Nonprofit Studies Commons^™

Nonprofit Organizations And Arts Education In A Rural Community, Elise Lael Kieffer

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

The connection between public administration and nonprofit administration has been in existence since ancient times, when individual volunteers (the predecessors of a formal nonprofit sector) met humanitarian needs to which the government was unwilling or unable to attend. Addams (1910) formalized this intersecting relationship during her time working in Chicago’s slums with refugees. Pandey & Johnsons (2019) drew connections between public administration, public policy, and nonprofit management. They concluded that discoveries in one of those domains should necessarily be applied to the others. They advised that continued research should draw explicit connections across those sectors and highlighted examples of the …

The Jewel In The Lotus: Humane Education, Engaged Buddhism, And Farming Compassion, Francy Jenko

Mindfulness Studies Theses

This thesis explores the relationship and intersectionality of Engaged Buddhism and Humane Education and demonstrates how they support the development of a farm sanctuary to cultivate compassion. It is supported by peer-reviewed literature, which reflects the importance of understanding why compassion is necessary to decrease suffering and how these disciplines complement one another, facilitating compassion and action. The research component of this thesis encourages the ongoing exploration of Engaged Buddhism and Humane Education. Further, it contributes to the scholarly literature on their intersection, highlighting farm sanctuary work as an avenue of engagement and offering implications for future study. The creative …

A Blackgirl Artivisionary Mosaic: Art-Based Participatory Refusals To School Punishment, Tyese A. Brown

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The study participants were co-research partners and engaged in a Project Based Learning six-week summer project in an urban northeastern metropolis community-based non-profit where they received stipends for participation. This dissertation explored how Blackgirls (aged 14 -21) express their experiences with disparate school punishment through community-based participatory artmaking. We called the photos, poems, collages, sculptures, storyboards, digital art, visual art, songs, spoken word, and videos Artivisions (art I vision). In the Jam Sessions, a subset of the partners we called curators discussed the pieces, shared their experiences, and offered insight into Blackgirls’ responses, coping skills, and decision-making regarding school punishment. …

Irs-Sanctioned Secrecy For Religious Nonprofits: Stepstone Or Stumbling Block?, Mark W. Smith

Master's Projects and Capstones

Internal Revenue Service code automatically confers 501(c)3 nonprofit charity status on religious nonprofits which appear to be “A church, convention of churches, or association of churches described in section 170(b)(1)(A)(i),” as labeled in the IRS Form 990. Additionally, religious charities functioning as a part of a church have no requirement to report any financial information or policies to the IRS or anyone else. This acquiescence to secrecy keeps most of the data on these nonprofit organizations unavailable for research or to inform legislative action or agency policies. This automatic status may also lead to complacency in organizations in financial accountability, …

Addressing Barriers To Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In Massachusetts Community Mediation, Madhawa Palihapitiya, Jarling Ho, Shino Yokotsuka, Karina Zeferino

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

This report presents over three years of systematically engaging, documenting and analyzing the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) needs/gaps and assets of state funded community mediation centers in Massachusetts. The report was compiled by researchers and an in-house DEI expert at the statutory state office of dispute resolution, the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration (MOPC) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The office has been serving as a neutral forum and state-level resource for over 30 years.

The report is based on qualitative research that falls into the category of community based participatory research conducted through a series of community …

The People's Food Project, Grace Barrett

Masters Theses

The architectural design of spaces offering food assistance has received little to no attention since food pantries emerged in the 1970s. Non-profit food initiatives are often sited quickly with limited resources, producing inadequate spaces unable to fully support a food insecure community, prioritize the experience of users, and create a sense of belonging. The current spaces limit services to merely food distribution. They do not take advantage of the opportunity to expand socioeconomic capital through the power of shared food experiences: growing, cooking, eating, and learning.

This thesis redefines the traditional food pantry model, responding to explorations in psychological comfort …

Visual Representation Of Black Individuals At The Forefront Of Underground Railroad Interpretation, Alison Spongr

Museum Studies Theses

This thesis is grounded in a reflection and analysis of the building of an institution whose foundation and visuals position the narratives of Black individuals at the forefront of Underground Railroad interpretation. In 2018, the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center opened to the public after decades in the making. Its permanent exhibition, One More River to Cross, set in motion a shift in power – of whose stories are represented and shared – generated by visual activism.

“Between the American Revolution in 1776 and the end of the Civil War in 1865, thousands of freedom seekers escaped slavery …

The Benefits Of Photo-Elicitation In Arts Administration Research, Elise Lael Kieffer

Faculty & Staff Research and Creative Activity

This article explores the benefits of incorporating the photo-elicitation method into interviews within arts and cultural administration, leadership, and management research. Photographs are often used to open communications when traditional verbal communication is less reliable, or hindered by cross-cultural interactions. Within the arts and culture, researchers often use different terminology than administrative practitioners, and administrators often use different terminology than art makers and creative practitioners. Photo-elicitation serves to bridge those gaps in communication and open participants up to opportunities for deeper reflection. This article gives examples from one narrative inquiry study that utilized both exclusively verbal questions and also photo-elicitation …

Building Coleus Academy, Janessa Unseld

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Coleus Academy, a nonprofit e-learning platform, has been created to address the deficits left by the de-emphasis and, at times, outright omission of practical skill-centric education in American curriculums. There exists a gap between the degree of knowledge necessary to engage with adult life and the extent of that knowledge that is actually possessed by emerging adults. Prominent legislations are among the numerous efforts to address this issue. However, there is a deeply fractured market where resources are proving too expensive, too sparse, or hyper-specific to the point of limited usability. Compounded with disparities in when, where, and to whom …

Bridging A Need: Audience Participatory Theatre For Non-Profit Fundraising, Ralph Krumins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

One of the largest goals for any non-profit organization is to continually retain donors and increase fundraising on a yearly basis. Fundraisers and auctions have been reliable methods for financial stability, but as more nonprofit organizations look to a shrinking pool of donors, non-profits must change the way they ask for support. To stand out in a competitive market, theatre practitioners have the opportunity to create content that connects donors to non-profits through theatrical means. As a new performing arts hire for a non-profit, Seacrest Country Day School, our artistic team was approached by the school development team to find …

Not For You, Not For Me, But For Us, A Case Study That Examines The Battersea Arts Centre's Co-Creation Models And How This Generates Symiosis Between Their Community And Organisational Resilience., Katharine Marchingo

Staff Scholarship - Australia & Dubai

There is much to learn from the Battersea Arts Centre (BAC) who remains at

the forefront of international arts practice despite the temporary loss of capital

infrastructure due to a tragic fire. This resilience is in part due to BAC’s

organisational model and investment strategy; but these aspects are only as strong

as organisational culture and community support allow them to be, these are

much harder to design and more nuanced in application

(Jubb Personal Interview 23 March 2018).

This report makes use of: action research, qualitative research, data that

was made available by the organisation and relevant literature to …

A Case Study In Museum Change: Power, Authority And Community Connected Exhibitions, Marilyn Cathy Solvay, Ph.D.

Educational Studies Dissertations

ABSTRACT

This dissertation is a study of museum change and examines the power of objects along with the authority of traditional exhibitions and the development of community-connected exhibitions. Community-connected exhibitions are explored to provide insight into reshaping the museum organization into a multicultural institution.

Method: A case study of a community-connected exhibition, "Becoming Americans: The Shapiro Story: 1898-1928," was conducted at Strawberry Banke, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, an outdoor history museum. Interviews were held with 25+ project participants: museum staff project team members, Shapiro family members, community members at large, and representatives from other community cultural institutions. This qualitative research project …