Thesis. 1979. M.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Alfred P. Sloan School of Management. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND DEWEY. / Bibliography: leaf 92. / M.S.

This study evaluated one important dimension of nonprofit self-regulation, the relationship between the Iowa Register of Accountability and voluntary website disclosure by Iowa nonprofits. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of self-regulation in Iowa to improve accountability as measured by voluntary website disclosure and transparency. As part of the study, an instrument was developed to reliably measure nonprofit website disclosure and transparency. The disclosure score ratings from Iowa Register of Accountability nonprofit organizations were compared to those not listed on the Register. Other factors relevant to disclosure and transparency (e.g. the method to become listed on the Iowa Register of Accountability and the type and number of organization staff members who received training) were also tested. Results indicated that nonprofit organizations listed on the Iowa Register of Accountability were more likely to have active websites and to voluntarily disclose recommended information on their websites than those Iowa nonprofits that have not sought or achieved listing on the Register. In particular, the Register group had statistically higher mean disclosure scores in four areas (Key Staff, Strategic Plan, Annual Reports, and Audit and Financial Statements) compared to the Non-Register group. Contrary to expectations, the method to become listed on the Iowa register of Accountability and the type and number of staff members who received training were not related to higher disclosure scores. The important finding of this research is that nonprofit organizations listed on the Iowa Register of Accountability were more likely to voluntarily disclose recommended information on their websites than those Iowa nonprofits that have not sought or achieved listing on the Register. Recommendations are made in terms of ways to improve nonprofit website disclosure and transparency by enhancing and expanding training opportunities. A major contribution of this study for future research in the field was the development of a disclosure scoring instrument to assess and compare website disclosure and transparency.

The primary objective of this dissertation is to study the management of public and nonprofit resources and financial risk. Governments will be able to use its findings to continue to provide public services in collaboration with other sectors, including the nonprofit sector. Nonprofit financial self-sufficiency and sub-award grant mechanisms between the government and nonprofit sectors are two primary areas to be examined. This dissertation consists of three essays. The first investigates how the diversification of nonprofit revenue portfolios influences extreme revenue risks; the results show that the chance of extreme revenue loss increases when revenue sources are highly correlated to each other. The second essay examines the impact of strenuous state fiscal conditions on nonprofit organizations based in different U.S. states in order to report on generalizable empirical research on sub-award grant mechanisms, state and local government grants awarded to nonprofit organizations. The third essay explores the nonprofit sector’s response to economic shocks, and whether specific state characteristics intensified or mitigated the impact of the economic crisis. The findings from this dissertation can help nonprofit-sector scholars and practitioners understand different perspectives of market risk, revenue risk and portfolio development, and financial stability related to government grants.

Using rated responses from nonprofit CEOs who participated in the 2016 BoardSource national survey, this study investigates whether nonprofit board inclusive behavior or board inclusive practices are positively correlated with nonprofit board effectiveness. It further examines whether a critical mass of racial and ethnic minority or women board members may moderate the relationship stated above. To answer these questions, the study tested six hypotheses using principal component analysis, followed by hierarchical regression analysis, and found no evidence of statistical significance in main or moderator effects. The study recommends that policymakers should frame policies that ensure mandatory quotas for women and racioethnic minority board members for nonprofits that receive government funding and/or act as alternative service delivery agents for governments. In addition, the nonprofit CEOs should promote the learning-integration perspective of group inclusion to help maximize the experience of inclusion of board members. The study further recommends that nonprofit boards should promote pluralistic diversity, abandon tokenism, and foster an inclusive environment for all board members irrespective of their gender and color.

Creating revenue diversification forces nonprofit leaders to create innovative programs and services, build resilience against adverse conditions, and establish a sustainable future. The problem is that some nonprofit managers lack strategies for developing a diversified financial portfolio to achieve sustainability. The purpose of this single-case study was to explore the revenue diversification strategies used by 3 leaders of a nonprofit organization in the eastern region of the United States through the conceptual lens of Markowitz's modern portfolio theory and Thaler's behavioral finance theory. Data were collected using purposeful sampling, semistructured interviews, and analysis of organizational documents, social media platforms, and online databases. Four categories were used to organize the data: process strengths, process opportunities, results strengths, and results opportunities. The key themes that emerged from process strengths and results strengths were utilizing volunteers, collaborating with local partners, developing diverse revenue streams, strong fiscal management, program innovation, and evaluating the market. The key themes that emerged from process opportunities and results opportunities were the lack of written processes and procedures, the lack of process improvement strategies and performance measurement outcomes, the lack of knowledge about donor attrition and retention, and high turnover in the executive director position. Organizational leaders who focus on diversifying revenue streams can serve the mission instead of chasing funding streams that have become more competitive. The social change implication of these findings is that nonprofit leaders could create sustainability through diverse revenue streams, ensuring long-term employment, and sustaining positive social impacts.

Leaders of nonprofit organizations and researchers who focus on organizational performance affirm that improved youth programs are a crucial component of performance excellence and organizational sustainability. As seen through the lens of transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this single-case study was to explore the strategies used by 3 executive-level leaders/managers of a nonprofit organization in the southwestern region of the United States to equip families to overcome poverty, conquer homelessness, and achieve self-sufficiency. Data collected from semistructured interviews, organizational documents, and publicly available resources were manually coded and then analyzed. The 2 key themes that emerged were effective collaboration for strategy development and leveraging core competencies. Strategy development could help leaders of nonprofit organizations that serve children and families (a) increase enrollment and improve skills of program participants, (b) improve children's behavior and engagement in the community, and (c) improve action plan completion. The implication of this study for positive social change includes the potential to help leaders of nonprofit organizations equip youth with job skills to decrease the cycle of homelessness.

Voluntary employee turnover is a concern for nonprofit leaders due to human capital's strategic role in achieving performance excellence. The consequences of volunteer turnover include loss of profitability, productivity, knowledge, and financial stability. The purpose of this single-case study was to explore strategies used by 3 leaders of a nonprofit organization in the Washington, DC, area who have experience with the nonprofit's employee retention efforts. Data were collected from semistructured face-to-face interviews and organizational documentation and analyzed through the conceptual lens of Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory. Data gathered from interviews and analyses of organizational data and performance outcomes were manually coded and thematically organized. The use of member checking the data and methodological triangulation increased the trustworthiness of data interpretation and the study. Three key themes emerged: (a) training and development, (b) advancement opportunities, and (c) strategic leadership. Through analysis of data collected for this study, nonprofit leaders can assess their employees' development needs and provide training to support their growth. Nonprofit leaders may support their employees' development by creating a career path by aligning tenure with advancement and formal training. Nonprofit leaders' actions and decisions affect workforce commitment. Nonprofit employees are intrinsically motivated to create positive social change and make an impact on nonprofits' stakeholders via programs and services. Nonprofit leaders can use this study to improve retention strategies, ensure their employees' wellbeing, and contribute to positive social change by assisting employees in ensuring stakeholder wellbeing.

Many leaders of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) lack strategies to build and maintain a financially sustainable organization to continue providing vital social services. The purpose of this single case study was to explore the financial strategies some NPO leaders used to maintain financial sustainability during general economic downturns. Five purposively selected leaders of an NPO in northwestern Indiana participated in the study. The resource dependency theory and the change management theory were the conceptual frameworks that guided the study. Data were collected from face-to-face and telephone interviews and a review of company documentation. Member checking was conducted with participants and data triangulation occurred with an analysis of organization documents that reinforced the validity of the findings. Data were analyzed using Yin's 5-step process of coding of participants' responses, including examining, categorizing, tabulating, creating a data display, and testing the data. Data analysis of organizational documents, interview transcripts, and the organization's social media sites revealed 3 themes: partnerships, fundraising, and diversification as the strategies used to maintain financial sustainability during periods of economic downturns. The findings of this study might contribute to positive social change by providing information to NPO leaders to help improve financial strategies and sustainability for community service organizations during general economic downturns and maintain social services.

<p>The topic of this thesis is performance measurement in nonprofit organizations. The reason for choosing this topic is a common interest for the nonprofit sector as well as the increased attention in the media on nonprofits and what they accomplish. Scientifically our study is justified by the fact that there are very few studies made on performance measurement in Swedish nonprofits.</p><p>The problem definition was formulated as How, why and with what experiences do Swedish Civil Society Organizations measure performance? And the purpose with our study is to convey to an understanding of Swedish civil society organizations’experiences of performance measurement from the perspective of the management.</p><p>Considering the type of problem definition and purpose a qualitative research approach were chosen. Another reason for choosing a gualitative approach was the fact that we intended to find new information rather than to test existing theories. Semi-structured</p><p>telephone interviews were conducted with respondents from five framework organizations to Sida. The choice to only include framework organizations means that our results are limited in its application to other civil society organizations. Sida has a strong power to influence the evaluation and reporting in these organizations through the framework agreements.</p><p>In the theoretical background theories and earlier research in the area of performance measurement and nonprofits are included, for example research done on reasons for measuring performance both in for-profits and in nonprofits. A couple of performance measurement frameworks designed for nonprofits are presented.</p><p>Performance measurement is much discussed and under development among the studied organizations. However, the concept as such has not gained ground yet since it is quite a new phenomenon in the nonprofit sector in Sweden. The main reason for measuring performance is the pressure from stakeholders, foremost from Sida. The close relationship to Sida highly affects how performance is measured and the Logical Framework Approach is the foundation for their performance measurement. How widely it is used differ however and it is mainly used for reporting and evaluation purposes. Allrespondents have experienced difficulties when measuring performance and during the interviews we have identified a number of factors that complicate measurement; the results of a project are often shown much later from when the activities took place and the many stakeholders involved. Moreover the respondents express that there has to be a balance between how much time and resources that should be put on measuring activities and how much of their efforts that should be put directly into their projects, a balance that is experienced as difficult to achieve. All respondents believe that there are things to be gained from measuring performance and many of the organizations have started to cooperate with other organization in order to develop their performance measurement.</p>

<p>Under de senaste 30 åren har större uppmärksamhet riktats mot hjälporganisationer och deras verksamhet. Detta har lett till att västvärlden successivt börjat donera mer pengar till de bidragsberoende hjälporganisationerna. Samtidigt som donationerna ökat har konkurrensen mellan hjälporganisationerna vuxit. För att öka sina chanser i konkurrensen om överlevnad måste man därför differentiera sig från sina konkurrenter. Ett sätt att sticka ut i mediebruset är att erbjuda donation via designade produkter till försäljning.</p><p>Syftet med denna uppsats är att genom en fallstudie analysera och utvärdera vad hjälporganisationer bör ha i åtanke då de via försäljning av designade produkter vill väcka intresse för verksamheten och på sikt bygga fler relationer med bidragsgivare.</p><p>Uppsatsen har även ett delsyfte som är att genom en enkätundersökning utröna om det finns ett intresse hos människor till donation via designade produkter.</p><p>Med hänsyn till företagsekonomiska teorier har vi kommit fram till viktiga faktorer som hjälporganisationerna bör tänka på i sin kontakt med bidragsgivarna. Dessa teorier har sedan jämförts med verkligheten genom djupintervjuer på personer som har strategiskt viktiga positioner på Röda Korset samt Bris. Studien har sedan kompletterats med en enkätundersökning på 200 personer för att få en bild av vad människor har för attityd till kopplingen mellan välgörenhet och designade produkter.</p><p>Utifrån resultatet på fallstudien har vi kommit fram till att design är ett kraftfullt verktyg för hjälporganisationerna då de vill väcka intresse för verksamheten och på lång sikt knyta till sig fler bidragsgivare. Men bara om det utnyttjas på rätt sätt.</p><p>Vår enkätundersökning visar dessutom att det finns ett stort intresse från respondenterna att bidra till hjälporganisationer genom att köpa designade produkter.</p><p>De framgångsfaktorer vi observerat för lyckade designprojekt hos hjälporganisationer är att de alla varit högexponerade, väckt intresse genom att associera produkten till ett känt namn samt funnits på strategiskt viktiga försäljningsplatser. I dagsläget använder hjälporganisationer design, men utnyttjar det i alldeles för liten utsträckning. Därför bör de arbeta mer med att utveckla denna metod.</p>