Nonprofit Effectiveness Research Articles

“I Love My Job.” Factors of Corporate Well-Being in NGOs and Hypotheses on the Role of Evaluation

When representatives of non-profit organizations discuss well-being or quality of life, the focus usually centers on their beneficiaries. It is quite natural, since non-profit organizations (NGOs) are founded to solve the problems of those in need and enhance their quality of life. The well-being of NGO employees often remains overlooked, though it significantly influences the effectiveness of NGOs and, ultimately, their ability to aid their beneficiaries.

How Managerial Practices Impact Perceived Organizational Effectiveness: A Study of Corporate Foundations

The organizational effectiveness of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) has received considerable attention from the scientific research community and society. Nonprofit scholars call for more empirical research that tests existing theories and develops multidimensional frameworks at the organizational level, with a focus on actual management practices. Previous studies have suggested that a broad set of management practices at the program and organizational levels have positive implications for the perceived effectiveness of NPOs. This study evaluates and refines a conceptual model of the antecedents of organizational effectiveness and validates its applicability in the context of charitable foundations established by corporations. Based on survey data from their executive leaders, this study’s empirical findings suggest that perceived organizational effectiveness is less affected by a broad set of management practices and is driven by a few selected best practices that focus on specific stakeholder groups (i.e., experts). Moreover, the results show that certain organizational characteristics, such as organizational experience, can strengthen the perceived effectiveness of charitable foundations. Overall, the results of this study may help nonprofit executive leaders to better understand that a careful selection and implementation of specific practices might be more beneficial for an organization’s effectiveness than an extensive list of practices. Moreover, this study contributes on a broader theoretical level to the study of multidimensional frameworks as a suitable measure for identifying key antecedents of leader-perceived organizational effectiveness across different types of NPOs.

Evaluating the Relationship Between Nonprofit Capacities and Organizational Effectiveness During a Global Pandemic

Guided by the contingency model of capacity effectiveness, we examine the relationship between organizational capacities and performance indicators during COVID-19. We conceptualized operational capacity and board leadership capacity as process oriented to ensure organizations’ effective functioning and to demonstrate accountability. Technological capacity and networking capacity were defined as resource oriented to help accomplish organizational goals. We used two effectiveness indicators to capture the input-output success measured by goal attainment and an organization’s ability to learn and adapt to improve its performances based on evaluation data (i.e., professional data use). Survey data collected from nonprofits located in a southeastern U.S. state showed that generally nonprofits were not performing well due to operation challenges. Operational capacity and technological capacity were negatively related to goal attainment; however, these two capacities and board leadership capacity were all positively related to professional data use. Implications describe how to turn a crisis into an opportunity to build resilience.

Public Relations Strategies for Non-Profit Organizations

Purpose: This study aimed to examine how different public relations strategies affect the effectiveness of non-profit organizations' communication and relationships with their stakeholders.
 Methodology: The study adopted a desktop research methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library.
 Findings: The findings reveal that there exists a contextual and methodological gap relating to public relations strategies for non- profit organizations. The yielded valuable insights into the multifaceted landscape of non-profit PR. Through diverse empirical studies, it was found that effective PR strategies played a pivotal role in shaping organizational visibility, credibility, and impact. Key conclusions drawn from the research included the transformative potential of digital platforms in amplifying reach and mobilizing support, the importance of stakeholder engagement and strategic storytelling in fostering donor loyalty and conveying organizational impact, the critical role of transparency and proactive communication in navigating crises, and the significance of strategic partnerships in enhancing organizational capacity and impact. Overall, the findings underscored the importance of adopting a holistic and strategic approach to non-profit PR to achieve mission-driven objectives and effect positive change.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The Systems theory, Stakeholder theory and Diffusion of Innovation theory may be used to anchor future studies on public relations strategies for non- profit organizations. The study provided several key recommendations to enhance PR practices in the non-profit sector. It recommended that NPOs invest in advanced social media analytics tools, cultivate authentic donor relationships, develop robust crisis communication plans, seek out strategic corporate partnerships, engage in rigorous advocacy planning, invest in storytelling resources and training, and leverage digital advocacy tools. These recommendations aimed to improve PR effectiveness by emphasizing evidence-based decision-making, donor-centric approaches, proactive crisis management, strategic collaboration, and leveraging digital platforms for advocacy and storytelling. Through these recommendations, the study contributed to both theory and practice in the non-profit sector, offering actionable insights to enhance organizational communication strategies.

Nonprofit-business collaboration: An empirical-based framework for value creation

While interest in nonprofit-business collaboration (NBC) has grown rapidly in the past decades, literature has underexposed the peculiarities of nonprofit organizations (NPOs), compared to the ample attention on the perspective of the firm and the implications for society. In specific, we lack clarity on how NPOs can deliberately seek collaboration with the business sector to foster their organizational viability and economic interests, in addition to their traditional focus on delivering social value and meaningfulness. This active approach has become imperative given the growing uncertainty of government funding and budgetary constraints. However, the proactive involvement in NBC is complex and risky. In this study, we address this dilemma by investigating several NPOs that are active in NBC. Based on the analysis and findings, we developed an empirical-based framework that explains the essence of NPOs’ proactive engagement with the business sector. More specifically, we offer subtle theoretical and empirical investigations of various internal and external contingencies that explain the effectiveness of NPOs in establishing collaboration with firms for value creation. Moreover, we advance the current debate concerning the need to establish a clear distinction between value creation for society (conceived as the sum of benevolent benefits obtained from the collaboration) and for the partners. As such, we showed that the active-in-collaboration NPOs distinguish between different NBC values that include economic benefits (for survival), institutional development (for organizational effectiveness), and transformational for changing business practice (for the fulfillment of mission). Therefore, we shift the focus from the predominating perspectives of society and business to consider NPOs as an active component of this relationship. Together, these findings offer a robust nonprofit-centric foundation that is necessary for NBC practice and theory development. JEL Classification: M1 Business Administration

How brand familiarity influences advertising effectiveness of non-profit organizations

Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) find themselves in a very competitive environment, as everyday consumers are constantly exposed to numerous advertisements; thus, they must find ways to capture consumers’ attention. The objective of this study is to explore how the different elements (image, text, logo) of print advertisements of NPOs using different emotional appeals (positive and negative) of a familiar and unfamiliar brand influence donation behaviour and the attitude toward the ad (Aad). Using eye-tracking technology and a survey, we conducted two experiments, one with unfamiliar brands of NPOs and another with a familiar brand. The results showed the advertisement areas on which participants fixated and their relationship with participants’ attitude towards the advertisement and donation behaviour. For unfamiliar NPOs, the less time it took the participant to first fixate on the logo area, the more positive attitude toward the ad when the advertisement used a negative frame. Also, participants spent more time in the image area of negatively framed ads when they had a more positive attitude toward the ad. On the other hand, for a familiar brand, the time to first fixate on the logo area had a negative correlation with the donation behaviour, indicating that the less time it takes to first fixate on the logo area, the more participants chose to donate.

Influence of social innovation on organizational effectiveness of non-profit organizations: A case of gotabgaa international in the United States of America

Technology has transformed how social organizations and individuals socialize and do business today. It has generated tremendous, as well as complex economic and social challenges that mostly involve problems that people have interacting with others in society or engaging in normal social behaviors. Among the strategies posed to conquer the post-modern challenges is the concept of social innovation that involves much more than creating a new model, but one that creates empathy, as well as a change in power related relationships and a change in the way people think and act. The research studied the influence of social innovation on organizational effectiveness in Gotabgaa International organization in the USA. It focused on the organization’s adoption and utilization of social media platform as a social innovation. The findings from the study established that social needs, organizational political environment, organizational culture and organizational social capital statistically significantly predicted organizational effectiveness F(4, 217) = 190.968, p < .001.The findings also demonstrate the positive effect of innovation on organizational effectiveness and that the social system internal to the organization is essential to the adoption of innovations. It is also evident from the findings that social innovation is much more likely to take place when there are favorable organizational conditions.

Nonprofit Organizational Effectiveness: The Effects of Financial and Social Performance on Its Scale and Scope of Operations, and Social Impact

In the face of increased accountability pressures, nonprofits are searching for ways to demonstrate their effectiveness. In the Absence of meaningful tools to evaluate effectiveness, financial ratios are largely used to approximate it. There is an extensive body of literature on the determinants of nonprofit effectiveness. However, it largely remained exploratory in nature. This is a novel attempt to propose a theoretical framework linking performance to effectiveness, but also applying this to a larger sample by means of a survey. For this, we employed Iwu et. al. (2015) configuration for the identification of major financial and non-financial performance indicators of NPOs and used in the Program Logic Model (W.K. Kellogg Foundation, 2004) to assess its impact. We hypothesize that this financial and non-financial performance and activities produced positive output in terms of increased participation that in turn, leads to positive outcomes on the participants live and at last these outcomes leads to positive impact towards the society by reducing the problems this NPO are set to tackle. For the empirical side, we collected data from 200 participants belonging to 14 NROs operating in Pakistan, by means of a close-ended questionnaire. Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structured equation modeling. The results were according to the theory and showed a positive and significant effect of financial and non-financial performance on output, then to the outcome and finally to impact. These findings can be used by the growing number of not-for-profits throughout the world to measure and report performance.

Review of methods for measuring the effectiveness of non-profit organizations

Purpose: The aim of the research undertaken in the article is to try to find an answer to the question whether, despite the fact that non-profit organizations are not intended to be commercially profitable, it is possible to assess the effectiveness of their activities. Design/methodology/approach: The article consists of a literature study that reviews publications on methods for measuring the effectiveness of non-profit organizations. For the literature analysis, publications relating directly or indirectly to the topic of operation of non-profit organizations and measuring their effectiveness were used. The literature on this topic is not extensive, compared to publications dealing with the issue of measuring efficiency in commercial enterprises. In addition to the analysis of individual methods of measuring the effectiveness of non-profit organizations indicated in the literature, a comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of each of the proposed solutions was made. Findings: During the research, it was found that there are methods of measuring effectiveness, which differ significantly from traditional methods used to evaluate business activities, and can be used in the evaluation of non-profit organizations. Research limitations/implications: Based on the research conducted, implications for the future can be identified. They may concern the use of selected methods to assess the effectiveness of selected non-profit organizations. Practical implications: Practical implications of the obtained results may concern the use of the presented methods of assessing effectiveness by managers and supervisors of non-profit organizations. Social implications: The use of the methods presented in the article for assessing the economic efficiency of non-profit organizations will allow potential donors to direct support to organizations that use the accumulated capital most effectively. However, it does not have to be efficiency measured in financial terms. Originality/value: The article indicates what methods of assessing effectiveness can be used in the case of non-profit organizations. The value of such research is the ability to evaluate the activities of non-profit organizations without having to take into account financial aspects. Keywords: performance assessment, non-profit organizations. Category of the paper: Research paper.

Non-profit organizations as structural elements of society and their role in the implementation and development of human potential

The article discusses the role of non-profit organizations as structural elements of society, enabling citizens to realize their potential, and contributing to the resolution of contradictions between the individual and society, between egoism and altruism. The system of institutional norms regulating the activities of socially oriented non-profit organizations in Russia, their interaction with the state and development prospects is revealed. The author proposes criteria for determining the effectiveness of socially-oriented non-profit organizations and for the advisability of governmental support.

Linking overhead expenses and nonprofit effectiveness: Evidence from Habitat for Humanity

AbstractPublic scrutiny of the nonprofit sector often focuses on excessive overhead spending, seeing it as an obstacle to mission fulfillment. Yet, there have been few prior studies on the impact of overhead expenditures on the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations. Building and utilizing a unique dataset of Habitat for Humanity affiliates across the United States between 2010 and 2016, this paper analyses the relationship between overhead spending and effectiveness using fixed effects and mediation models. Results indicate that an increase in the overhead ratio leads to greater nonprofit effectiveness in terms of more houses built and revenue raised. However, findings suggest that overhead ratios of more than 15% yield positive but diminishing returns. Findings also show that organizational capacity indicators such as investments into salaries, professional fees, marketing, information technology, and fundraising mediate a positive relationship between the overhead ratio and nonprofit effectiveness. Implications for both scholars and practitioners are discussed.

The Nonprofit Starvation Cycle: Does Overhead Spending Really Impact Program Outcomes?

The nonprofit starvation cycle raises a fundamental question about the impact of overhead spending on nonprofit program outcomes and organizational effectiveness. We test this relationship using data on the U.S. nonprofit arts and cultural subsector from 2008 to 2018. Contrary to the conventional wisdom that lower overhead is better, the results of different model specifications consistently show an optimal level of overhead captured by an inverted U-shaped relationship between the overhead cost ratio and program outcomes. Increased spending on overhead can improve program outcomes up to the optimal point. Beyond this point, further spending on overhead can yield negative returns. The study contributes to correcting the unrealistic expectations surrounding overhead costs and argues for investing more in building sustainable nonprofit capacity. We discuss the implications of our findings for nonprofit charity monitors, donors, scholars, and other stakeholders concerned about nonprofit accountability and effectiveness.

An integrated model for using social media applications in non-profit organizations

The growing social media use worldwide has encouraged researchers to research on how and why it is adopted. However, the majority of studies have focused on the individual rather than the organizational level. There is also a relative paucity of research on organizational level factors that affect the use of social media applications by non-profit organizations (NPOs). Hence, this study aims to bridge this gap in research by analyzing the factors that determine social media use, which leads to increasing the effectiveness (i.e., awareness, community engagement, and fundraising) of NPOs. The data were collected through questionnaires distributed to public relations practitioners in 325 NPOs in Jordan and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results supported the vital role of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, social influence, and management commitment on the actual usage of social media. The results also showed that using social media has a significant positive effect on awareness and community engagement, while no significant impact is reported regarding fundraising. Theoretically, this study extends the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) by incorporating new factors, namely management commitment, awareness, community engagement, and fundraising, and proposing new relationships in the model. Practically, this research provides implications for stakeholders of NPOs, including policymakers and public relations practitioners.

Social Media Marketing Effectiveness of Non-Profit Organizations: An Analysis on Environmentalist Organizations

Today, all for-profit and non-profit organizations use social media platforms as a marketing tool. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have created a new area for organizations to communicate with their target audience, to increase brand awareness and to provide brand engagement. Measuring social media success for the organization along with the use of social media as a marketing tool has become a significant issue. This study aims to measure the social media marketing effectiveness of non-profit organizations, and thus examining Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts of 35 organizations operating in the field of environmental protection. Based upon the data obtained from Facebook, Twit-ter and Instagram social network sites, the organizations’ use of social media in the same event was interpreted according to the social media marketing effectiveness measurement metrics identified by Hoffman and Fodor; moreover, to what extent they were successful were analyzed in terms of brand awareness, brand engagement and word of mouth communication. TEMA Foundation and WWF Foundation were noted to use three social network sites more effectively and they were more successful regarding brand awareness, brand engagement and word of mouth communication compared to the other organizations.

Nonprofit organizations and social-alliance portfolio size: Evidence from website content analysis

Business-Nonprofit Partnership (BNP) has been widely regarded as a vital approach for public value creation and social innovation. At the same time, many studies show a positive association between the size of an organization's portfolio of partners and its overall performance and innovation. Building on these insights, we contribute to the BNP literature by drawing on the relational view to theorize and empirically examine the conditions that underpin the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in establishing collaborative linkages with the private sector (i.e. to determine the size of their portfolio of business partners). Data were compiled from the websites of NPOs (n = 102) that were collaborating with FTSE 100 companies. The results of regression analysis show that the ability of NPOs to deliver economic rent (to business partners) and to establish calculative trust (pre-collaboration trust) is positively associated with their portfolio size. Furthermore, the results indicate that the ability to create social value is also positively associated with portfolio size but only for larger NPOs, and that the delivery of collaboration options is negatively associated with portfolio size. We discuss these findings in relation to their implications for research and practice.

Services of non-profit organisations in sustainable development and economic security of rural areas

The paper studies the problems of non-profit organisations and their provision of social services in the processes of sustainable development and economic security of rural areas. The methodological basis of the research includes the theoretical positions of regional typology, sustainable development, regional and spatial economics, as well as approaches to the study of the effectiveness of non-profit organisations. The functioning of non-profit organisations, as well as the demand for social services, is revealed by using a combination of methods: dialectical, causal and ranking values of statistical indicators. The problems of rural development in agrarian-industrial regions are highlighted and the participation of non-profit organisations in solving these problems is substantiated. The authors emphasise the need to apply the mechanisms of programme-targeted management of rural development in the context of sustainable development processes and economic security.

МИССИЯ НЕКОММЕРЧЕСКИХ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЙ В ФОРМИРОВАНИИ СЕМЕЙНОЙ ПОЛИТИКИ И В СИСТЕМЕ РАЗВИТИЯ ТАЛАНТЛИВЫХ ДЕТЕЙ И МОЛОДЕЖИ

The article discusses the process of interaction between non-profit organizations and public authorities in the area of the development of talented children and youth, and the role of this process in the formation of family policy. A comprehensive system of measures is proposed to support the development of talent of children and youth, and recommendations for all participants of cooperation: state authorities, non-profit organizations, social protection agencies, talented children and youth, their mentors and parents. The necessary measures are shown to ensure the practical implementation of family policy for State authorities on the basis of the socio-economic potential of the regions and the fundamental role of the third sector of the economy, which implements social services in the field of development of talent of children and young people, is considered. The article proposes recommendations to managers for the introduction into the state family policy of activities to support families where talented children are raised, recommendations to increase the effectiveness of non-profit organizations in the field of family policy. Special attention is paid to the need to create a single information platform, which will focus information on the activities of non-profit organizations of different directions in one information context so that all participants of the interaction can learn about their activities and opportunities: talented children and youth, mentors, parents and state authorities.

Respect: The Foundation of a Successful Work Culture

Today’s modern organizations are complex. Nonprofit leaders juggle a number of demands including fostering the organizational vision, achieving results and outcomes, working with limited resources (including part-time staff and volunteers), and creating a culture that encourages employee satisfaction. Organizational culture, both informal norms and formal norms, can create patterns for effective leader–follower relationships based on respect, trust, and open communication. This paper provides an in-depth review of one nonprofit organization that serves as a role model for creating such a culture. It describes in detail organizational initiatives that promote a positive impact on employee engagement. Additionally, qualitative findings from a company-wide survey offer suggestions for nonprofit leaders to increase employees’ involvement at work and enhance leaders’ positive workplace behaviors. The paper also discusses implications for leaders, employees, and nonprofit organizational effectiveness. Subscribe to JNEL

Organizational Effectiveness of Non-Profit Organizations: Evidences from Coastal Region of China

Li, X. and Xie, X., 2020. Organizational effectiveness of non-profit organizations: Evidences from coastal region of China. In: Yang, Y.; Mi, C.; Zhao, L., and Lam, S. (eds.), Global Topics and New Trends in Coastal Research: Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 103, pp. 74–78. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.As the important contents of organizational effectiveness of non-profit organizations (NPOs), job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and organizational commitment interact with each other and act on organizational behavior together. In this paper, it is concluded through the questionnaire survey of employees in NPOs and structural equation analysis that employees' job satisfaction has a certain impact on OCB and organizational commitment; employees' organizational commitment has a significant negative impact on organizational destructive behavior; normative commitment and continuous commitment have a significant positive impact on identification with the company, while affective commitment has no significant positive impact on identification with the company.

Supply Chain Awareness and NGO Effectiveness: An Attention-based View

There has been little investigation as to how supply chain management (SCM) relates to the effectiveness of non-profit organizations. In this study, we develop the concept of supply chain awareness...