<p>This thesis presents a model of the characteristics of an effective nonprofit organisation and a practical tool to evaluate the extent to which nonprofit organisations comply with these characteristics. As part of identifying the characteristics of effective nonprofit organisations, it was necessary to establish whether or not nonprofit organisations and businesses were distinct from one another, since this would determine whether research on the characteristics of effective businesses could be applied to nonprofit organisations. An exploration of the key similarities and defining differences between nonprofit organisations and businesses subsequently revealed a number of startling and unexpected insights.</p>

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) provide vital services to the communities they serve. These organizations are funded primarily by individual contributions from supporters. Academic researchers and practitioners have examined donor behavior extensively. Yet, little research exists that examines donor behavior over the Internet. The Internet presents a cost effective means for nonprofit organizations to reach new audiences, attract supporters and solicit donations. The Internet offers a combination of new media characteristics that differ from traditional channels. Understanding how these new media characteristics influence the antecedents of donor behavior may lead to higher online donations for nonprofit organizations. This research explored the relationship between Internet media characteristics and the antecedents of online donor behavior using the Media Richness Theory. Participants were selected for this study and randomly divided into two treatment groups. Each group received an e-mail from a previously unknown nonprofit organization. The e-mail introduced the organization and provided a link to the organization's website. Both the invitation message and the website were constructed to offer different media characteristics for each treatment group. After visiting the site, participants were asked to complete a 30-item Web-based survey. The data were first analyzed for differences in the mean scores for each treatment group. A simple t-test followed to corroborate these findings. Results indicated there is a relationship between media richness and an individual's perception in the quality of service offered by the experimental NPO. Additionally, there is a positive relationship between media richness and an individual's trust in the experimental NPO. These findings lay the foundation for future studies that analyze online donor behavior.

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.

The aim of this dissertation is to study the relationship between the management of human resources of nonprofit organizations and the organizational transformations, using ¡¥Institution of Tainan Home of Philanthropy of Taiwan¡¦ as a model. Institution of Tainan Home of Philanthropy belongs to one of the nonprofit social welfare organizations in Taiwan, and its history can be traced back to as early as Qing Dynasty at 23 Kangxi Age (in 1684). In the early years, it certainly played a governmental role as in carrying the burdens and responsibilities to support welfares and help the minorities, and that is how it could gain its renowned title. After several integrations and expansions, it develops into the largest and the most well-developed and fully-established charity in Taiwan, which is truly a classic model representing the nonprofit organization. Because its fame and influential status in the national welfare society, many focuses have been concentrated on whether this organization can maintain its competitiveness and long-lasting operation. This study investigates the management of human resources, the organizational transformation, and the achievement and performance by the nonprofit institutions, and it also discusses if implementation of reorganization can result in an improved performance by the Institution of Tainan Home of Philanthropy so that the institution can keep on existing in the society and continue running to provide unlimited supply of high quality services to the public. The case study method is used as a tool, and extensive literatures are collected as references and resources for later analysis and examination in this study. Moreover, five volunteers are chosen to be interviewed in great detail, and the information gathered from the interview is then subject to SWOT analysis, which is beneficial to the discussion of the research questions. The major conclusions are drawn as following: 1.Extrinsic environmental impacts result in increased level of competitions between nonprofit organizations; therefore, intrinsic environments of these organizations require to have very robust committee boards to function and to strengthen the management of the human resources. Moreover, obsolete facilities need to be replaced in order to elevate competitiveness; as a result, reorganization is necessarily to be conducted. 2.The committee board is the foundation and the key to direct the policy development; consequently, it plays as the most important catalyst to promote transformation of nonprofit organizations. 3.Practicing human resource evaluations, monitoring achievements of the staff, printing out the employee¡¦s manuals for them to be aware of their work contents and duties, and fairly conducting performance reviews of workers annually can help increase productivity and maintain high performance of the workforce. 4.Developing an institutionalized environment, fulfilling legal administrations and conducts, and always following rules from the manuals can greatly eliminate too much of self-consciousness and any legal discrimination. 5.Establishing employee assessment allows the staff to be on the same competition platform and to have the courage to face challenges so that any resistance for organizational transformation can be prevented and a close relationship between human resources and reorganization can be developed.

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<p>This thesis presents a model of the characteristics of an effective nonprofit organisation and a practical tool to evaluate the extent to which nonprofit organisations comply with these characteristics. As part of identifying the characteristics of effective nonprofit organisations, it was necessary to establish whether or not nonprofit organisations and businesses were distinct from one another, since this would determine whether research on the characteristics of effective businesses could be applied to nonprofit organisations. An exploration of the key similarities and defining differences between nonprofit organisations and businesses subsequently revealed a number of startling and unexpected insights.</p>

Magister Economicae - MEcon (Social Development) / This thesis presents a model of the characteristics of an effective nonprofit organisation and a practical tool to evaluate the extent to which nonprofit organisations comply with these characteristics. As part of identifying the characteristics of effective nonprofit organisations, it was necessary to establish whether or not nonprofit organisations and businesses were distinct from one another, since this would determine whether research on the characteristics of effective businesses could be applied to nonprofit organisations. An exploration of the key similarities and defining differences between nonprofit organisations and businesses subsequently revealed a number of startling and unexpected insights. / South Africa

From fall 2003 to spring 2004 I served as an intern producing ART JAM, a free, interactive children's arts festival for KID smART. KID smART is a nonprofit 501 c.3. organization created to teach positive life skills to underserved children through hands-on arts activities in New Orleans, LA. ART JAM is an interactive children's arts festival presented by KID smART. The festival serves as a major public relations campaign and serves to advocate that the arts are important in the lives of all children. This report is broken into 5 chapters and details the activity of producing ART JAM 2004. Chapter 1 is an introduction KID smART and ART JAM including its mission, history, organizational structure, funding, and programs. Chapter 2 is a description of my internship including tasks and responsibilities. Chapter 3 is an exploration of organizational issues including strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities. Research and explanation of "Best Practices" along with recommendations will be discussed in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 analyzes the short and long term effects of the internship on KID smART and ART JAM.

The main aim of my thesis is to propose a public relations strategy for swimming club to communicate effectively with given target groups. In the theoretical section I briefly describe the marketing and commercial communications, with emphasis on the possibilities of promotion using the tools of public relations. I focus mainly on the practical use of each instrument and determination of the correct procedure to build an appropriate strategy for a nonprofit organization, which is a swimming club TJ Pozemstav Prostejov. In the practical part, I suggest the strategy of communication using public relations. The strategy was realized in the period from March to December 2011. In conclusion, I evaluate the success and the effectiveness of the campaign and suggest changes for the future.

In recent years, the expansion of urban area and advances in business and technology have brought about transformation in modern society, democratic reforms and impacts on globalization. At the same time,¡@they also have brought tension upon the society. The interaction and connections between people has distanced with developments in the society, and have created a lack of interest in public affairs and social agenda. In addition, due to lack of government resources,¡@needs of the multitude could not be satisfied. It is thus necessary, through organized mobilization of social forces, to recall public interests in public affairs. Since the martial law lifted in 1987, the public has regained the freedom to organize and associate. Numerous private associations have shot out , particularly non-profit organizations. Due to their ¡§not for profit ¡¨ characteristic, and focus on the welfare of the community, it is effective in motivating participation and devotion. It thus is able to demonstrate the richest vitality of the society and is one of the most important models of civilian participation on community. The objective of this study is to investigate the influences of non-profit organiza- tions building social network on community development. Tree and Trees Community Empowerment Association of Kaohsiung City was the focus of this case study. Through literature review, in-depth interview and observation, an understanding of how non-profit organizations operate through the society has been gained. It has further established how non-profit organizations tap external resources and revitalize community resources to construct a perpetual community life. It is hoped from the study that effective recommendations could be made for other community organizations seeking development. The results of the study are: 1. Social network of the leader: From the organization structure of the association, whether in decision-making, execution and financial support, the more involvement of the community, and participation of core members, the more influences on community events it will have when the network of members is considerable. 2. Autonomous operation: An important criterion of non-profit organization autonomy is financial independence. In addition to donations, the association acquires financial resources by their specialty. This allows the association to operate independently without restriction, not as found in other community development association. 3. Public participation: Community development will go nowhere without human resources. In the process of re- constructing the Kaohsiung Original Botanical Garden, though gaining substantial support from community inhabitants, there are still some who hold cold attitude. Furthermore, civilian interest in public affair is mostly limited to their benefits. There is much more human resource in the community that remains undeveloped and unutilized. This is a common problem faced by non-profit organizations in Taiwan .