Nonprofit Service Research Articles

Marketing and its application in music in professional training in the higher education system

This article discusses the issues of the essence of marketing and marketing activities, their features in the non-profit service sector, namely in a higher musical educational institution. The marketing activity of modern institutions of music education has been studied. The experience of marketing activities in musical education institutions is summarized. The necessary and sufficient formal and substantial characteristics of marketing activities have been identified. In addition, the authors made a bias towards the features of educational services that form the features of music marketing in this area - the main emphasis here is on the quality of interaction between an educational institution, on the one hand, as well as consumers and customers - students, future potential employers, government governing structures, on the other hand. In the field of music education, marketing is becoming a vehicle through which music or art educational institutions communicate and promote their goals, values ​​and products to students, their employees and society at large. Marketing is closely related to managing the relationship between producers and consumers of services. In education, marketing is concerned with managing the relationship between teachers and students.

Engagement and the Nonprofit Organization: Voices from the Margins

Little academic attention has been focused on the experiences of communities situated at the margins in receiving nonprofit services. In this essay, we draw on the culture-centered approach to critically interrogate the concept of engagement among a range of nonprofit organizations. We analyze ethnographic fieldwork conducted in a low income suburban area in Aotearoa New Zealand, in which narrative accounts of 60 residents formed the basis of our deliberations with an advisory board. Our findings indicate that many nonprofit organizations are constructed as spaces of othering that do not attend to the cultural norms or needs of those situated at the margins. Alternatively, the Head Hunters outlaw motorcycle gang and Destiny’s Church, both vilified in mainstream media outlets, were sites of significant community engagement. Our study illuminates the impact of dialogic group engagement and of initiatives being developed and driven by the community.

Sleep Disturbances and Patterns in Children With Neurodevelopmental Conditions

Background: Children with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDC) often experience sleep problems which are long-lasting and more complex than typically developing children. These sleep problems impact their families and there is little guidance for management specifically for sleep for families of children with neurodevelopmental conditions. The present study aims to use parental report to evaluate sleep disturbances and sleep patterns in a large sample of children with NDC. We aim to identify associations with age, diagnosis, and medication groups.Methods: Data on 601 children aged between 2 and 17 years was analyzed from a UK non-profit service for sleep for families of children with NDC. Parents/carers completed the children's sleep habit questionnaire, a 7 day sleep diary, and information on child age, diagnosis, and medication. Parents also reported previous sleep management techniques they had tried.Results: Overall, we found differences between age, diagnosis, and medication use groups for sleep disturbances and sleep diary parameters in these populations. Sensory conditions were associated with high night time waking duration. Parents reported their child's short sleep duration was the most common problem for them.Conclusions: Key areas for further research are outlined including the long term considerations for parental presence at bedtime for sleep anxiety, melatonin use and efficacy, and consideration for interventions to reduce daytime fatigue in children aged 7–11 years old.

Time to collaborate: How time influences value creation for a nonprofit collective

This case study set out to investigate value definition in a cross-sector collective focused on strengthening nonprofit services. Moore’s public value concept is used to examine how participants defined and constructed collaborative value, and a critical and pragmatic lens based on Flyvbjerg’s phronetic science was employed, surfacing findings not initially anticipated. Time emerged as a significant factor shaping collective public value efforts. Temporal structures influenced public problems the collective sought to address as well as problem definitions. Temporal challenges generated administrative concerns and service instability presenting both practical and theoretical implications related to collective impact.

A food nonprofit's response to COVID-19: The Common Market leans on its mission to serve

The Common Market is a nonprofit regional food distributor with a mission to connect communities with good food from sustainable family farms. Outputs of their work include improved food security, farm viability, and community and ecological health. The nonprofit services communities in its three active regions—the Mid-Atlantic, the Southeast, and Houston, Texas—by delivering healthy farm food to the institutions that serve them: schools, hospitals, eldercare facilities, early childhood education centers, etc. As the COVID-19 pandemic struck the nation, it shut down some of the nonprofit’s con­ventional wholesale outlets and exposed and intensified the issue of food insecurity throughout the country. The food hub prepared to lean on its mission intensely and creatively under these unprece­dented circumstances. Poised to test the limits of a regional food system, The Common Market unveiled the resilient spirits of its team, its partners, and the family farms that make up its network. This essay highlights partnerships that ignited meaningful impact for their farmer partners and helped meet the needs of vulnerable populations amidst the pandemic. . . .

Acting SAMHSA head welcomed as first person in recovery in new position

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced last month Tom Coderre as acting assistant secretary for mental health and substance use, citing his decades‐long experience in public, private and nonprofit service. Coderre is also the first person in recovery to lead SAMHSA.

“No Idea is a Bad Idea”: Exploring the Nature of Design Thinking Alignment in an Australian Sport Organization

As research into sport innovation management continues to evolve, the innovation efforts of both for- and non-profit sport organizations are increasingly revealed to be focused on best serving the sport user. Design thinking—a human-centered approach to innovation—may hold promise for sport organizations attempting to identify and deliver on the unmet needs of their users. As such, we undertook a qualitative exploration of the innovation practices of a commercial sport organization, attempting to balance hybrid for- and non-profit service goals. Alignment with design thinking themes was discovered in the organization’s practice, as were performative components of design thinking practice. Our findings suggest that design thinking is suitable—and indeed desirable—for adoption into sport management practice, particularly as a means of enhancing innovation efforts, designing holistic sport experiences, and/or overcoming competing institutional demands.

Discretionary powers of the public administration in providing the NPO state registration services

The purpose of the research is to determine the impact of the current administrative and legal regulation of the implementation of administrative procedures for the provision of the non-profit organisation state registration services on the scope of discretionary powers of the public administration in the provision of this service. The methodological basis of the research is created by modern philosophical, general-scientific and special-scientific methods of cognition including dialectical, logical, formal-legal, systemic and statistical methods, as well as analysis, description, synthesis and interpretation. The research results were the conclusions from the analysis of the administrative and legal regulation of administrative procedures for the provision of the non-profit organisation state registration services. Thus, in particular, the discrepancy between a separate provision of the administrative regulation on the provision of the non-profit association state registration services with the current federal legislation was identified and a proposal to amend it was formulated. In addition, it was concluded that the detailed regulation at the sub-legal level of the procedure for the implementation of administrative procedures for the provision of public services has a negative impact on the scope of discretionary powers of public administration bodies. The research novelty lies in the adopted methodological approach to the analysis of the overseas experience in legal regulation of the implementation of administrative procedures by public administration bodies and the conduct of a comparative legal study of regulation of the implementation of administrative procedures for the provision of public services in Russia and in the European Union member states.

The Role of CL Service for Childcare Rescue and Rehabilitation: The Case of CHILDLINE in Assam

CHILDLINE is a non-profit national 24-h toll-free emergency telephone service provided across India for children who need care, emergency help and rehabilitation to homeless children. Children or adult, anyone can dial the CHILDLINE toll-free number ‘1098’ to access the emergency services. It uses the telephone as a medium to interact with children and counselling over by the phone to link children who need help and other rehabilitation programmes. Though CHILDLINE works for all children across the country, there are some special areas where CHILDLINE focuses more, especially the vulnerable ones which include street children; child labour; domestic girl workers; abused children in family and institutions including physically, mentally and sexually abused children; children who need emotional support and guidance, children sex workers; child trafficking; missing children; runaway children; differently able children, children in conflict with the law; mentally challenged children, HIV/AIDS-affected children; children conflicted in war; children affected by disasters; child refugee; children whose family is in crisis. CHILDLINE reaches out or helps 0–18-year-old children. In extreme emergencies, involving young adults up to 25 years of age, it provides help and care. The present study is mainly based on descriptive analysis of data collected through field-based research with a sample size of 5,290 participants. The data has been collected from the Guwahati-based organization CHILDLINE. Rescue child cases have been studied to describe the situation of how CHILDLINE work. We find that with limited resources, CHILDLINE has done an excellent job in safeguarding vulnerable children, specifically children in city areas. However, with the increase in population and child abuse cases, it finds it difficult to meet the needs of the society. Currently, it has tried to increase its boundaries to touch all the discriminated children across the country and cover 34 States/Union Territories (UTs) and 372 cities across the country.

Restricted Revenues and Nonprofit Service Delivery: The Roles of Financial Discretion

The proposition that restricted revenues inhibit nonprofit service delivery by reducing their financial discretion has accumulated in the academic literature but has not been empirically tested. Using a sample of arts and culture nonprofits in the USA, this study examines whether the proposition is upheld through a resource dependence lens. The results suggest that restricted revenues limit nonprofits’ efforts to seek other sources of revenue, which leads to a decrease in nonprofit service delivery. The results also suggest that this indirect effect holds and is even more pronounced in donative and performing arts nonprofits. Restricted revenues, however, do not curb nonprofits’ administrative expenses, and an increase in administrative expenses does not lead to an increase in nonprofit service delivery. The prevailing notion that restricted revenues force nonprofits to shift their cost structures away from administrative expenses may need to be reconsidered. Overall, this study partially supports the proposition that financial discretion plays a role in explaining the negative relationship between restricted revenues and nonprofit service delivery.

New development: Responding to complexity in public services—the human learning systems approach

IMPACT Current approaches to public management based on principles of marketization, management and measurement are increasingly being seen to fail when faced with the complex world of public services. The Human Learning Systems (HLS) concept represents an alternative approach which embraces the complexity of the real world of organizations working to deliver services. Produced in collaboration with an emerging community of funders, managers and commissioners of services, HLS offers a framework which bridges academic complexity theory and the diverse contexts of practice. This article introduces HLS as a means to enable organizations, practitioners and service users to work together more effectively. ABSTRACT The challenges facing public services and non-profit organizations are complex and multi-faceted, confounding the orthodoxies of bureaucratic public administration and New Public Management approaches. This article discusses the merits and potential of the emerging ‘Human Learning Systems’ (HLS) approach to the funding, commissioning and management of public services as an alternative management logic. Building on prior introductory work, the authors analyse the current state of development, content and operation of HLS and its collaborative process, involving more than 300 organizations. Drawing on the experience of public and non-profit service professionals in adopting and experimenting with this approach, the authors found that HLS can provide a helpful and innovative conceptual frame to promote constructive engagement with complexity in public management theory and practice.

Impact of Senior Government Policies on the Renewal of Built Capital for Rural Non-Profits

ABSTRACT Changes in rural service provision have been shaped by a shift from state to private and nonprofit service delivery, driven by a neo-liberal policy orientation. As senior governments continue to offload the delivery of services to nonprofit stakeholders in rural regions, state policies often fail to address deficiencies with aging and inappropriate built capital assets. The infrastructure and service deficit undermines the capacity of the nonprofit sector, and threatens the overall resilience of rural communities. At the community level, nonprofits have been pursuing new institutional/structural arrangements and exploring opportunities to address infrastructure deficiencies in order to strengthen their resilience within neo-liberal public policy approaches. Building upon 51 key informant interviews in 35 small communities in British Columbia, Canada, our research addresses gaps in understanding how senior government policies are developing conditions necessary to support the renewal of infrastructure assets in the nonprofit sector. Our findings suggest that senior government policy and funding structures may not provide the conditions necessary to enable nonprofits to renew their built capital assets that could strengthen the long-term viability of rural service provision. These findings reinforce the need for post COVID-19, or similar recession response stimulus, initiatives to include wise infrastructure investments that enhance the capacity and efficiency of rural nonprofit service providers.

Financial Well-Being of the Non-Profit Social Service Workforce in China

Abstract Using secondary data from the 2017 online survey of 736 non-profit social service employees in urban China, this study provides a complete description of the financial well-being of the non-profit social service workforce and examines correlates of financial well-being. Results show that non-profit employees’ household income is lower than the disposable income of a typical urban household. Nearly one-third of social service professionals have short-term unsecured debts, 10 per cent do not have public health insurance coverage and another 22 per cent report economic hardships caused by large unexpected expenses. Correlates of financial well-being include individual characteristics (e.g. age, education and marital status) and organizational characteristics (type, revenue and size). New services (e.g. employment-based programmes and financial services) are proposed to promote financial well-being of non-profit social service employees in China.

The Perception of Leaders Regarding Networking among Nonprofit Social Service Agencies: Focusing on Competitive Environments in South Korea

With a growing number of nonprofit social service agencies in South Korea, leaders are required to networking among agencies to provide quality services. On the other hand, increasing competitive environments negatively impact building relationships. Leaders of nonprofit social service agencies have an initiative to network; however, there is little research on understanding these leaders’ experiences of networking. This study explores the perception of leaders regarding networking among nonprofit social service agencies. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 social workers who are in a leadership position at nonprofit social service agencies. Results revealed that most leaders were aware of the importance of networking and were involved in networking activities, however, they perceived the quality of networking as low and superficial. In addition, the findings indicated that within competitive environments, leaders' lack of awareness of the importance of networking and lack of incorporation of networking prevent its facilitation. Implications for practice and for future research in strong networking are suggested.

Combining Nonprofit Service and Advocacy: Organizational Structures and Hybridity

Facilitating political engagement is a vital function of the nonprofit sector. While some public charities engage in political activities like policy advocacy, many focus exclusively on their core service mission. Current nonprofit research does not adequately theorize the inherent tension between service and advocacy activities. We conceptualize nonprofits engaging in service and advocacy as hybrid organizations that incorporate two distinct logics. Using the organizational hybridity literature, and empirical data from a survey of Massachusetts nonprofits, we examine how the logics of service provision and political advocacy are combined and managed across a sample of nonprofits. We find that nonprofit service–advocacy hybrids adopt an array of organizational structures to accommodate these logics, including decoupled, segregated, outsourced, and blended structures. Our results suggest that compartmentalization may be a common strategy and that certain organizational structures are related to the presence of mission integration, funding reliance, competition, and advocacy objectives.

Nonprofit Service Continuity and Responses in the Pandemic: Disruptions, Ambiguity, Innovation, and Challenges.

This Viewpoint essay examines the service delivery responses of nonprofit organizations that offer homeless support services amid the COVID‐19 pandemic. Government mandates and severe human needs have forced nonprofits to adapt quickly. Literature reviews provide little information about how nonprofits should manage service continuity under pandemics. Data collected from websites and interviews with nonprofits executives provide an understanding of adaptations and innovations. The study uses a crisis response model—“Disruptions‐Ambiguities‐Innovations‐Challenges” (DAIC)—to demonstrate how social service nonprofits are responding to challenges under COVID‐19. Lessons learned are useful for scholars and practitioners to understand ways nonprofits have remained agile and innovative.

Nonprofit Organizations as Multi-Sided Platforms

The theory of multi-sided platforms (MSPs), originally known as two-sided markets, has been influential in helping digital platforms like Google and Facebook monetize their popular free services. However, this theory can apply to any firm that serves multiple sets of customers who are inter-related in a particular way, namely at least one type of customer prefers that there be greater numbers of the other type. Thus, in its most abstract form, MSP theory can be applied to nonprofit organizations, a setting of growing interest among management scholars. Moreover, this theory can offer nonprofit managers guidance on certain questions that for-profit managers typically do not face, such as whether to charge money for nonprofit services. We therefore focus on how MSP theory can provide practical guidance on nonprofit pricing, highlighting three findings. First, donors and recipients of nonprofit services can be regarded as two sides of an MSP. Second, the price of the nonprofit’s services will be discounted because of donor-side demand. Third, nonprofit services might be discounted to zero, resulting in free services. This paper thus extends the domain of MSPs by applying it to nonprofits, and also contributes to the growing literature on nonprofit management and strategy.

Empowering Caseworkers to Better Serve the Most Vulnerable with a Cloud-Based Care Management Solution.

Care-management tools are typically utilized for chronic disease management. Sonoma County government agencies employed advanced health information technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), and interagency process improvements to help transform health and health care for socially disadvantaged groups and other displaced individuals. The objective of this case report is to describe how an integrated data hub and care-management solution streamlined care coordination of government services during a time of community-wide crisis. This innovative application of care-management tools created a bridge between social and clinical determinants of health and used a three-step approach-access, collaboration, and innovation. The program Accessing Coordinated Care to Empower Self Sufficiency Sonoma was established to identify and match the most vulnerable residents with services to improve their well-being. Sonoma County created an Interdepartmental Multidisciplinary Team to deploy coordinated cross-departmental services (e.g., health and human services, housing services, probation) to support individuals experiencing housing insecurity. Implementation of a data integration hub (DIH) and care management and coordination system (CMCS) enabled integration of siloed data and services into a unified view of citizen status, identification of clinical and social determinants of health from structured and unstructured sources, and algorithms to match clients across systems. The integrated toolset helped 77 at-risk individuals in crisis through coordinated care plans and access to services in a time of need. Two case examples illustrate the specific care and services provided individuals with complex needs after the 2017 Sonoma County wildfires. Unique application of a care-management solution transformed health and health care for individuals fleeing from their homes and socially disadvantaged groups displaced by the Sonoma County wildfires. Future directions include expanding the DIH and CMCS to neighboring counties to coordinate care regionally. Such solutions might enable innovative care-management solutions across a variety of public, private, and nonprofit services.

“I Didn’t Want to be a Burden”: Improving Interactions between Refugees and Nonprofit Service Providers

As newly resettled refugees integrate into their new communities they often receive services from nonprofit organizations to supplement government assistance. However, there has been little research regarding how nonprofit service providers and refugees interact with one another and perceive these interactions. This qualitative study uses data gathered from 60 first-person, open-ended interviews with refugees and nonprofit service providers to fill this gap. The research questions are: How do refugees being served by nonprofits express their perceptions of the services they receive to nonprofit service providers? To what extent do refugees feel that nonprofit service providers are responsive to their needs? And, how do nonprofit staff and volunteers report responding to the needs of their refugee clients? This article is framed using empowerment theory, where refugee needs and perspectives are at the forefront of service provision decisions

Governing for Whom? Representative Governance and Segregation in North Carolina’s Charter Schools

Market-based reforms have altered accountability structures in the public sector, raising questions about whether markets effectively hold organizations accountable to the public. Research on market models in education has revealed that these reforms can sometimes have perverse results, such as segregation, that contradict the public interests typically linked to public education. This study offers an empirical examination of one policy-relevant mechanism for understanding public accountability in market-based reforms that employ nonprofit service providers. Using Guo and Musso’s (2007) theory of representative governance in nonprofit management, we examine how representation and participation in the governance of nonprofit charter schools contribute to public accountability. We find that few charter schools in our sample employ mechanisms to increase organizational capacity to represent the public at large. Moreover, we find that lower descriptive representation is linked to substantive outcomes that contradict the public interests articulated in public law.