Nonprofit Administration and Management Commons^™

Rethinking Wash: Innovative Pathways To Address Water, Health, And Poverty, Erica L. Jensen, Emma Indart, Faith Manchester, Sebastian Dorantes, Isabelle Stoddard

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

No abstract provided.

Analyzing Global Nonprofit Accessibility: Preliminary Findings From A Cross-National Comparative Study, Angie Holzer

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

This article presents preliminary findings from a global, cross-national study examining the accessibility, structure, and transparency of nonprofit registry systems across all countries worldwide. In addition to determining whether an online national nonprofit database exists in each country, the study evaluates who operates these systems—government authorities or civil society organizations—and identifies cases in which multiple registries are maintained. The analysis also incorporates national context indicators—such as population, human rights ratings, internet access, and governance—but these variables are not analyzed in this preliminary article. Registration requirements also vary substantially across countries, with many systems requiring only minimal documentation and limited verification. …

Academic Summaries: Global Access To Water And Sanitation, Erica Jensen

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

No abstract provided.

Connecting Business Innovation & Climate Impact, San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative, Alexander Pourfard, Aranza Ruvalcaba, Fowzia Farah

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

The La Mesa Green Business Network (GBN) is a City-led initiative developed in partnership with the San Diego Regional Green Business Network to advance local climate goals by engaging the business community in practical, measurable sustainability actions. Launched in 2022 as part of La Mesa’s Climate Action Plan, the GBN addresses common barriers faced by small and medium-sized businesses such as limited capacity, resources, and technical expertise by providing free, industry-specific consulting, certification, and public recognition. Through tailored guidance on energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, and transportation practices, the program translates citywide climate objectives into on-the-ground action while delivering …

Notes From The Field - Transfer Of Training: The Study Of A Municipality's Leadership Development Program Effectiveness, Kyle Bradley Stone, Christi Sanders-Via, Kristen Mcgee, Beth Mcgrath

Mountain Plains Journal of Business and Technology

The study examined how the Grand Valley Leadership Academy (GVLA) training affected participants' performance and its application in their organizations. Surveys of GVLA participants and employers showed that coaching and leadership skills improved, with high satisfaction from managerial support, peer support, and pre-training. Employers' feedback highlighted evolving leadership needs post-pandemic. The research stresses a supportive environment's role in translating training into practice and suggests leadership development must adapt to organizational changes and workforce flexibility.

Finding The Best Funders For Nonprofit Programs And Permanent Positions, Blair G. Helsing

Master's Projects and Capstones

As nonprofits seek to financially sustain their permanent client-serving programs and staff positions, the ability to engage financial sponsors adds predictability and assurance that these programs and positions can exist into the future. At times these sponsorships allow for governance improvements or service innovations that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.

Recruiting sponsors beyond a single event requires strategies different from (for example) prize donations to a gala, or a one-day event “tiered” sponsorship offering, and sometimes different from most grant applications. To achieve funding of ongoing programs and positions over multiple budget cycles, a deeper relationship must be cultivated by the …

An Exploratory Evaluation Of The Kalamazoo River Watershed Council: Assessing Organizational Impact And Value, Alexander Mendez

Honors Theses

The Kalamazoo River Watershed Council (KRWC) plays a central role in protecting, restoring, and promoting the long-term health of the Kalamazoo River watershed, a geographically expansive and ecologically complex system facing persistent challenges from legacy contamination, nonpoint source pollution, land-use pressures, and inequitable access to watershed resources. This honors thesis presents an exploratory organizational evaluation of the KRWC, assessing its role and relevance within the watershed, the effectiveness of its programs and partnerships, the strengths and limitations of its governance structure, and opportunities to strengthen its long-term sustainability and impact.

Guided by principles of Practical Participatory Evaluation (PP-E) and Fourth …

The Importance Of Leader-Member Exchange And Psychological Contracts In Highly Qualified Researchers, Robin L. Ingerick Dba

Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the significance of the relationship between leader-member exchange (LMX) and psychological contracts in United States-based research organizations. When the organization-manager-employee relationship deteriorates, psychological contract breaches can occur, negatively affecting employee outcomes and the organization's financial success and stability. Existing knowledge highlights several factors that influence relationships, including reciprocated treatment, work behaviors and reactions, trust, professional respect, affect, mutual interaction, work autonomy, communication, job satisfaction, and fulfillment. The study sought to determine to what extent is there a predictive relationship between LMX and psychological contracts (employee obligations, employer obligations, fulfillment, and contract transitions) of highly qualified United States-based …

Purpose And Nonprofit Enterprise, Cathy Hwang, Dorothy S. Lund

Faculty Scholarship

Nonprofit enterprise is responsible for a large share of economic activity across the globe. And yet, leading theories fail to explain why nonprofit business survives and even thrives across a vast number of industries, ranging from artificial intelligence to beer brewing, despite an absence of shareholder control. Indeed, as shareholder ownership and intervention rights have become the core component of successful corporate governance, this success is all the more surprising.

This Essay offers a novel “purposeful enterprise” theory to explain the puzzling success of nonprofit enterprises. Drawing on research in behavioral economics and organizational science, it argues that organizational purpose …

Rethinking Singer: Toward A Valid Argument For Helping The Global Poor, Joshua Luczak

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

For more than 50 years, Peter Singer has argued that we are required to donate to aid agencies. While many commentators have rejected one or more of his premises, no one appears to have challenged the argument’s validity, and it is often assumed to be valid even by critics. This article demonstrates that Singer’s common-sense morality arguments for donating to aid agencies are invalid. It then reconstructs a valid version of the argument consistent with Singer’s broader work, but shows that this version carries significant costs. The paper concludes that although we have a moral obligation to help those less …

Front And Back Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

The Ai Contributor: A New Thought Partner In Systems Change, Jewlya Lynn, Rachel Reichenbach

The Foundation Review

Many foundations are making long-term commitments to advancing systemic change, continually adapting and refining their approaches along the way. An emerging and often underutilized tool in their systems change toolkit is generative artificial intelligence (AI).

AI is enhancing practices across philanthropy, often focused on increasing efficiencies and scaling or streamlining human tasks. What if we instead focus on what AI can do that is distinctly different from what a human can offer? In the world of systemic change, we continue to struggle with the complexity and intractability of systems and finding moments when systems can be shifted. AI can be …

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Editorial, Julia Coffman

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Archetypes Of Ai Adoption: A Snapshot In Time Of Philanthropic Practice, Grace Lyn Higdon, Linda Raftree

The Foundation Review

The authors identified four archetypes describing philanthropic funders’ approach to AI: The Curious, The Doers, The Dreamers, The Skeptics.

The authors did not find major differences found across foundations based on their geographic location, though there were differences found based on their mission and values. Feminist and social justice funders in the Global South demonstrated more skepticism than others.

Even in seemingly benign or straightforward applications, AI systems demonstrate unpredictable behavior, leading to most foundations proceeding with caution.

The rapid pace of AI has meant that formal AI policies are rare, though foundations align on some common “red lines” that …

Deepening Our Understanding Of Resilience: How Evaluation Can Contribute, Michael Quinn Patton

The Foundation Review

Resilience is the capacity to experience a significant shock and adapt as needed to survive and move forward. The current age is one of constant system shocks economically, environmentally, and politically. Resilience becomes essential for navigating these and other risks.

Individuals, organizations, communities, and ecosystems manifest different degrees and types of resilience requiring appropriately matched evaluation responses. In considering new directions for philanthropic evaluation, this article offers for the first time an overarching framework of four different responses to system shocks and disruptions. This leads to four different evaluation criteria: continuity, adaptation, innovation, and capitulation.

In addition to the long-term …

Collective Learning In Philanthropy: Ai, Trust, And The Future Of Grant Reporting, Rachel Kimber, Valerie Ehrlich, Blanch Vance, Abigail Osei

The Foundation Review

Grant reporting has largely devolved from a learning tool to a bureaucratic exercise that reinforces power asymmetries and burdens nonprofits. As philanthropy confronts mounting crises demanding equity and transparency, reporting must transform into a space for collective sensemaking.

This paper explores how Artificial Intelligence (AI), paired with Oral and Alternate Reporting (OAR) methods, can build equitable, human-centered reporting systems. We propose the E⁴ framework — Efficiency, Effectiveness, Expansiveness, and Equity — for intentionally leveraging AI in service of more equitable reporting practices.

Traditional reporting often sidelines the expertise of nonprofit staff and communities most affected by funded programs. Drawing …

Philanthropy As Risk Capital: Shaping Trust And Learning At The Speed Of Ai, Nina Sabarre, Clara Bennett, Laura Chavez-Varela

The Foundation Review

As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes society, philanthropy is increasingly called to act as "risk capital" for the public good. But risk alone is not enough. Without rigorous, field-wide learning, philanthropy's bold bets may remain isolated and short-sighted, failing to catalyze the systemic change this moment demands.

This article draws on three sources of learning at Omidyar Network—an evaluation of The Tech We Want initiative, external strategy consultations with 29 stakeholders, and early learnings from a generative AI portfolio—to identify how philanthropy can uniquely "de-risk" AI innovation for collective benefit.

Through trust-based partnerships, ecosystem infrastructure support, and narrative change, these learning …

When Shift Happens: Navigating Toward A Framework For Responsible Philanthropic Exits, Laila Bell, Stephanie Teleki, Jaime Vazquez

The Foundation Review

Philanthropy can be a powerful force for social change, with influence extending far beyond the funding period. When foundations decide to cease funding in a specific area, how they exit can significantly impact the field they are leaving in both the short- and long-term. A poorly executed exit risks blindsiding grant partners and communities, damaging key relationships, undermining progress, and potentially leaving the field worse off than it was found. In contrast, a responsible exit can help the work continue long after the foundation ceases its funding.

What defines a responsible exit? In this article, learning leaders at three different …

Base Building Evaluation: Three Opportunities To Improve Its Use And Relevance, Katie Fox, Margaret A. Post

The Foundation Review

The concept of base building comes from the traditions of electoral and labor organizing, where organizers focus on drawing leadership from a specific constituency or geography. Base building is foundational to organizing efforts. It involves the recruitment, training, and leadership development of people who are often most directly impacted by the issues and causes that organizing focuses on.

In recent years, base building has seen increased interest and investment from the philanthropic sector as funders recognize base building as critical to community-led change. As funders expand their investment in base building, they increasingly seek information and data about base building …

Tfr 17.3 Full Issue

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Beyond Transactions: Building Relational Partnerships Between Evaluators And Foundations, Lauren Beriont, Cassie Bruny, Madison N. Garcia, Ebonie Guyton, Chelsey Hurt, Leah Josephson, Kate Mallula, Mary Mattson, Rory Neuner, Ramona Perry, Andrea Prado Tuma, Sarah Smith, Kim Van Der Woerd, Sofia Vitalis

The Foundation Review

The co-authors have framed this article as an emergent learning journal of sorts, summarizing observations, findings, and key takeaways; walking the reader through the process, key tensions, and classic myths they identified; and highlighting principles they uncovered that underlie and lay the groundwork for imagining more equitable ways for evaluation consultants and foundations to act in relationships.

Case Study: Using Ai To Design More Effective, Efficient, And Equity Focused Grant Application Review Processes, Emily Yu, Bryan Speelman

The Foundation Review

Grants fuel millions of organizations and advance social innovation across sectors. In the United States, foundations and corporations respectively awarded $103.5B and $36.5B to nonprofits in 2023 alone (Childress, 2024; Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, 2024).

By extension, grant applications play a critical role in how grant recipients are identified and selected. While many funders are eager for more streamlined and equitable processes to review grant applications, the process remains primarily a manual and time consuming one (Hewlett Foundation, 2021). These factors leave some funders implementing grant application processes potentially at odds with their impact goals. Examples include restricting who …

Investigating The Impact Of Health Information Exchange On Hospital Performance: Evidence From The United States, C. Christopher Lee, Ruoqing Zhang

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

This study examines the impact of health information exchange (HIE) participation on hospital performance in the United States, focusing on profitability, efficiency, and quality. Analyzing data from 3,294 hospitals over 3 years (2014–2016) and using multiple regression models, the results showed a positive association between HIE participation and improved performance. HIE membership is linked to increased profitability, enhanced efficiency, and certain quality enhancements, particularly in larger, metropolitan, for-profit hospitals. However, the relationship with quality outcomes is less conclusive. The comprehensive analysis considers various control variables, and the findings of this study offer valuable insights for hospital managers and policymakers and …

Effect Of Servant Leaders’ Humility, Active Listening, And Trust-Building On Employee Engagement In U.S. Private Financial Organizations, Sunny Sung Phd, Tom Butkiewicz Ph.D.

International Journal of Applied Management and Technology

Ineffective leadership characteristics hinder employee engagement in the financial industry, leading to negative organizational outcomes. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational, cross-sectional study was to examine the relationship between servant leaders’ humility, active listening, and trust-building and employee engagement in U.S. private financial organizations. The servant leadership theory of serving followers and the social exchange theory of reciprocity grounded this study. Using simple random sampling, the participants comprised190 employees from private financial organizations in the United States. They completed the Servant Leadership Scale-7; Servant Leadership Assessment Instrument factors 6 and 7; the hearing, understanding, remembering, interpreting, evaluating, and responding (HURIER) …

Building Resilience Against Coastal Climate Risks, San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative, Brenda Castruita, Marius Van Dongen, Brandi Upshaw

San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative

The South Carlsbad Climate Adaptation Project (Project) is an initiative led by the City of Carlsbad (City) designed to address the growing risks of coastal erosion and sea level rise within the city. The Project focuses on a one mile segment of South Carlsbad Boulevard that runs directly along the coast and has experienced decades of coastal erosion, shoreline retreat, and recurring flooding–all of which are expected to intensify due to climate change. In an effort to protect critical infrastructure, natural resources, and public safety, the City has been evaluating the long-term viability of the current roadway and exploring various …

Space For New History: Stony Island Arts Bank, Seb Taylor

Digital Laboratory: Publisher of Internet Journal

The Stony Island Arts Bank (SIAB) in Southside Chicago was designed and founded as a piece of art itself, with the organizational structure being a museum of Black cultural production. This article examines how the institution constructs an epistemology of Blackness through its archival practices, community programming, and spatial claims on the South Side. Founded by artist Theaster Gates through the Rebuild Foundation, the SIAB positions institutional design as an art medium, operating in productive tension with orthodox museum methods. The permanent collections—including the Johnson Publishing Company archives and Frankie Knuckles vinyl collection—function as epistemological records of Black self-documentation unmediated …

Realidades De Las Organizaciones De La Sociedad Civil En México: Índice De Fomento A Las Actividades De Las Osc, Pablo Armando González Ulloa Aguirre

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Este artículo presenta los hallazgos derivados de la construcción de un Índice que evalúa el estado del fomento de las Organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil (OSC) en las 32 entidades federativas de México durante el año 2021. También describe los criterios considerados en la construcción del Índice y los resultados obtenidos en cada una de sus dimensiones. El Índice proporciona una perspectiva integral y multidimensional sobre el estudio del fomento a las OSC, analizando las dimensiones legal, institucional y programática con el objetivo de comparar los avances y los retrocesos en este ámbito. Al hacerlo, ofrece una oportunidad para mejorar …

Research Summaries - Research For Practice: Joni September 2025 Issue, Erica Jensen, Emma Indart, Emilyn Watkins, Faith Manchester

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

No abstract provided.

Program Evaluation: Best Practices And Examples For Nonprofits, Erica Bassett, Faith M. Manchester

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

No abstract provided.