Nonprofit Service Research Articles

Examining how industries engage the media

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how Kent and Taylor's dialogic features are used by agricultural associations in the USA and Germany to engage media.Design/methodology/approachA content analysis of 51 American Farm Bureau Federation and 18 Deutscher Bauernverband web sites was conducted to evaluate the incorporation of the principles of ease of interface, usefulness, dialogic loop, conservation of visitors, and generation of return visits.FindingsThe study found mixed results for the incorporation of Kent and Taylor's five dialogic principles. At the time of the content analysis, these sites failed to provide a solid dialogic loop between the organisation and the visitor, and they did not encourage return visits. This weakens the sites' potential to move past information provision and build lasting relationships with reporters.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of this research project provide benchmark numbers for the presence of the five dialogic principles in the agriculture industry. Further, the findings strengthen the growing evidence of the impact of the principles in various sectors. Previous research has examined how nonprofit social service and activist organisations have incorporated the principles as well as for‐profit organizations. The current results shine light on how other organisations are using their web site to develop relationships with visitors.Practical implicationsResearch on agricultural communication indicates that the media increasingly are downplaying the significance of the industry in mainstream news. Scholars have suggested that the agricultural industry is not well versed in media training and media relations. However, the findings of this study indicate that the leading agricultural associations in the USA and Germany are still primarily using their web sites as one‐way information subsidies rather than capitalizing on the interactive nature of the web. By incorporating the five dialogic principles into their web sites, the agricultural communicators will be in a better position to interact with media in a lasting manner rather than simply serving as a source of one‐way information.Originality/valueThough the dialogic principles have been studied in other settings, this paper examines their use by organisations in multiple countries. Given the increasing globalisation of the agriculture industry, it is vital to understand how this industry communicates with the media given that it has repeatedly complained about media coverage of agricultural issues and the push by the American Farm Bureau to assist other national agricultural associations around the world.

Personelle Vielfalt in der Kultur. Zur Bedeutung von Diversity-Management für Theaterbetriebe

Journal for Pu blic and Nonprofit Services is a multidisciplinary scientific journal. It provides information, discussions and documentations, and is furthermore the organ of the Federal Public Services - German Section of CEEP e. V. The journal offers comprehensive information on the important area of public companies and provides a forum for practitioners and researchers. It is dedicated to federal, state, and local companies, mixed-economy companies, companies of trade unions, chambers, churches, political parties, foundations and associations, publicly committed companies, cooperative companies and, in particular, enterprises of the independent welfare work. The Journal is a forum for economic, political, and social scientists and legal scholars. The publication of papers and short contributions are examined by a scientific anonymous review process that guarantees a consistently high quality of contributions. Website: www.zoegu.nomos.de

Quo vadis Kommunalverschuldung?

Journal for Pu blic and Nonprofit Services is a multidisciplinary scientific journal. It provides information, discussions and documentations, and is furthermore the organ of the Federal Public Services - German Section of CEEP e. V. The journal offers comprehensive information on the important area of public companies and provides a forum for practitioners and researchers. It is dedicated to federal, state, and local companies, mixed-economy companies, companies of trade unions, chambers, churches, political parties, foundations and associations, publicly committed companies, cooperative companies and, in particular, enterprises of the independent welfare work. The Journal is a forum for economic, political, and social scientists and legal scholars. The publication of papers and short contributions are examined by a scientific anonymous review process that guarantees a consistently high quality of contributions. Website: www.zoegu.nomos.de

Sparkassen und Kreditgenossenschaften – zwei ungleiche Zwillinge?!

Journal for Pu blic and Nonprofit Services is a multidisciplinary scientific journal. It provides information, discussions and documentations, and is furthermore the organ of the Federal Public Services - German Section of CEEP e. V. The journal offers comprehensive information on the important area of public companies and provides a forum for practitioners and researchers. It is dedicated to federal, state, and local companies, mixed-economy companies, companies of trade unions, chambers, churches, political parties, foundations and associations, publicly committed companies, cooperative companies and, in particular, enterprises of the independent welfare work. The Journal is a forum for economic, political, and social scientists and legal scholars. The publication of papers and short contributions are examined by a scientific anonymous review process that guarantees a consistently high quality of contributions. Website: www.zoegu.nomos.de

Ein Kontenrahmen für eine „gesellschaftsbezogene Rechnungslegung“ der Fakultät für Volks- und Betriebswirtschaftslehre der Universität Tartu in Estland

Journal for Pu blic and Nonprofit Services is a multidisciplinary scientific journal. It provides information, discussions and documentations, and is furthermore the organ of the Federal Public Services - German Section of CEEP e. V. The journal offers comprehensive information on the important area of public companies and provides a forum for practitioners and researchers. It is dedicated to federal, state, and local companies, mixed-economy companies, companies of trade unions, chambers, churches, political parties, foundations and associations, publicly committed companies, cooperative companies and, in particular, enterprises of the independent welfare work. The Journal is a forum for economic, political, and social scientists and legal scholars. The publication of papers and short contributions are examined by a scientific anonymous review process that guarantees a consistently high quality of contributions. Website: www.zoegu.nomos.de

Zum offensichtlich erkennbaren bankwirtschaftlichen Sachverstand in den Kontrollorganen deutscher Genossenschaftsbanken und Sparkassen

Journal for Pu blic and Nonprofit Services is a multidisciplinary scientific journal. It provides information, discussions and documentations, and is furthermore the organ of the Federal Public Services - German Section of CEEP e. V. The journal offers comprehensive information on the important area of public companies and provides a forum for practitioners and researchers. It is dedicated to federal, state, and local companies, mixed-economy companies, companies of trade unions, chambers, churches, political parties, foundations and associations, publicly committed companies, cooperative companies and, in particular, enterprises of the independent welfare work. The Journal is a forum for economic, political, and social scientists and legal scholars. The publication of papers and short contributions are examined by a scientific anonymous review process that guarantees a consistently high quality of contributions. Website: www.zoegu.nomos.de

Nachhaltigkeit und Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement in öffentlichen Unternehmen

Journal for Pu blic and Nonprofit Services is a multidisciplinary scientific journal. It provides information, discussions and documentations, and is furthermore the organ of the Federal Public Services - German Section of CEEP e. V. The journal offers comprehensive information on the important area of public companies and provides a forum for practitioners and researchers. It is dedicated to federal, state, and local companies, mixed-economy companies, companies of trade unions, chambers, churches, political parties, foundations and associations, publicly committed companies, cooperative companies and, in particular, enterprises of the independent welfare work. The Journal is a forum for economic, political, and social scientists and legal scholars. The publication of papers and short contributions are examined by a scientific anonymous review process that guarantees a consistently high quality of contributions. Website: www.zoegu.nomos.de

Examining Implementation of the National Voter Registration Act by Nonprofit Organizations: An Institutional Explanation

The 1993 National Voter Registration Act authorizes nonprofit social service organizations to conduct nonpartisan voter registration drives, with the aim of making the process more accessible for low‐income citizens and segments of the population historically underrepresented in the political process. Although more than 15 years have elapsed since this important reform was enacted, very little is known about the extent to which nonprofits have embraced this practice, and what factors explain their decision to do so. Drawing upon institutional theory, this article examines the propensity of nonprofit social service organizations to carry out nonpartisan voter registration and voter mobilization campaigns in a national election year. A series of hypotheses are tested using data from a random sample of several hundred nonprofit service organizations in the United States that were surveyed prior to the 2008 election. Findings suggest that institutional factors, especially state laws, are highly influential in shaping the decision of local level nonprofits to register voters. The article concludes with a discussion of policy implications of this study.

Negative Peer Involvement in Multisystemic Therapy for the Treatment of Youth Problem Behavior: Exploring Outcome and Process Variables in “Real-World” Practice

Associating with a negative peer group is related to involvement in problem behavior, yet very little research has considered the role of negative peer group affiliations in the context of “real-world” community-based treatments for problem behavior. This study examined the effects of negative peer involvement on case closure status and treatment characteristics in a large sample (N = 1,341) of adolescents (M age = 15.3 years, SD = 1.5 years) enrolled in Multisystemic Therapy services. Data were drawn from the clinical records of a nonprofit youth and family services provider. Findings suggest that negative peer involvement is significantly related to treatment failure, particularly when negative peer involvement is comprised of gang affiliation.

An Immigrant Artist at Work: A Conversation with Edwidge Danticat

This interview addresses some of the most important issues explored in the fiction and nonfiction of Edwidge Danticat, such as migration, exile, home, language, Dyaspora, and the connection between stories and human rights action. The interview also discusses Danticat's activist work with the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center (FIAC)—the Miami-based nonprofit legal services organization working on behalf of immigrants and refugees—and her role as narrator in the film Potomitan: Haitian Women Pillars of the Global Economy (2009). In the introduction, the author discusses Danticat's latest collection of essays, Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work (2010), and reflects on the significance of reading a writer such as Danticat across cultural lines.

Partnerships Among Community Development, Public Health, And Health Care Could Improve The Well-Being Of Low-Income People

Safe, vibrant neighborhoods are vital to health. The community development "industry"-a network of nonprofit service providers, real estate developers, financial institutions, foundations, and government-draws on public subsidies and other financing to transform impoverished neighborhoods into better-functioning communities. Although such activity positively affects the "upstream" causes of poor health, the community development industry rarely collaborates with the health sector or even considers health effects in its work. Examples of initiatives-such as the creation of affordable housing that avoids nursing home placement-suggest a strong potential for cross-sector collaborations to reduce health disparities and slow the growth of health care spending, while at the same time improving economic and social well-being in America's most disadvantaged communities. We propose a four-point plan to help ensure that these collaborations achieve positive outcomes and sustainable progress for residents and investors alike.

Does Reported Policy Activity Reduce Contributions to Nonprofit Service Providers?

There is a growing recognition that charitable organizations are important actors in the policy process, but research has not, to date, systematically investigated whether reporting policy activity influences private giving to such organizations. This article develops the argument that reported lobbying should be positively related to donations because organizations seeking policy change consider such activities to be vital to their clients and missions and communicate that belief to potential donors. This article tests for the relationship between reported lobbying activities and private giving in analyses of 501(c)(3) organizations that filed Internal Revenue Service form 990 s in fiscal years 2000 and 2001. The results suggest that organizations that report policy activity receive more donations in the following fiscal year, with some variation across service type. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications for the policy process and scholars of nonprofit organizations.

Nonprofit Agencies in Public Child Welfare: Their Role and Involvement in Policy Advocacy

Growth in privatization has made human service nonprofit organizations increasingly important providers of public child welfare services. Policy advocacy is a key tool that these organizations can use to communicate their unique on-the-ground experience to lawmakers, potentially improving policy and strengthening services for at-risk children and families. However, little is known about the degree to which they participate in advocacy or the ways in which they are involved. This research uses large-scale survey data to investigate the percentage of nonprofit child welfare agencies participating in advocacy, as well as how they involve staff and volunteers and the types of advocacy tactics they use. Results indicate that nonprofit child welfare agencies are less likely to advocate and less likely to involve volunteers in advocacy than other types of nonprofit human service providers. However, the nonprofit child welfare agencies that are involved have high rates of participation in a variety of sophisticated tactics. As these data demonstrate that child welfare nonprofits are well-positioned to be highly involved in policy advocacy but many still refrain, suggestions are made for how to expand and strengthen their advocacy involvement.

‘It was just too hard to come back’: unintended policy impacts on work-family balance in the Australian and Canadian non-profit social services

Data from an international comparative study of changes in the Canadian and Australian non-profit social services sector (NPSS) suggest that conditions within specific sectors of the labour market, in this case the non-profit sector, and the distinctive contexts and ethos operating in these sectors influence the ways that women remain attached, reduce their hours or cut ties to the labour market in an effort to balance work-family dynamics. Drawing on qualitative interview data, this article explores the links between social and industrial relations policy and the strategies women employed in the NPSS to balance work-family demands. The article suggests that the existence or absence of social entitlements and support services may impact more than one generation of women, thus having unanticipated outcomes and shaping the way that multiple groups of women participate in the workforce and larger society or are positioned marginally within them. The article also contributes to debates on comparative welfare regimes and gender inequity in the lives of those working in and using the services of the non-profit sector; a sector that is increasingly viewed as an extension of the state and state policies and the larger welfare regime.

A Preliminary Cross-National Test of Competing Theories of Nonprofits

This article empirically tests existing theories that have been used to explain the presence of nonprofits. A framework was developed from existing literature to test the explanatory power of competing theories about the presence of nonprofits. The cross-national framework of this study is intended to explore the explanatory power of existing models for settings other than the national culture in which most of them were created. The analysis revealed a number of detailed findings about socioeconomic and institutional determinants of nonprofit service provision. In general, theories that emphasize demand-side or “need” explanations for nonprofits were less well supported than supply-side and institutional theories. The article concludes with recommendations for future cross-national studies of nonprofit activities.

How We Could Measure Community Impact of Nonprofit Graduate Students’ Service-Learning Projects: Lessons from the Literature

Nonprofit management education scholars are asking the question, “How do we measure community impact of nonprofit programs?” One way to study the community impact of nonprofit management education is by studying the impact that service-learning projects have on the nonprofits for which they are developed. This paper synthesizes literature that studies the community impact of nonprofit graduate students’ service-learning projects. This paper also describes capacity building and evaluation tools and theories that can enhance future studies of community impact. Future studies of community impact should include analysis components from the fields of nonprofit management education, service learning, capacity building, and nonprofit evaluation, and take into consideration specific factors that may affect study outcomes.

CompassPoint Nonprofit Services: Strengthening the Capacities of Nonprofits (1971–2008)

CompassPoint Nonprofit Services is a nonprofit organization that delivers cutting-edge research and support services to the nonprofit community. Over its 30-year history, CompassPoint has transitioned from a small management support agency into a nationally-recognized leader in nonprofit capacity building and nonprofit management research. Through its strong internal operations and external connections, the agency has been able to stay current on the multiple challenges facing the local and national nonprofit community. CompassPoint has been a valuable resource for the nonprofit sector as it has struggled to retain its identity over the past 30 years, in relation to political and economic changes that have altered the functioning of the sector as a whole.

Innovatives Schulden- und Finanzmanagement in öffentlichen Unternehmen

Journal for Pu blic and Nonprofit Services is a multidisciplinary scientific journal. It provides information, discussions and documentations, and is furthermore the organ of the Federal Public Services - German Section of CEEP e. V.

Community Radio Voices in Asia

Community radio broadcasting is a non-profit service that is owned and managed by a particular community, usually through a trust, foundation, or association. Its aim is to serve and benefit that community. It is, in effect, a form of publicservice broadcasting, but it serves a community rather than the whole nation, as is the usual form of public broadcasting. The liberal governments in many Asian countries have promoted freedom of speech and information communication flow in varieties of methods for national and social developments. The establishment of community radio in many Asian countries is seen as a new wave of surge in media liberalization which is spreading very rapidly.

"Von den Verkehrsbetrieben der Stadt Luzern (VBL) zu den Verkehrsbetrieben Luzern (vbl). Die Verselbständigung eines kommunalen Transportunternehmens in der Schweiz – Schlüsselfaktoren der Transformation"

Journal for Pu blic and Nonprofit Services is a multidisciplinary scientific journal. It provides information, discussions and documentations, and is furthermore the organ of the Federal Public Services - German Section of CEEP e. V. The journal offers comprehensive information on the important area of public companies and provides a forum for practitioners and researchers. It is dedicated to federal, state, and local companies, mixed-economy companies, companies of trade unions, chambers, churches, political parties, foundations and associations, publicly committed companies, cooperative companies and, in particular, enterprises of the independent welfare work. The Journal is a forum for economic, political, and social scientists and legal scholars. The publication of papers and short contributions are examined by a scientific anonymous review process that guarantees a consistently high quality of contributions. Website: www.zoegu.nomos.de