Nonprofit Administration and Management Commons^™

Through The Looking Glass: Foundation Evaluation And Learning And The Quest For Strategic Learning, Suzanne Kennedy Leahy, Sandra Wegmann, Lexi Nolen

The Foundation Review

Strategic learning, a critical if relatively new lens for philanthropy, is neither simple nor efficient to institutionalize or practice yet — foundations are still figuring out how to do it well. In 2015, the Episcopal Health Foundation launched a project to distill lessons about how leading foundations configure evaluation and learning, and how they allocate related responsibilities in support of strategic learning.

This article addresses different models that foundations use to establish and staff evaluation and learning functions, what other organizational considerations they should take into account in order to prioritize strategic-learning work, and what tools and approaches can be …

Full Issue

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Designing Technical-Assistance Programs: Considerations For Funders And Lessons Learned, Jennifer Lyons, Sheila Dunleavy Hoag, Cara Orfield, Sonya Streeter

The Foundation Review

As foundations continue to provide grantees with technical assistance in addition to financial support, it is important to understand what works well, for whom, and in what circumstances. This reflective practice article aims to help funders who have identified a problem amenable to technical assistance to develop a strong program by providing support to a group of organizations addressing similar problems or by providing customized individual support.

Drawing on insights from evaluations of two technical-assistance programs, this article recommends five key issues for funders to consider when offering such a program: whose priorities will shape the agenda, how group composition …

Book Review: American Generosity: Who Gives And Why By Patricia Snell Herzog & Heather E. Price, Jason Franklin

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Laying The Groundwork For A National Impact Investing Marketplace, Stephanie L. Gripne, Joanne Kelley, Kathy Merchant

The Foundation Review

The practice of impact investing is rapidly gaining momentum, but the level of activity among individual and institutional investors, including philanthropists and foundations, has barely penetrated projections of market potential.

The marketplace that should connect impact investors with investees or social ventures does not function effectively.

Developing cost-effective ways to engage new investors and break down barriers to investment is an essential part of growing the industry.

Developing cost-effective ways to “prime the pump” for social ventures to become investor-ready — through a capacity-building process that includes outreach, education, and technical assistance — is an essential part of growing the …

University Fundraising Through Special Events: An Application Of The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Megan Elizabeth Hobbs

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to apply the Revised Theory of Planned Behavior and EVENTQUAL models to explore (1) event qualities that significantly impact guests’ satisfaction with a university event that they attend, (2) significant factors influencing university loyalty as a result of an event, and (3) willingness to make a charitable donation to a university as a result of attending an event. An online survey was sent to attendees of an annual Cal Poly auction event between 2002 and 2016 that directly benefits Cal Poly students. The data were used to test a series of hypotheses to determine …

The Nonprofit Nerd (November 2016), The Nonprofit Institute At Portland State University

The Nonprofit Institute Newsletter

This month’s theme is Evaluating Fundraising Strategies.

Many of us are hard at work this month, knee deep in The Giving Season at our nonprofits. Now is a great time to think about how you’ll know which of your strategies are working. Program evaluation is a useful tool for measuring your fundraising efforts, not just your nonprofit’s programs. Using a data informed approach can be a resource development game changer. Below, we spotlight the work and approach Faith Danforth takes with development data at Mercy Corps, along with some DIY tools and resources to take your use of fundraising …

Identifying Factors Related To Nonprofit Success Through The Use Of A Multidimensional Approach, Kendall M. Hayes

Selected Honors Theses

Nonprofit success is a complex and inconclusive term. Rather than attempting to define nonprofit success, this thesis seeks to identify factors attributed to organizational effectiveness. Support for the credibility of these factors is derived from a review of literature and an interview with the CEO of an acclaimed successful nonprofit. The balanced scorecard is referenced as a multidimensional approach to structuring and evaluating organizational effectiveness. Factors within these perspectives and those mentioned in an interview with the CEO have been analyzed and identified for the use of nonprofit personnel or entrepreneurs.

Creating The Entrepreneurial Mindset In Post-Millenial Students Using Interactive Techniques To Supplement Practical Methods, Leigh Johnson, Cris Houston

Southwestern Business Administration Teaching Conference

A discussion of the benefits of a curriculum that prepares business students for successful transition to entrepreneurial activities using technology-based interactive learning techniques.

Architectural Intervention: The Resilient Community Center, Matthew A. Baumgartner

ASA Multidisciplinary Research Symposium

In the city of Centralia, Illinois, several issues govern the city’s future, all stemming from the same major problem: the economy. To intervene, this community center proposal aims to encourage economic development and growth in the city, assisting small businesses with starting and expanding in the region.

Managing With Purpose: Integrating Assessment, Planning, And Budgeting, Gregory A. Smith

Faculty Publications and Presentations

Assessment, planning, and budgeting are interrelated disciplines that play an important role in accomplishing a library's mission. This conference session introduces tools and concepts that will equip attendees to manage library services strategically in response to evolving customer needs and environmental conditions. Four tools—the logic model, six dimensions of assessment, the balanced scorecard, and the business model canvas—will enable managers to evaluate, plan, and communicate progress in the pursuit of mission and vision. Additionally, two concepts—opportunity cost and the principal-agent problem—will provide context for planning and budgeting decisions.

How Much Do Monographs Cost? And Why Should We Care?, Nancy L. Maron, Charles Watkinson, Meredith Kahn, Shayna Pekala

Charleston Library Conference

What does it cost to make a high quality, digital monograph? What may sound like an obvious question turns out to be a very knotty one, driving to the heart of the essence of scholarly publishing today. It is particularly relevant in an environment where the potential of a sustainable open access (OA) business model for monographs is being explored. Two complementary studies funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in 2015 have explored this question to understand the costs involved in creating and disseminating scholarly books.

The team at Ithaka S+R studied the full costs of publishing monographs by …

Human Services Internship With Indiana Nonprofit Resource Network, Madison Duncan

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Madison Duncan is a Lafayette, Indiana native and senior in the College of Health and Human Sciences. In this snapshot, Madison describes an internship experience with the Indiana Nonprofit Resource Network (INRN) that helped prepare her for work with nonprofit agencies.

The Nonprofit Nerd (October 2016), The Nonprofit Institute At Portland State University

The Nonprofit Institute Newsletter

This month’s theme is Creating a Culture of Evaluation.

NPI’s Professional Certificate in Nonprofit Program Evaluation kicks off this month! If you missed the chance to join us in this year’s cohort, we hope you’ll follow along as we share what we’re learning about. This month we’re exploring what it means to build a “culture of evaluation” in our organizations. Let the resources and insights we share in The Nonprofit Nerd inspire you to get your nerd on and find innovative ways to make research and data work for you and your nonprofit!

Mission Shift: Using And Evaluating Strategic Communications To Implement Organizational Change, Taryn Fort, Kelci Price

The Foundation Review

Strategic communications can play a role in implementing organizational change by reinforcing understanding of and advancing audiences to accept the changes that impact them. The Colorado Health Foundation uses strategic communications as an integral tool in achieving its organizational mission to improve the health of all Coloradans. Evidence reveals that it was critical to successfully announcing and implementing significant changes to how the foundation operates and invests.

This article profiles the strategic communications approach, from its inception through the application of learnings gathered from a subsequent evaluation. The success of the foundation’s “change” communications strategy was rooted in use of …

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Integrating Funders Into A Multisector Transit-Equity Collaborative: Lessons From The Field, Davian Gagne

The Foundation Review

This article examines the efforts of Mile High Connects, a collaborative working to ensure that the Denver region’s $7.8 billion transit project benefits low-income communities and communities of color by connecting them to affordable housing, healthy environments, quality education, and good-paying jobs.

The collaborative, which includes local and national funders that have coalesced around the central issue of transit equity, has adopted a collective-impact model that has at its core two tools to measure and track its work and to show the social-impact outcomes achieved through its initiatives.

This article describes the collaborative’s approach to evaluation, reflects on its initial …

Tackling Big Issues Together: The Story Of One Funders Network Promoting The Mental Health Of Young Children, Whitney Gustin Connor, Colleen Church, Barbara Yondorf

The Foundation Review

In 2012, Rose Community Foundation and the Caring for Colorado Foundation supported an environmental scan on children’s behavioral health to better understand challenges and opportunities for philanthropic investment. In the wake of the report’s release they established the Funders Learning Network on Early Childhood Mental Health, an organization of more than 10 community, private, and family foundations, to develop shared strategies for promoting the behavioral health of young children and families.

This article examines the evolution of the network from a learning collaborative to an incubator for jointly funded initiatives. Among its collaborative funding efforts is LAUNCH Together, a five-year, …

Disrupting A Foundation To Put Communities First In Colorado Philanthropy, Nancy Csuti, Gwyn Barley

The Foundation Review

This article explores how The Colorado Trust confronted the fact that the lives of many Coloradans remained fundamentally unchanged after years of nonprofit-led grantmaking and, in response, developed a community-led grantmaking process aimed at achieving a new vision of health equity.

These shifts led to significant changes both within The Trust and in long-standing relationships with many nonprofits. The Trust dissolved its program department and replaced the program officer position with a team of “community partners” tasked with building relationships with residents in far-flung regions of the state. Resident groups were empowered to identify the needs in their own communities, …

How Do You Measure Up? Finding Fit Between Foundations And Their Evaluation Functions, Julia Coffman, Tanya Beer

The Foundation Review

As the number of foundations has grown, the philosophies and ways of working across the sector have diversified. This variance means that there is no one right model for how a foundation’s evaluation function should be designed. It is imperative for a foundation to think carefully about how the structure, position, focus, resources, and practices of its evaluation function can best fit its own needs and aspirations.

This article focuses on questions foundations can ask to assess that fit, and the specific considerations that can inform these decisions. It draws on 2015 benchmarking research conducted by the Center for Evaluation …

Editorial, Teresa R. Behrens, Ned Calonge

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Back Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Reconciling Community-Based Versus Evidence-Based Philanthropy: A Case Study Of The Colorado Trust’S Early Initiatives, Douglas Easterling, Deborah Main

The Foundation Review

One of the dominant tensions in philanthropy involves the question of whether foundations should focus their grantmaking on projects that come from the community versus projects that have a base of scientific evidence. How a foundation answers this question leads to different strategic orientations.

This article describes how this tension was expressed and resolved during The Colorado Trust’s early years of initiative-based grantmaking. The community-based philosophy is illustrated through the Colorado Healthy Communities Initiative, while Home Visitation 2000 serves as an exemplar of the evidence-based approach. The Colorado School Health Education Initiative purposefully integrated the two philosophies.

The community-based and …

Full Issue

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Doing Well By Doing Good? The Case Of Magrabi Foundation, Mohammad Saeed Shalaby

Theses and Dissertations

This study aims at empirically investigating the business case of corporate social responsibility for private hospitals. The study attempts to explore the possible monetary and non-monetary business benefits for the Magrabi Hospital, in the Community Outreach Program carried out by the Magrabi Foundation. In addition, the study further attempts to understand the role of these potential benefits, on the deci- sion-making processes of the top executives in private hospitals. The study uses a mixed qualitative and quantitative approach through a three stages process for examining the qualitative and quantitative roles of CSR, as well as the evaluation of the strategic …

The Nonprofit Nerd (September 2016), The Nonprofit Institute At Portland State University

The Nonprofit Institute Newsletter

This month’s theme is Networked Philanthropy.

Let the resources and insights we share in The Nonprofit Nerd inspire you to get your nerd on and find innovative ways to make research and data work for you and your nonprofit!

Exploring Collaborations Between Veterinarians & Rescues/Shelters, Jacquie Cobb

Shelter Management and Adoption Procedures Collection

A survey of private practice veterinarians in the Chicago area was conducted in an effort to pinpoint what constitutes a positive relationship between a veterinarian and a rescue group or shelter. The following research questions guided this project: From the perspective of veterinarians, what is the nature of collaboration between private veterinarians and animal rescues? What are the reasons for these relationships? What is the perceived value of these relationships according to veterinarians? The survey was sent to 50 private practice veterinarians in the Chicago area and received twelve responses, followed by two face-to-face interviews of survey participants. The data …

Editorial, Teresa Behrens, Vikki Spruill

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Knowledge As Leadership, Belonging As Community: How Canadian Community Foundations Are Using Vital Signs For Social Change, Susan Phillips, Ian Bird, Laurel Carlton, Lee Rose

The Foundation Review

The concept of “community” in community foundations is being reframed – less strictly tied to the specific locales that originally defined their boundaries and increasingly about a process of engagement and a resulting sense of belonging.

The greatest asset of a community foundation is not the size of its endowment, but its knowledge of community and ability to use this knowledge for positive change.

This article explores the Canadian network of community foundations’ use of the reporting tool Vital Signs to implement a knowledge-driven approach to leadership and how it is using this knowledge in more inclusive, engaged models of …