Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers have long been active in lobbying the federal and state governments in support of CTE through their professional organizations, but these are not traditionally considered interest groups. This study sought to determine if the formal relationships—dues agreements—between the two largest national professional organizations, and their state affiliates had an impact on state funding for CTE. The impacts of professional organization unity, membership rates, and lobbying expenses on state-level CTE funding were analyzed through the lens of interest group theory, a subfield of political science. Within this population (N = 13), 1) a link was found between dues agreement type and funding; 2) Agricultural educators joined their professional organization(s) at higher rates than other CTE teachers; 3) a low relationship was discovered between professional organization membership percentages and funding; and 4) a high degree of relationship was found between lobbying expenses and funding.

Die Studie „Demokratische Bildung im ‚Förderdickicht“‘ untersucht die komplexe Finanzierungs- und Förderstruktur der außerschulischen politischen Bildung in Sachsen. Basierend auf leitfadengestützten Interviews und einem Forschung-Praxis-Dialog mit Akteur:innen aus Politik, Verwaltung und Bildungsprojekten beleuchtet die Analyse die dickichtartige sächsische Förderlandschaft und deren Herausforderungen. Jene ist u.a. durch eine Vielzahl von Förderprogrammen und -bedingungen gekennzeichnet, welche die Übersichtlichkeit und Zugänglichkeit erheblich erschweren. Die Ergebnisse zeigen vier zentrale Spannungsfelder auf: Erstens führen divergierende Erwartungen und Misskommunikation zwischen Projektträger:innen und Fördermittelgeber:innen zu Unsicherheiten und Unverständnis. Zweitens belasten aufwändige bürokratische Vorgaben und ein inhärenter Innovationszwang die Projektträger:innen, während öffentliche Fördermittelgeber:innen unter politischem Rechtfertigungsdruck stehen. Drittens erschwert die kleinteilige Förderlandschaft und mangelnde Übersicht die Orientierung und Abstimmung zwischen verschiedenen Förderprogrammen. Viertens führt das Ungleichgewicht zwischen Projektförderung und Daueraufgaben politischer Bildung zu prekären Arbeitsbedingungen und Fachkräftemangel. Auf Basis dieser Ergebnisse werden Lösungsansätze entwickelt, um die Effizienz der Fördermittelvergabe zu erhöhen und die Arbeit der Projektträger:innen zu erleichtern. Die Studie zielt darauf ab, Wege aufzuzeigen, wie das sächsische „Förderdickicht” gelichtet werden kann, um die Finanzierung politisch-demokratischer Bildung transparenter und zugänglicher zu gestalten. Es finden sich zudem Anregungen zur Diskussion über die zukünftige Ausgestaltung einer nachhaltigen Finanzierungsstrategie für politisch-demokratische Bildung in Sachsen und darüber hinaus.:1. Einleitung 2. Methodisches Vorgehen 3. Die Förderlandschaft demokratischer Bildung – Das sächsische „Förderdickicht“ 4. Die Finanzierung außerschulischer politischer Bildung in Sachsen – Ein Spannungsfeld 4.1 … zwischen divergierenden Erwartungen und Misskommunikation 4.2 … zwischen Bürokratie, Innovationszwang, Verwaltungsvorgaben und Rechtfertigungsdruck 4.3 … zwischen kleinteiliger Förderlandschaft und mangelnder Übersicht, Abgrenzung und Gesamtstrategie 4.4 … zwischen Projektförderung und politischer Bildung als Daueraufgabe 5. Lösungsansätze für eine passfähige Förderlandschaft 5.1 Kommunikation und Beziehungsarbeit 5.2 Flexibilität und Digitalisierung 5.3 Strukturierung und Koordinierung 5.4 Kontinuität und Verstetigung 6. Diskussion von Handlungsempfehlungen und Schlussfolgerungen 6.1 Was bereits getan wird 6.2 Was es darüber hinaus braucht 7. Literaturverzeichnis

Non-government organisations (NGOs) are special kinds of organisation which focus on serving the common good in society. Historically they have helped the needy, disadvantaged and vulnerable people and communities. The view that society had of NGOs has changed: they are no longer seen as charity and welfare organisations but as valuable partners in the context of sustainable development. Although many different non-profit organisations exist, all strive towards development, betterment and upliftment. These organisations are dependent on funding, yet need to be sustainable, which creates the challenge of obtaining funding in order to render services. This research explored the current funding context, using Bramley’s Children’s Home as a case study, in order to identify the challenges experienced by NGOs in obtaining adequate funding. It also investigated the perceptions of management regarding the impact of these challenges on the sustainability of the organisation. The research findings indicate that funding is seen as a common dilemma in this sector, and that there is a lack of sufficient long-term investment from donors. The effect is that NGOs struggle to implement much-needed services and therefore improving services in order to address the constantly changing needs of people remains a challenge. Emphasis has been placed on the importance of collaboration between the NGO sector, the business sector and government. By establishing partnerships each sector can benefit when contributing to sustainable development and can possibly also address the challenge of funding within NGOs. This research strives to showcase the important role of NGOs within the context of sustainable development, with specific reference to Bramley Children’s Home in addressing the social problem of caring for and protecting vulnerable children. / Master of Development and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Non-government organisations (NGOs) are special kinds of organisation which focus on serving the common good in society. Historically they have helped the needy, disadvantaged and vulnerable people and communities. The view that society had of NGOs has changed: they are no longer seen as charity and welfare organisations but as valuable partners in the context of sustainable development. Although many different non-profit organisations exist, all strive towards development, betterment and upliftment. These organisations are dependent on funding, yet need to be sustainable, which creates the challenge of obtaining funding in order to render services. This research explored the current funding context, using Bramley’s Children’s Home as a case study, in order to identify the challenges experienced by NGOs in obtaining adequate funding. It also investigated the perceptions of management regarding the impact of these challenges on the sustainability of the organisation. The research findings indicate that funding is seen as a common dilemma in this sector, and that there is a lack of sufficient long-term investment from donors. The effect is that NGOs struggle to implement much-needed services and therefore improving services in order to address the constantly changing needs of people remains a challenge. Emphasis has been placed on the importance of collaboration between the NGO sector, the business sector and government. By establishing partnerships each sector can benefit when contributing to sustainable development and can possibly also address the challenge of funding within NGOs. This research strives to showcase the important role of NGOs within the context of sustainable development, with specific reference to Bramley Children’s Home in addressing the social problem of caring for and protecting vulnerable children. / Master of Development and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Abstract  Background:                     In an equity crowdfunding campaign, the investor receives shares in the company in return for the investment, which makes equity crowdfunding similar to traditional sources of equity funding. Nevertheless, skeptics have referred to equity crowdfunding as “dumb money”, since it might not provide similar non-financial value added as realized from professional investors. The main literature used for the frame of reference were Boué (2007), Macht and Robinson (2008) and Macht and Weatherston (2014). The literature worked as a basis for deriving a table, outlining the non-financial value added received by venture capitalists and business angels, as well as showing where literature is lacking regarding non-financial value added by equity crowdfunding investors. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis was to explore the non-financial value added by equity crowdfunding investors to the entrepreneur. This purpose was answered by two research questions: (1) Do equity crowdfunding investors provide similar non-financial value added to the entrepreneur as traditional equity funding investors do? (2) Are there any additional non-financial value added realized from equity crowdfunding? Method: This thesis follows the interpretivist research paradigm and undertakes an abductive research approach in order to explore the purpose. Primary data was collected through semi-structured interviews with seven entrepreneurs who had successfully conducted an equity crowdfunding campaign in Sweden. Secondary data was collected from peer-reviewed articles containing relevant theories and models. Conclusion: This research suggests that there are similarities between professional investors and equity crowdfunding investors in terms of non-financial value added. The contribution from equity crowdfunding investors seems to be dependent on the effort that the entrepreneur puts into the relationship with the investors. Furthermore, equity crowdfunding also allows the entrepreneur to maintain ownership and control over the company. However, each equity crowdfunding case is different and there are no guarantees of receiving certain types of investors.

The Great Recession dramatically reframed the debate on funding for the arts from a social one to a fiscal one. Instead of social ideology, economics came to the forefront; and fiscal conservatives replaced social conservatives as the loudest voice criticizing government funding for the arts. Under the shadow of an expanding government and staggering national debt, both supporters and critics argue in terms of the economic costs and benefits that the arts impose. These arguments against public funding for the arts are multi-tiered. Critics contend that the government arts agencies are ineffective, that federal arts funding is inefficient, and that government funding as a whole is an unjustified overreach of government. Fiscal conservatives also argue that private philanthropy is sufficient to sustain the arts independently without government involvement. But because public and private funding for the arts respond to recessionary impacts so differently and decreases in private philanthropy impact the arts disproportionately, public arts funding is absolutely justified on an economic basis. With the inclusion of social and political considerations, however, the final conclusion is that neither private nor public funding can or should independently provide a complete solution to the issue.

The main objective of my thesis paper is to determine which organizations from a wide range of NGOs, including their donor relationships, are susceptible to funding manipulation and why. Through review of a focused selection of literature and case studies, I seek to identify a pattern of characteristics or variables among the weaker organizations which increases vulnerability to such practices. I will review the organizations' size, market competition, funding strategies, and supply-led contracts. I intend to conclude with the various ways in which NGO's can protect against funding manipulation.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the capital project financing methods of Texas community college districts, including an analysis of successful general obligation bond elections. A two-phase research approach was used in this analysis. The first part of the research investigation surveyed 65 community college executives and administrators representing 50 community college districts in Texas. College leaders were asked to participate in an online survey regarding finance methods used to fund capital projects. This included leaders who have participated in general obligation bond referendums on their college campuses. Thirty-four out of 65 leaders responded to the survey, which resulted in a 52.3% response rate. The second part of the investigation disaggregated survey response information from district college leaders into two groups: Those who finance capital projects utilizing general obligation bonds (GO bond) and those who use other methods than general obligation bonds to fund capital improvements or renovations. A cross-sectional study was conducted during the second phase, which investigated 12 community college district leaders’ processes and strategies of passing general obligation bond elections from 1998 to 2008. As a follow-up to the survey instrument, 11 interviews were conducted from GO and non-GO bond community college districts. The results from the findings led to the following conclusions. Each community college district is unique in how capital projects are funded. The commonalities that existed among survey participants and the personal interviews conducted were establishing strong community relationships prior to the planning of bond campaigns. The data reinforced the basic premise of building key relationships with civic/business leaders early on in the process. The importance of creating an environment that focuses on open communication and trust in support of the college was a determining factor for winning bond elections. The recommendations that emerged from this study were community college leaders must begin a dialogue to share best practices in capital project funding. Secondly, community college leaders must advocate for an organized system of data collection to record general obligation bond elections from their state agencies. Lastly, an organization for capital project advocacy must be created. / text

Eighty-three Texas high school football stadiums have opened since 2008. Both pro stadiums and amateur stadiums have found their way into the ire of economists, who decry such expensive projects as lavish and foolhardy. Sociologists meanwhile point to ambition and pride as contributing to the growth of professional and amateur stadiums. / text

Strategic planning in conservation of natural protected areas should include a human component, since human activity can threaten the health of the natural site. It is the competition for the resources that makes management of these areas a contentious issue. Effective education is key in resolving such issues and in ensuring that informed decisions are made concerning the uses of these valuable natural assets. This study tests this assumption in two phases.The first phase addresses the need to present a wider picture on the current state of environmental education practices in Mexico: Who is engaging in environmental education practices? How important is it for their organization? Who are they targeting and which methods and settings are they choosing and what environmental issues are they addressing? To achieve this, we administered a survey to 118 representatives from conservation and environmental education agencies and organizations in Mexico. Results show that conservation non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are taking the lead in the field of environmental education in Mexico. Education appears to be an important tool that is used widely by environmental and conservation organizations. At the same time, there seems to be a serious lack of funding.The second phase concentrates on conservation education, a specific aspect of environmental education that focuses on biodiversity issues. This is a growing field in Mexico, thanks especially to the system of Natural Protected Areas and the supporting network of conservation NGOs. This phase of the study presented a comparative analysis of perceived roles of education in the conservation of nature, between Mexico and the US and between practitioners and funders. In this phase we also compared the prescribed parameters defined by well known frameworks from academia with those perceived by education and conservation practitioners. We used a combination of online surveying and content analysis to evaluate this issue. Results illustrate that there are similarities between Mexico and the U.S., but with key differences in the target audiences, methods and settings. Funders do not consider education one of their high priorities, while practitioners do. This discrepancy may hamper the growth and maturation of conservation education in Mexico.