Nonprofits need dedicated people to meet the mission of the organization and to address the social and societal conditions they were established to address. How are nonprofit organizations cultivating the next generation of leaders? With five generations of workers in the workplace, the field for new, nonprofit, board-level volunteers is large. However, research shows that young professionals and marginalized racial minorities are underrepresented or not represented in this area. Why is this our current reality and what is hindering the service of these leaders on nonprofit boards? This dissertation examines the role of representation in generational and racial terms on the board of directors of nonprofit organizations in South Carolina. / Business Administration/Human Resource Management

This report documents my experience as a graduate arts administration intern at Pelican Bomb, a New Orleans contemporary visual art nonprofit. The internship was completed over the course of seven (7) months from January to July 2015. Starting with an overview of the organizational structure, mission, and programming, this report analyzes the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The report concludes with best practices and recommendations with a focus on board development, strategic planning, staff retention, and membership. The insights provided in this report are designed to enhance Pelican Bomb’s operations as it prepares for organizational growth.

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.