Nonprofit Management Leadership Research Papers (original) (raw)
This case study illustrates the unique challenges of leading a faith-based nonprofit organization within a multifaith constituency in Asia. The core themes of the case are based on research conducted with the staff, executive team, and... more
This case study illustrates the unique challenges of leading a faith-based nonprofit organization within a multifaith constituency in Asia. The core themes of the case are based on research conducted with the staff, executive team, and board members of an international faith-based nonprofit organization in Asia. Specifically, the case focuses on three identity-based leadership dilemmas in relation to (1) creating a shared sense of organizational identity, (2) talent management, and (3) board governance. By describing the challenges faced by the CEO, the case shows how a strong faith-based identification can positively bind an organization together, but also result in organizational blind spots with unintended consequences.
When nonprofit organizations make significant changes in mission, there are many issues of organizational structure and culture that must be re-examined and re-aligned. As the second segment in the case of Casa de Esperanza illustrates,... more
When nonprofit organizations make significant changes in mission, there are many issues of organizational structure and culture that must be re-examined and re-aligned. As the second segment in the case of Casa de Esperanza illustrates, there are many human issues that must be navigated by leaders making such changes. Case B illustrates the challenges that must be confronted as leaders embrace the agency' s identity as a community-based Latina organization, rather than a government-funded domestic violence organization. The case describes the management planning and implementation processes, including changes in leadership, programming, and operations. Staff responses to these changes are also stressed, revealing the very human elements of organizational change.
This article describes mortality patterns for nonprofit organizations in a major U.S. metropolitan area between 1980 and 1988. Twenty percent of the nonprofits in a paneZ ceased operations during this period. Mortality rates were found to... more
This article describes mortality patterns for nonprofit organizations in a major U.S. metropolitan area between 1980 and 1988. Twenty percent of the nonprofits in a paneZ ceased operations during this period. Mortality rates were found to vary widely. In some instances, high mortality was found in parts of the sector that were growing rapidly. Overall, nonprofits that ceased to operate were younger and smallet; used fewer strategies to attract funders, and had less diversvied income streams than survivors. These patterns also varied substantially. The results point to the drawbacks of using limited or commonsense information and the necessity of theory-based research. HILE there has been an increase in scholarly interest and writing on the subject of organizational decline (for exam-W ple, Cameron, Sutton, and Whetten, 1988), little of this focus has dealt systematically with nonprofit organizations (Cameron, Kim, and Whetten, 1987; Singh, House, and Tucker, 1986; Selle and Oymy-r, 1992 are exceptions). This lack of attention is unfortunate because the nonprofit sector has recently faced a series of financial constraints brought on by cutbacks in public expenditures during the Reagan administration, continued low levels of public expenditures during the Bush adrmnistration, and recessions in the early 1980s and 1990s. In addition, the sector's mission and accountability have increasingly been scrutinized by the public, government, and business (Estes, Binney, and Bergthold, 1989; Goss, 1993), and major institutional funders have, in some cases, reevaluated and changed their funding priorities (Millar and Moore, 1991; Millar, 1991).
Detecting agency problems is an important task when assessing the effectiveness of a nonprofit organization's governance. A first step is to examine the objectives of principals and agents and determine whether there is a systematic... more
Detecting agency problems is an important task when assessing the effectiveness of a nonprofit organization's governance. A first step is to examine the objectives of principals and agents and determine whether there is a systematic difference between them. Using a discrete choice experiment, we identify the objectives of board chairpersons (principals) and headmasters (agents) of Flemish nonprofit schools. We find systematic differences between the two groups. Of the seven possible objectives set out in the experiment, six are relevant for both headmasters and board chairpersons. For four of these, the preferences of both groups differ significantly. Whereas ideological values play an important role for both the board and the headmaster, they are significantly more important for the board. Both parties dislike having a large number of pupils, and the disutility is larger for the board. With respect to job satisfaction and pupil satisfaction, we find the opposite: while the board is prepared to give up pupil and job satisfaction in favor of the other objectives, these two objectives score very high on the priority list of the headmasters.
In this study, nine roles and responsibilities of boards of directors in nonprofit organizations in Israel are examined and perceptions of these roles and responsibilities by chairpersons of the boards and the executive directors are... more
In this study, nine roles and responsibilities of boards of directors in nonprofit organizations in Israel are examined and perceptions of these roles and responsibilities by chairpersons of the boards and the executive directors are compared. Four groupings of board roles were found: senior human resource management, maintenance of relationships with the task environment, policymaking, and fiscal management and fundraising. The findings show that in most organizations boards fulfill all these roles and play a significant role in decision making. A significant consensus exists between chairpersons and executive directors in respect to most of the boards' roles, whereas significant differences in perceptions were found in respect to financial matters and maintenance of relationships with the task environment.
This article reviews research on motivation of employees in the nonprofit sector, with a major emphasis on the motivation of teachers and hospital nursing staff. Although both areas are widely researched in the nonprofit sector, empirical... more
This article reviews research on motivation of employees in the nonprofit sector, with a major emphasis on the motivation of teachers and hospital nursing staff. Although both areas are widely researched in the nonprofit sector, empirical motivation research conducted in schools and hospitals is certainly not extensive. Nevertheless, based on these limited research findings, we derive potential hypotheses for future research in schools and hospitals.
This study builds on an earlier one that examined the degree of interchangeability between volunteers and paid employees in nonprofit organizations. In the current study, we surveyed 836 nonprofits in Canada to understand what factors... more
This study builds on an earlier one that examined the degree of interchangeability between volunteers and paid employees in nonprofit organizations. In the current study, we surveyed 836 nonprofits in Canada to understand what factors determine the degree of interchange between paid employees and volunteers, bearing in mind that this interchange can go in two directions: paid employees for volunteers and volunteers for paid employees. We found the degree of interchange to be widespread and in both directions. One of the most important predictors of the likelihood of interchange was the number of full-time employees, suggesting that interchangeability occurs less frequently in organizations with a larger number of employees than in those with fewer employees. Religious congregations and organizations with workload increases were more likely to interchange tasks among volunteers and paid staff.
In this article we propose five patterns of board governance based on the distribution of power in and around boards of nonprofit organizations. The typology proposed grew out of our findings in in-depth case studies in which the... more
In this article we propose five patterns of board governance based on the distribution of power in and around boards of nonprofit organizations. The typology proposed grew out of our findings in in-depth case studies in which the dispersion of power became the critical variable for making sense of the patterns of governance observed. These governance patterns were then incorporuted into a survey of boards in the voluntary sector. We present the results of this latter phase of the research by focusing on the associations between the five patterns and the background characteristics of board members, organizational and environmental variables, and board and organizational effectiveness. The results of the study suggest that power is an important while largely neglected aspect of board governance in the not-for-profit sector. INCE its inception, Nonprofit Management and Leadership has reflected a growing interest in the nature and impact of S nonprofit boards of directors. The five articles on boards published between Fall 1990 and Spring 1992 provide a useful identification of the issues, an excellent review of the literature, and a number of interesting new insights into this vitally important, yet still underresearched, subject (Drucker
American nonprofit organizations first developed in the nineteenth century as the organizational instruments through which Americans put their First Amendment freedoms of religion and political beZief into practice. For one hundred years... more
American nonprofit organizations first developed in the nineteenth century as the organizational instruments through which Americans put their First Amendment freedoms of religion and political beZief into practice. For one hundred years American nonprofits were held accountable by relatively small, compact communities of people who shared religious or other highly defined beliefs and values. In the twentieth century, many nonprofit organizations have grown very large and have adopted a scientiJic, general-sewice-to-the-community ethos. The legal, institutional, and cultural ideas and practices through which traditional nonprofts were, and are still, held accountable no longer seem to work equally well for the large5 more universal nonprofits of the late twentieth century.
Nonprofit organizations rely on the mission to attract resources and guide decision making. Increasingly, mission statements are recognized as a strong management tool that can motivate employees and keep them focused on the organization'... more
Nonprofit organizations rely on the mission to attract resources and guide decision making. Increasingly, mission statements are recognized as a strong management tool that can motivate employees and keep them focused on the organization' s purpose. This research investigated employee attitudes toward the mission in a youth and recreation service organization. In general, the employees expressed positive attitudes toward the organization' s mission, and those attitudes were related to employee satisfaction and intentions to remain with the organization. However, dissatisfaction with pay tended to override employee' s mission attachment as explanation of why they may leave the organization. The implication is that mission might be salient in attracting employees but less effective in retaining them.
Consensus about financial performance measurement remains elusive for nonprofit organization (NPO) researchers and practitioners alike, due in part to an overall lack of empirical tests of existing and new measures. The purpose of the... more
Consensus about financial performance measurement remains elusive for nonprofit organization (NPO) researchers and practitioners alike, due in part to an overall lack of empirical tests of existing and new measures. The purpose of the current study was to explore potential similarities of financial performance measures derived from two sources: current NPO research and key informant interviews with NPO foundation constituencies. The authors examined financial performance measurement ratios with data from fifteen Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 990 line items. Using factor analytic techniques, they found three performance factors, each with two associated financial measurement ratios, to be present. They categorized the performance factors as fundraising efficiency, public support, and fiscal performance. This article discusses implications of the findings and future research. N ONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS (NPOs) provide important services throughout the United States and beyond, but the degree to which such organizations are effective remains a much-
The authors examined nineteen nonprofit performing arts organizations, investigating the distribution of influence among organizational members, the grouping of volunteers and staff in organizational structures, and the effectiveness of... more
The authors examined nineteen nonprofit performing arts organizations, investigating the distribution of influence among organizational members, the grouping of volunteers and staff in organizational structures, and the effectiveness of the organizations. The organizations' effectiveness was assessed using multiple performance indicators. The analysis revealed five groupings or configurations of influence, which correlated to the organizations exhibiting the highest and lowest levels of organizational effectiveness. The authors conclude that a variety of structures are associated with good performance but structural dysfunctions are associated with organizational failure, and that members' commitment to an organization's structure is an important element of success.
This study provided a comprehensive examination of the full range of transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership. Results (based on 626 correlations from 87 sources) revealed an overall validity of .44 for... more
This study provided a comprehensive examination of the full range of transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership. Results (based on 626 correlations from 87 sources) revealed an overall validity of .44 for transformational leadership, and this validity generalized over longitudinal and multisource designs. Contingent reward (.39) and laissez-faire (Ϫ.37) leadership had the next highest overall relations; management by exception (active and passive) was inconsistently related to the criteria. Surprisingly, there were several criteria for which contingent reward leadership had stronger relations than did transformational leadership. Furthermore, transformational leadership was strongly correlated with contingent reward (.80) and laissez-faire (Ϫ.65) leadership. Transformational and contingent reward leadership generally predicted criteria controlling for the other leadership dimensions, although transformational leadership failed to predict leader job performance.
This article describes the development and validation of the Governance Self-Assessment Checklist (GSAC). The GSAC was designed to assist boards of directors of nonprofit and public sector organizations to identify strengths and... more
This article describes the development and validation of the Governance Self-Assessment Checklist (GSAC). The GSAC was designed to assist boards of directors of nonprofit and public sector organizations to identify strengths and weaknesses in the governance of their organizations, educate board members about the essentials of good governance, and improve their governance practices. The instrument comprises 144 items organized into twelve subscales. The results of the study indicated that the subscales have excellent internal consistency reliability, exhibit good criterion-related validity, and are able to discriminate between stronger and weaker aspects of board functioning. The relative strengths and weaknesses in board effectiveness were identified, and the implications of the findings for the assessment of board effectiveness and field applications of the GSAC were discussed. P UBLIC TRUST in boards of directors depends on transparent governance structures and processes and clear accountability to stakeholders. The assessment of board performance is essential for demonstrating accountability and generating public trust. The establishment of causal links between effective boards and strong
This study provided a comprehensive examination of the full range of transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership. Results (based on 626 correlations from 87 sources) revealed an overall validity of .44 for... more
This study provided a comprehensive examination of the full range of transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership. Results (based on 626 correlations from 87 sources) revealed an overall validity of .44 for transformational leadership, and this validity generalized over longitudinal and multisource designs. Contingent reward (.39) and laissez-faire (Ϫ.37) leadership had the next highest overall relations; management by exception (active and passive) was inconsistently related to the criteria. Surprisingly, there were several criteria for which contingent reward leadership had stronger relations than did transformational leadership. Furthermore, transformational leadership was strongly correlated with contingent reward (.80) and laissez-faire (Ϫ.65) leadership. Transformational and contingent reward leadership generally predicted criteria controlling for the other leadership dimensions, although transformational leadership failed to predict leader job performance.
Many nonprofit organizations struggle with the challenges of staying true to their mission in light of increasing reliance on public revenue streams. Casa de Esperanza, a mid-size nonprofit in St. Paul, Minnesota, faces these tensions.... more
Many nonprofit organizations struggle with the challenges of staying true to their mission in light of increasing reliance on public revenue streams. Casa de Esperanza, a mid-size nonprofit in St. Paul, Minnesota, faces these tensions. Although it was founded to support Latinas who experience domestic violence, public funding streams mandated a different approach. This case explores the trade-offs the organizational leaders must consider at a critical juncture in their development.
After giving an overview of the development of social accounting, this article presents two models of social accounting for nonprofits: the community social return on investment model and the expanded value-added statement. The discussion... more
After giving an overview of the development of social accounting, this article presents two models of social accounting for nonprofits: the community social return on investment model and the expanded value-added statement. The discussion focuses on the process for establishing a comparative market value for nonmarket social outputs. The authors discuss these models and the comparative market value in relation to social accounting, an academic field that has evolved as part of a critique of financial accounting, especially its failure to analyze the impact of the organization on society and the natural environment. For the most part, scholars have not related social accounting to nonprofits. This article attempts to draw nonprofits into the field of social accounting. Both models address the social impact of nonprofits by including social inputs and outputs that accounting statements normally exclude.
Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) result from exposure to a traumatic event and influence a person' s ability to cope psychologically. Recent documentation from emergency rooms shows that medical personnel, including... more
Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) result from exposure to a traumatic event and influence a person' s ability to cope psychologically. Recent documentation from emergency rooms shows that medical personnel, including volunteers who treated severely injured people, can develop symptoms of PTSD even though the volunteers themselves were not personally subjected to the stressful event. This article finds similar results among adolescents who volunteered with Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel' s national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance, and blood bank service. Because of the security threats Israel has faced, these adolescents are likely to be exposed to traumatic events during their volunteer service, and some may develop PTSD. This article explores who is most susceptible to developing PTSD and the underlying theories of why that may be the case. Since the adolescents' motives to volunteer vary, the article proposes that volunteers with certain motives retain their enthusiasm for volunteering despite the danger of developing PTSD symptoms. It also finds that some of the motives to volunteer correlated with a reduction in the level of PTSD symptoms. Understanding the adolescents' motivations to volunteer will help nonprofit leaders and managers allocate volunteers according to their motivations and the levels of threat a particular job entails.
This article provides an overview of the literature on nonprofit principal-agent relationships. It depicts the nature of agency theory and stewardship theory, analyzes the origin of their struggle within the nonprofit structure, and marks... more
This article provides an overview of the literature on nonprofit principal-agent relationships. It depicts the nature of agency theory and stewardship theory, analyzes the origin of their struggle within the nonprofit structure, and marks directions for a conciliatory approach. We open with an introduction to agency theory and discuss the two main components of its mathematical branch. We thereby contrast it with stewardship theory and elaborate on the arguments that can affect the position of nonprofit principal-agent relationships on the stewardship-agency axis. Analysis of the existing literature points to a lack of consensus as to which theory should be applied. We argue that the division of nonprofit principalagent relationships into board-manager and manageremployee interactions may help to clarify the balance between agency theory and stewardship theory and may lead to the establishment of a strongly founded theory on nonprofit principal-agent relationships. We close with a discussion of how this article may prove valuable to nonprofit policymakers and other empirical researchers.
The article describes how the social cooperative has become instrumental in the expansion of the social economy in Italy. It reports the contribution these associations have made to broadening the concept and parameters of volunteer... more
The article describes how the social cooperative has become instrumental in the expansion of the social economy in Italy. It reports the contribution these associations have made to broadening the concept and parameters of volunteer organizations, providing basic social welfare services and integrating many disadvantaged people into the active society. By virtue of their ability to activate wider social projects, this type of social enterprise could be of interest and relevance to other countries (following this example, in 2001 the French government created the Sociétés coopératives d'intérét collectif), but they call for adequate competencies and protection under specific laws because, on the whole, they are too small and depended on public contributions.
Investigations of the structures of multinational organizations have been primarily limited to the multinational for-profitfom, while examinations of alternative structural arrangements of nonprofit organizations have been focused on... more
Investigations of the structures of multinational organizations have been primarily limited to the multinational for-profitfom, while examinations of alternative structural arrangements of nonprofit organizations have been focused on single-nation organizations. This article draws on the extensive descriptive literature on nunprofits and the theoretical literature on the structural determinants of organizations to make predictions about the potential range of structures of multinational nunprofits. The authors show that local resource density and environmental variation are key factors in determining multinational nonprofit structures. They conclude that nonprofit organizations operating in multiple national settings are likely to be structured as umbrella organizations that act as an additional layer of hierarchy for multiple indigenous organizations, and that unitmy, hierarchical corporate structures are not likely to be found in these organizations. ENEWED attention has recently been given to alternative structural arrangements within organizations, with a special focus R on the relationships between corporate parents and businesslevel subunits. This interest has led to analysis of network configurations within single organizations (internal networks) and across organizations (external networks) (
1986-87 data for eighty hospitals in Ontario and their foundations are used to assess the influence of various socioeconomic characteristics of the constituent populations and selected characteristics of the beneficiary hospitals on... more
1986-87 data for eighty hospitals in Ontario and their foundations are used to assess the influence of various socioeconomic characteristics of the constituent populations and selected characteristics of the beneficiary hospitals on foundation revenue. Sixfactors appear to increase hospital foundation revenue: a higher percentage of the population that is elderly, a lower percentage of the population born outside Canada, a higher percentage of the population that has not moved within the past year, a larger hospital market share, teaching-status for the beneficiary hospital, and a higher level of foundation expenses. VER THE past twenty years, numerous empirical economic studies of hospitals have been undertaken, but a review of the 0 economics literature reveals that there are few empirical studies of hospital foundations. Booth, Higgins, and Cornelius (1 989) conducted one of the few studies. These authors found that the character of a community has considerable influence on the amount raised in volunteer human service fund-raising campaigns. Analysis of 372 volunteer-run United Way fund-raising campaigns showed that giving was higher in communities with stabIe or declining populations, a high concentration of women in the work force, and high voter turnout and lower in areas of low population density and increasing population, many retail firms and limited manufacturing, and a concentration of government employees. The lack of research into hospital foundations is difficult to understand given the substantial increase in the importance of charitable OJosscy-Bass Inc.. Publishers 314 P I N K , L E A T T fund-raising to hospitals. The literature on health services management is replete with articles advising hospitals how to plan and manage the fund-raising function. It is now timely to investigate hospital foundations, given their increasing role in filling hospital revenue gaps created by fiscal restraint on the part of governments and the increasingly competitive environment faced by hospitals.
This study analyzes the implications of government-contract funding on the staffing pattern of a nonprofit agency, the Canadian Red Cross, Toronto Region. Furthermore, the study explains the implications of the staffing pattern on... more
This study analyzes the implications of government-contract funding on the staffing pattern of a nonprofit agency, the Canadian Red Cross, Toronto Region. Furthermore, the study explains the implications of the staffing pattern on services and on the agency' s organization. Staffing is one area that the literature on nonprofit organizations has not adequately addressed.
The challenges facing nonprofits in North Carolina and most states include devolution and ripple effects at the state level from federal budget cutbacks, government efforts to tax or further regulate nonprofits, scandals involving a few... more
The challenges facing nonprofits in North Carolina and most states include devolution and ripple effects at the state level from federal budget cutbacks, government efforts to tax or further regulate nonprofits, scandals involving a few organizations or their leaders, and efforts to limit nonprofits' right to lobby and advocate for their causes. But the future also holds a number of opportunities for nonprofits, including the increased clout of nonprofits acting together as a sector; partnership initiatives with nonprofits by North Carolina' s governor and chief executives in other states, legislative measures to increase charitable giving and reduce red tape, state-level summits following up on the president' s push for increased volunteerism, and a reservoir of public trust in nonprofits. North Carolina' s experience may predict the future dangers and opportunities in other states.
How do key stakeholders of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) judge the effectiveness of their organization? Are the judgments of stakeholders similar, and how are board effectiveness and the use of practitioner-identified correct management... more
How do key stakeholders of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) judge the effectiveness of their organization? Are the judgments of stakeholders similar, and how are board effectiveness and the use of practitioner-identified correct management procedures related to judgments of effectiveness? This study focuses on a subset of especially effective and less effective NPOs from a larger sample and finds that the especially effective have more effective boards (as judged by various stakeholder groups), have boards with higher social prestige, use more practitioner-identified correct management procedures, and use more change management strategies. Practical implications discussed include adopting more correct management procedures and change management strategies.
This article describes mortality patterns for nonprofit organizations in a major U.S. metropolitan area between 1980 and 1988. Twenty percent of the nonprofits in a panel ceased operations during this period. Mortality rates were found to... more
This article describes mortality patterns for nonprofit organizations in a major U.S. metropolitan area between 1980 and 1988. Twenty percent of the nonprofits in a panel ceased operations during this period. Mortality rates were found to vary widely. In some instances, high mortality was found in parts of the sector that were growing rapidly. Overall, nonprofits that ceased to operate were younger and smaller, used fewer strategies to attract funders, and had less diversified income streams than survivors. These patterns also varied substantially. The results point to the drawbacks of using limited or commonsense information and the necessity of theory-based research.
This article reports on an exploratory study to understand the impact of the new philanthropy on funding recipients by asking nonprofit professionals about their experiences working with giving circles. Giving circles are growing in... more
This article reports on an exploratory study to understand the impact of the new philanthropy on funding recipients by asking nonprofit professionals about their experiences working with giving circles. Giving circles are growing in number across the United States. They are attractive to new philanthropy donors who pool their resources and then decide together where to give them away. They also frequently include social, educational, and volunteer engagement components. Giving circles seem to be an important source of new and expanded resources for nonprofit organizations, but there are both benefits and challenges to working with giving circles that reveal several problematic tensions for nonprofit funding recipients, the philanthropic relationship, and society more broadly.
Our findings suggest that while some nonprofits may be using bingo to raise much-needed funds or provide a social and recreational outlet for organization or community members, bingo is an uncertain financial pursuit for most... more
Our findings suggest that while some nonprofits may be using bingo to raise much-needed funds or provide a social and recreational outlet for organization or community members, bingo is an uncertain financial pursuit for most organizations. We use a descriptive case study of bingo in Indiana to explore and illustrate the issues and questions raised in the article and to set up an agenda for future research on charitable bingo.
This article uses a social return on investment (SROI) methodology to analyze the social impact of a social enterprise offering a job and skills training program to an unemployed, largely female population. The social enterprise is based... more
This article uses a social return on investment (SROI) methodology to analyze the social impact of a social enterprise offering a job and skills training program to an unemployed, largely female population. The social enterprise is based in Toronto (Canada) and run by a nonprofit agency dedicated to the advancement and empowerment of women, primarily immigrants, through access to employment. We focus our analysis on a job and skills training program that provides clients with the skills and tools that they need to successfully seek employment in their efforts to (re-)enter the Canadian labor market. Our goal is to determine the tangible and intangible program outcomes by applying and testing the SROI methodology. 2 Unemployment has severe consequences for individuals and families because it may lead to negative experiences of social exclusion (Schmid and Gazier 2002) and life in poverty (Gallie, Paugam, and Jacobs 2003). However, gaining access to the labor market can be extremely difficult for unemployed individuals, especially for certain marginalized subgroups such as women (International Labor Office 2010; O'Connor 2000) and first-generation immigrants (Zietsma 2007). For women, both individual factors, such as taking care of the family and child rearing, and structural factors, such as welfare state regulations, hinder their success in the labor market (Stier, Lewin-Epstein, and Braun 2001). Successfully accessing the labor market is even more challenging for female immigrants, especially women of color, leading to frustrating migration and job search experiences (Creese and Wiebe 2012; Tastsoglou and Preston 2012). For instance, first-generation immigrants face various discriminatory barriers to full integration into a host society. These barriers include, among others, adapting to a new language, difficulty accessing services, and the devaluation of existing skills and undervaluation of credentials from their countries of origin (Aydemir and Skuterud 2005; Handy and Greenspan 2009; Reitz 2001; Walk et al. 2014). Social enterprises-defined as organizations that aim to achieve a social goal by breaking even (or even making a profit) through the sale of services (Quarter, Ryan, and Chan 2015)-have been regarded as valuable organizational venues for mitigating social exclusion (Kerlin 2010), for example, through the provision of skill and employment training programs to unemployed individuals (Spear and Bidet 2005; Vidal 2005). Investment in skills-training services that target the development of job skills for immigrants and other marginalized groups can facilitate a successful integration into sustainable employment (Cohen-Goldner and Eckstein 2010). Skills-training programs have benefits beyond the acquisition of skills. For participants, these programs boost self-esteem and self-efficacy (Creed, Bloxsome, and Johnston 2001). For employers, they offer increased diversity in the workforce (Kirsh et al. 2010), and such programs create an improved sense of belonging to the community for participants
Volunteers frequently serve public and nonprofit organizations, among them libraries, parks and recreation departments, social service groups, and religious organizations. Research on volunteers and volunteerism traditionally focuses on... more
Volunteers frequently serve public and nonprofit organizations, among them libraries, parks and recreation departments, social service groups, and religious organizations. Research on volunteers and volunteerism traditionally focuses on antecedents to volunteering and outcomes for volunteers. In this study, we attempt to build on the existing literature by examining the volunteer experience from the paid employee' s vantage point. Using a sample of employees who work alongside volunteers in animal care organizations (N ϭ 270), we examine how employees described the volunteers with whom they interact. Although these assessments were generally positive, there was considerable variability. This appears to be explained, in part, by each organization' s volunteer resources management practices.
Small nonpro fit organizations in the health care and human services fields can find themselves frozen into a dependence on gove rnment funding. They run the risk of constricting their management choices and neglecting other potential... more
Small nonpro fit organizations in the health care and human services fields can find themselves frozen into a dependence on gove rnment funding. They run the risk of constricting their management choices and neglecting other potential funding s o u rces. Often a fundamental shift in attitude is necessary in order to deemphasize service-based contracts and to transform private fundraising into a central activity of the business.
The volunteer management literature suggests that the most effective means of recruitment is personal asking. However, agencies that apply this method do not report the expected success in volunteer recruitment. Often they face the... more
The volunteer management literature suggests that the most effective means of recruitment is personal asking. However, agencies that apply this method do not report the expected success in volunteer recruitment. Often they face the volunteer recruitment fallacy: those people assumed to be interested in volunteering do not necessarily volunteer. Based on the literature of shyness or social anxiety and on empirical observations, this article suggests that social anxiety often deters volunteering by new recruits. We hypothesize that people with greater levels of social anxiety will be less likely to volunteer. Furthermore, we hypothesize that people with high social anxiety will prefer to give monetary support to worthy causes rather than volunteer their time, and if they do choose to volunteer, they will do so alongside friends. Our hypotheses are supported based on the findings from a large-scale nonrandom sample in North America. We suggest how to avoid the volunteer recruitment fallacy by creating a personal environment in which high-social-anxiety recruits feel safe and accepted. By removing the fear of being negatively judged by strangers as they enter the agency and creating a more personal approach, new recruits may have a higher probability of becoming long-term and consistent volunteers. Disciplines Disciplines Social Work Comments Comments
Results from a survey of a national sample of 1,190 working adults update findings collected in 1977 (Mirvis and Hackett, 1983) on the characteristics and attitudes of people working in nonprofits. As in the earlier survey, it shows that... more
Results from a survey of a national sample of 1,190 working adults update findings collected in 1977 (Mirvis and Hackett, 1983) on the characteristics and attitudes of people working in nonprofits. As in the earlier survey, it shows that people employed in the private nonprofit sector gain more satisfaction from their jobs than their counterparts in business and government and have more trust in their management. still, people working in nonprofits are just as concerned that their employers will “take advantage” of them and, in contrast to the 1977 survey, are no more psychologically committed to their organizations than are people in the other sectors.
Facing a decline in the number of hours donated to nonprofit organizations, volunteer coordinators must strive to determine the most effective strategies for retaining volunteers. Relationship management theory provides a framework to... more
Facing a decline in the number of hours donated to nonprofit organizations, volunteer coordinators must strive to determine the most effective strategies for retaining volunteers. Relationship management theory provides a framework to gauge the well-being of an organization's relationship with its stakeholders. Through surveys administered to 317 teenage volunteers at three library systems, this study found that of four factors—trust, commitment, satisfaction, and control mutuality—trust had the strongest ability to predict intent to continue volunteering. Further analysis revealed that trust could be enhanced by including teenagers in work groups throughout the organization, seeking their input on organizational decisions, and ensuring they receive formal and informal organizational communications.
This study examines stipended volunteers-those volunteers who engage freely in a helping activity within a formal organizational structure but receive some type of remuneration for their services. Based on a sample of AmeriCorps members... more
This study examines stipended volunteers-those volunteers who engage freely in a helping activity within a formal organizational structure but receive some type of remuneration for their services. Based on a sample of AmeriCorps members from three states, we identify several motivational, demographic, and individual factors that affect retention of stipended volunteers. We conclude that retention depends more on instrumental career-related factors than on altruistic motivation or meaningfulness of the service.
This analysis examines rates of international volunteering among various demographic groups in the United States using data from the 2005 Current Population Survey. We use logistic regression analyses to address the importance of... more
This analysis examines rates of international volunteering among various demographic groups in the United States using data from the 2005 Current Population Survey. We use logistic regression analyses to address the importance of inclusion. Those most likely to serve overseas are white, highly educated, young, foreign-born individuals without dependent children in the home and not employed full-time. As a type of volunteering implemented primarily through the nonprofit sector, these findings suggest implications for recruitment and retention of volunteers who serve abroad.
This study explores the attitudes of leaders of religious congregations toward computers. We uncover attitudes toward information (and thus toward computers) that are different from those reported for leaders in other organizational... more
This study explores the attitudes of leaders of religious congregations toward computers. We uncover attitudes toward information (and thus toward computers) that are different from those reported for leaders in other organizational contexts. In short, clergy felt that systematically collecting and storing information and trying to serve as many people as possible could distract them from what is distinctive about their jobs—that the job in a religious congregation is accomplished through personal rather than transactional relationships.