but that efforts to build a change-making culture too often are left out of strategy conversations.

While there is no one culture that suits every foundation, a particular set of characteristics must be present in those that seek large-scale social change: a focus on outcomes, transparency, authenticity, collaboration, racial equity and inclusion, continuous learning, and openness to risk.

This article offers insights into why culture can be challenging for foundations to address and maintain, examines cases of successful culture change at foundations, and offers advice …

Stepping Into And Out Of The Void: Funding Dynamics Of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research In California, Sweden, And South Korea, Noomi Weinryb, Tania M. Bubela

Office of the Provost

Nonprofit organizations and philanthropists stepped into a funding void caused by controversies over public funding of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research. Based on interviews of 83 representatives of 53 funders, we examine the motivations and accountability structures of public agencies, corporations, fundraising dependent nonprofit organizations and philanthropic organizations that funded hESC research in three jurisdictions: California, Sweden, and South Korea. While non-traditional forms of funding are essential in the early stages of research advancement, they are unreliable for the long timeframes necessary to advance cell therapies. Such funding sources may enter the field based on high expectations, but may …

Aligning Strategic Interests: Business Perspective On Partnership Dynamics With Nonprofit Organizations In The Context Of Corporate Social Responsibility In Egypt, Reem Bassem Fouad Mikhail

Theses and Dissertations

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) gained considerable hype both on practical and academic plateaus in recent decades. While, nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in specific have been active in their quest to offer alternative or complimentary services to the public, especially at times when governments fall short in delivering adequate social duties. CSR as a research arena remains untapped in a country like Egypt despite the potential of business and NPOs partnerships as one aspect. In spite of the common perception that CSR is philanthropic in nature in Egypt, this research aims to seal this gap through studying partnership mechanisms and dynamics of …

The Missing Middle: Understanding The Effects Of Social Enterprise On Nonprofit Performance, Angela White-Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The 2008 financial recession has seen increased poverty, job loss, and homelessness as well as decreased spending in health care, education, sanitation, and housing. These factors can lead to tensions across a number of sectors and underscore the need for innovation in for-profit, nonprofit and government organizations. One area of innovation in the nonprofit sector to supplement revenues is by adding social enterprise activity. Social enterprise is the pursuit of earned income activities for an organization that is driven by a community mission or value. Because financial and social problems are becoming increasingly intertwined, this study seeks to understand the …

Environmental Nonprofit Advocacy Guide, Diana Truncali

Capstone Projects 2015-Present

By reviewing existing literature and interviewing nonprofit and government professionals, I have created a nonprofit strategic advocacy guide for environmental organizations at the local and regional level.

Best Practices To Increase Efficacy Of Graduate School Admissions Communications At Clark University, Diana Curran, Nikki Feinberg, Mitchell Kelley, Ruiqi Li, Anning Zhou

School of Professional Studies

Within the period of time that a graduate student deposits and subsequently arrives at their academic institution, receiving timely information is important for their preparation. This process has been deemed by the Deans of the Enterprise Schools at Clark University as one that needs further investigation. As such, this Capstone looks at the array of communication that goes out to each graduate student during this four-month period. The purpose of examining this communication is to analyze its effectiveness in engaging students. To analyze the effectiveness of this communication, surveys were distributed to current students in these schools to gather data …

The Evolving Role Of Electric Cooperatives In Economic Development: A Case Study Of Owen Electric Cooperative And Jackson Energy Cooperative, Whitney Prather Duvall

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

In recent years, there has been a shift in among Kentucky rural electric cooperatives in regard to their stance on economic development. With this has been the employment of electric cooperative staff to help attract new industries and forge relationships with other local economic development-geared groups to facilitate growth. Cooperative businesses have historically proved their resilience and deep-rooted connections within the communities they serve. In exploring two similar-sized electric cooperatives in Kentucky located in two very different regions of the state, considering socio-economic status, and interviewing key informants with local affiliated economic development groups, it becomes evident that electric cooperatives …

Creating An Effective Shelter Intake Form To Reduce Owner Surrender, Sandra Nichole Tongg

HSU STUDENT THESES AND CAPSTONE PROJECTS

No abstract provided.

Nonprofit Sector Research Scan, The Nonprofit Institute At Portland State University

The Nonprofit Institute Research

This information was compiled in an effort to assess the current state of the nonprofit research field as well as potentially identify needs for future research projects. The methods by which this data was gathered included initial conversations with community stakeholders which guided further online content analysis of reports in the fields stated above. The research scan includes 84 reports published around the topics of volunteerism, philanthropy, board governance, leadership, and other general and specialized nonprofit topics on state, regional, and national levels.

2015 San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative Annual Report, San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

The San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative is a network for public agencies that serves the San Diego region to share expertise, leverage resources and advance comprehensive solutions to facilitate climate change planning. By partnering with academia, nonprofits, and businesses, the SDRCC also works to leverage the profile of regional leadership. This is the 2015 San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative Annual Report.

E-Government Initiatives Case Study: New Models For Success, Douglass P. Smith

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

This case study examines the efforts of a mid-tier, cabinet-level state agency to transform its constituency services to be more effective using information technology. The agency, based in a rural Midwestern state, faced increased scrutiny to raise accuracy, lower wait times, decrease expenditures, increase constituency satisfaction, and expand services to the state. To meet these challenges, the agency conducted a series of meetings to determine best possible opportunities for change and decided that technology solutions, which supported their business vision of the future, would be the foundation for that change. Redesigning core organizational processes—using several technologies such as e-commerce, content …

Promoting And Supporting Effective Organizational Governance, Sridhar Ramamoorti, Alan N. Siegfried

Accounting Faculty Publications

Internal audit’s role in organizational governance has become increasingly important in the wake of the recent global financial crisis and the continuing spate of governance failures in both financial and public sectors throughout the world. Informed observers and commentators have asked initially, “Where were the external auditors?” then “Where was the audit committee?” and finally, “Where was internal audit in all this?” This report draws on survey responses from internal auditors in 166 countries to take stock of the current role of internal audit in the governance process and learn how internal audit can better position itself to contribute to …

Spinning Straw Into Gold: A Study Of Resource Creation, Flow, And Conversion In A Nonprofit Collaboration, Elizabeth A. Castillo

Dissertations

Throughout history people have joined together to improve their individual lives. In the modern era, organizations often work cooperatively to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness. Collaborating organizations in the nonprofit sector are increasingly expected to produce system-level change as well. This collective impact approach is under-theorized and therefore not consistently actionable. A central puzzle is how formal nonprofit collaborations acquire resource inputs and transform them into outputs, outcomes, and impact while producing financial returns to sustain the backbone organization. Resource dependence theory is sometimes proposed as an explanatory framework, yet it does not explain the generation of a double bottom …

Clients As Voting Board Members: A Mixed Methods Examination Of San Diego County Nonprofit Human Services Organizations, Elaine Marie Lewis

Dissertations

The literature suggests that thoughtful board composition generates more strategic and thoughtful policymaking. This study examined one aspect of board composition that is frequently cited as a source of more strategic and thoughtful policymaking: clients as voting members.

This study used descriptive and inferential statistics to examine the prevalence of, and the factors associated with clients participating as board members of human services nonprofit organizations in San Diego County. Through a review of the most recent 12 months of board meeting notes, this study also explored the level of participation of two clients on the board of directors of one …

When Worlds Collide: Bringing The Native/Indigenous Transnational Nonprofit Leader To The Conversation, Christina E. Mitchell

Dissertations

Transnationals have long been a subject of academic discussion. Described differently according to discipline and study, the primary characteristic of transnationals is that they cross borders in support of a broad range of purposes, including advocacy and service provision, and profession and research. While not explicitly engaged within the nonprofit conversation up to this point, transnationals do have an implicit association with the nonprofit sector. This dissertation locates the transnationals in the nonprofit sector bringing a particular type of transnational into the nonprofit conversation: the native/indigenous transnational nonprofit leader. Based on findings of an exploratory case study, this leader is …

Trashé Designs: A Social Enterprise, Cara Walden

MA IDS Thesis Projects

During my years in graduate school, my understanding of economic inequality has further expanded. While my experience in the Peace Corps and Nepal allowed me to see it in real life, my time in school has allowed me to ground these experiences in academic literature. By means of an action research project, my goal is to create economic opportunity for the HIV/AIDS community in Chiang Mai, Thailand, through the creation of the social enterprise Trashé Designs. A social enterprise is a way to address a social challenge with a market-based solution. My social enterprise, Trashé Designs, uses recycled materials to …

The Cost Of Feeling Good, Casey M. Field

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The Cost of Feeling Good attempts to quantify the optimum portfolio returns of Socially Responsible Investment Funds and Dual-Purpose Portfolios. In order to meet the demands of investors who want to create a social impact and generate financial returns, investors can choose two methods. For the purpose of this study, the social returns were quantified and the financial returns were quantified using net present value. In every scenario, the socially responsible investment decision generated higher financial returns. Because of the immediate loss to an investor after choosing the DPP strategy, financially, the SRI fund appears to be the better approach …