Browsing by Subject "Nonprofits"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Foundations as interest groups
    (Interest Groups and Advocacy, 2018-10-01) Goss, KA; Berry, JM
    Foundations are traditionally viewed as civic-minded but politically neutral organizations. Yet foundations, if they choose, can become involved in a wide variety of activities aimed at influencing public policy. Here we lay out the rationale for thinking about foundations as interest groups in the American political system. There are differences between conventional interest groups and foundations to be sure, but there are similarities as well. The choices foundations make as to whether to consciously try to influence government appears to be guided by organizational norms, regulatory requirements, and the beliefs of boards, donors, and internal leadership.
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    Nonprofit Market Structure and Its Consequences
    (2017) Vance-McMullen, Danielle

    This dissertation is comprised of three papers related to nonprofit market structure and its consequences. I begin with an essay that examines how the recent boom of nonprofit organizations affects giving using the context of the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). I find that the nonprofit boom has not increased donations to nonprofit organizations. Since a fixed amount of charitable resources is split among more organizations, the average nonprofit receives less funding as the number of organizations grows. The second paper proposes a new definition of nonprofit markets based on individual-level donor behavior and donor-nonprofit network ties. Notably, the new market definition predicts donor substitution among organizations 58% more accurately than the standard nonprofit market definition based on an organization’s subsector and geographic location. The CFC data and this donor-based market definition are also used to examine an important nonprofit policy issue—the relationship between market concentration and nonprofit spending on overhead. In the final essay, I study one of the processes by which competition in the CFC has increased over time—changes in the structure of government contracts. I examine whether fewer, but larger, contracts change performance. I find that contract consolidation does not significantly improve performance. Furthermore, I find no evidence that economies of scale exist in workplace giving.

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    Profits and Poverty: The Impact of Profit Status on the Microfinance Industry
    (2013-04-15) Hogan, Kevin
    Microfinance is the practice of providing small, collateral free loans to the poor. While the microfinance industry was initially comprised of predominantly non-profit institutions, a shift towards for-profits has emerged. This paper examines the effects of changes in for-profit concentration on the microfinance industry. First, an economic model for the activity of non-profit firms is established. Empirical data from microfinance institutions (MFIs) is then analyzed in the context of this model. Findings indicate that for-profit MFIs serve more borrowers, serve wealthier borrowers, and do not provide lower quality loans than non-profit MFIs. There is also evidence that economic models developed to understand non-profit decision-making might not apply to the microfinance industry.
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    Working for Change in the Environmental Health Sphere: Unique Challenges and the Best Practices to Address Those Challenges
    (2012-04-27) Messenger, Leigh
    Individuals working for change in environmental health face some challenges that best practices can help navigate. Environmental health is becoming a much more important area of focus as expanding knowledge increasingly links everyday environmental exposures with a higher risk of disease. These exposures can be from a variety of substances including common everyday chemicals, pollution, heavy metals, and other substances. The focus of this project is to identify through an interdisciplinary lens some of the unique challenges and best practices in Environmental Health using conversational interviews, observations, and all forms of published information from geographically diverse individuals and organizations. The challenges discussed underscore the difficulty that many characteristics of environmental health are not necessarily visible and tangible to many people and individuals must rely on changing belief, perceptions, and behavior in order to effect change. This is as challenging as trying to get someone to quit smoking or exercise more. Those working in environmental health find their work to be more difficult due to public disputes over health effects, as well as the validity of the scientific findings. Overall, individuals working in the area of environmental health can benefit from understanding the basics of health-related models and communication, as well as the way people process information and make decisions. Some crucial best practices identified focus on the areas of credibility, education, communication, and involvement.