Foundation Governance and Grantmaking
A good deal of my dissertation interests and current research surrounds understanding the connection between foundation governance and grantmaking. Like Sondra, this has led me to a number of organizational or governance theories that would lead us to hypothesize about the connection between the board members of a foundation (or any funder) and their eventual grant making decisions. Principal agent theory, institutionalism, and network theory (amongst others) would lead us to different conclusions about this particular relationship, but would lead us to hypothesize that their IS a relationship.
This has led me to several questions (particularly as I think back to my former life as a fundraiser in the nonprofit sector). If (as network theory and a good deal of anctedotal evidence would suggest, ) getting grants from foundations is truly about “who you know” and what “social circles” you’re a part of – how does that impact nonprofits who are likely “outsiders”, like social justice or advocacy organizations?
There’s almost a chicken and egg question that results from this train of thinking. Many scholars and funders are trying to understand what a ‘better performing’ nonprofit looks like. But the subsuequent question this leads me to ask are if nonprofits thought of as ‘better performing’ are really just those organizations with better reputations.
In the economist tradition of studying nonprofits, performance would be a measure of the”efficient production” of goods/services. So how does reputation impact a nonprofits production? Are funders associating reputation with high performance or are they truly using some of their own measures to construct their image of a ‘better performing’ nonprofit.
In my own work I hope to “answer” some of these questions by conducting a survey or an experiment with foundation board members (at least these are my hopes!) to better understand how and why funders make their decisions.
I also hope to advance our understanding of terms in the sector that are constantly used, but always misunderstand. Supposedly financial health, collaboration, and organizational performance are the ways that funders make grant decisions but empirically we really don’t know a good deal about these decisions. In fact, we don’t really understand how funders view these concepts. Again thinking back to my work experience there is likely a gap that exists between the way funders view collaboration and the way nonprofit managers and staff view these terms.
I hope this provides everyone some food for thought and would love to hear feedback from anyone who has any thoughts on this!
New Journal Alert!
For some time now I have been speaking with several of my colleagues about the fact that there are no academic journals that focus specifically on nonprofit education. Although there are several scholars in the field who conduct research in this area, there have been no academic publications devoted specifically to learning and education in the sector. This is unlike in the field of management where several journals (e.g., Management Learning, Academy of Management Learning and Education, etc.) are specifically devoted to the academic nature of management.
Thankfully, however, the nonprofit sector can now claim an education journal as well!
While at this year’s ARNOVA conference I learned of a new journal focused on nonprofit education and leadership. And, given the placement of my degree program (in a school of Education) and the nature of my degree (focused on leadership), I was more than happy to hear this news.
The journal, which is called: The Journal of Nonprofit Education & Leadership is a collaborative effort between Western Kentucky University Foundation and American Humanics.
I look forward to seeing how this journal develops and the impact that it will have on the field of nonprofit and philanthropic education.
Introduction: Lindsey McDougle
Why hello there… and welcome to the Third Sector Network! My name is Lindsey McDougle and I very excited about this innovative new blogging collaborative. I hope that the information provided here proves to be useful to those who are interested in issues of strategic importance to the nonprofit/philanthropic sector.
I am currently in the dissertation phase of a doctoral program specializing in nonprofit/philanthropic leadership and management at the University of San Diego. My research interests in the field relate to public perceptions and knowledge of nonprofit and philanthropic sector organizations. In business terminology, then, my interests would be in awareness, attitudes, and usage (AAU) data as it pertains to the nonprofit sector.
Interestingly (or perhaps not so much in nonprofit/philanthropic studies where much of the work is inter- and multi-disciplinary), my academic background has not been in the field of nonprofit management. Both my undergraduate and graduate degrees are in natural resource and environmental policy. Furthermore, the bulk of my professional experience (prior to pursuing my PhD) has centered around environmental and sustainability initiatives. But, moving into the area of third sector research was not that far of a stretch for me.
While completing my masters degree, I worked at IBM in the environmental division where my primary responsibility was to work with environmental nonprofits in my local area and arrange events and opportunities for them to speak with our employees (through various lunch and learns, Earth Day events, and Wildlife Habitat Council: wildlife at work programs). It was during this time that I became very interested in the nonprofit sector and decided that I wanted to pursue a PhD in the area.
Understanding what the public knows about nonprofits, and the perceptions that they hold about the third sector speaks volumes about the perceived relevance of nonprofit organizations (in the public’s eye). So obviously given my interests, I am very excited to be a part of this wonderful blog team, and I look forward to engaging in meaningful dialog with our readers!
ARNOVA 2009: Cleveland Rocks
**Cross-posted from johncronquillo.wordpress.com**
This week is going to be action-filled in the best possible way…another academic conference! From November 18 to 21 several of the Third Sector Network’s contributors will be in Cleveland for the 39th Annual Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) Conference. I am very much looking forward to the conference because I always come away with an immense flood of new information. I love the multidisciplinary aspect of the conference; it is simply amazing to see so many people from different parts of the world and in various fields converge in one place for a few days to discuss their common (and sometimes not-so-common) research themes.
The theme for this year’s conference is Philanthropy in Communities: Finding Opportunity in Crisis. It is relevant and timely, and I am really excited to see the research that will be presented. I will be presenting two papers: the first is on managerial perceptions of innovation value in public and nonprofit organizations, and the second will be a case study of the now defunct Arizona 2-1-1 Online program. I’m also excited to be participating in a colloquium entitled “Does Real Action Happen Online?” I’m very eager to hear my colleagues’ response to what I view as a question of ever-increasing importance.
In addition to presenting my research, Lindsey McDougle and I will also be helping with the social media coverage of the conference. I’ll post a few updates on my blog and here at thirdsectornetwork.org. Also joining me in the social media coverage are:
- Debra Beck (laramieboardlearningproject.blogspot.com)
- Heather Carpenter (nonprofitleadership601.blogspot.com)
- Graham Dover (www.inov8.ca & www.si2.ca)
- and guest bloggers Taylor Peyton Roberts, Alice Walker and Debra Weiner
So, even if you can’t join us in Cleveland, we hope you’ll join us online!
Introduction: Erica Coslor
Hello everyone, thanks for joining us. I’m Erica Coslor and I’m currently finishing up my doctoral dissertation in Sociology at the University of Chicago. I had the pleasure of meeting my co-bloggers back in June when we took part in a paper writing workshop at UTexas, Austin.
In the company of these fine nonprofit researchers, I feel like a bit of a black sheep, because my interest in nonprofits has come as a result of my dissertation research, which is on the use of artwork as a financial investment and how this ‘financialization’ came to be. This led me to write a policy paper about the potential negative consequences to museums that treated artwork as a financial investment, with some modest proposals about how we might avoid the loss of stakeholder trust that comes from liquidating permanent collections. Working on that paper has led me to thinking more about nonprofit assets and governance.
Despite my outsider status in the area of nonprofits (I have not specialized in nonprofit organization studies), I do have a healthy regard for nonprofit management as a part of organization theory and management studies. One thing that I liked in my training in public policy and management at Carnegie Mellon University was that we were encouraged to see ourselves as having the flexibility to move between government, nonprofit and corporate work throughout our careers. I suppose I have already done this alongside my academic career, because I have had the opportunity to work for several nonprofits in my role as a part-time GIS mapping consultant, including the Trust for Public Land and OpenLands in Chicago. While I am now pursuing an academic career, in the future I hope to do more research on nonprofits, as well as consulting work, and when teaching project courses, I hope to have local nonprofits as clients for my future students, which is a good way for universities to give back to the surrounding community.
I do have another rallying cry to study nonprofits, which is that from a theoretical perspective, if we study nonprofit and other forms of organization, this increases the diversity in the types of organizations studied, which is likely to bring about new findings for organization and management studies. (To make an analogy, anthropologists often study one society at a time, but through comparison they are able to create more general theories and insights that inform researchers who work on different geographical regions.) Well, that’s my Chicago theory coming to the foreground, and I suppose I should end on that note, rather than going on about the increasing professionalization of the nonprofit community and creation of new epistemic cultures around nonprofit management. I look forward to seeing how this forum will evolve in the future.
Introduction: Jasmine McGinnis
Welcome to my first official blog post! My name is Jasmine McGinnis and I am a second year Ph.D. student in a joint public policy program through the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University and the Ivan Allen College of Public Policy at Georgia Institute of Technology.
I have a rather interesting career trajectory that has led me to have two areas of interest in research. In my “first life” I was privileged to work for several years at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. I began working there as an undergrad as a transcriber and eventually became a Research Project Coordinator for an NIH study examining cocaine/crack use in 18-25 year old drug users living in Metro Atlanta within the context of the family unit. It was truly incredible to be a part of this project where the ultimate goal was to develop culturally relevant and appropriate treatments in order to respond to the rising needs of Atlanta’s drug using population.
It was this initial experience, coupled with a strong desire to serve others that provided the drive to pursue further studies in public service. I was specifically becoming interested in the tremendous ability to transform lives that the public sector has. I received my MPA from the University of Georgia and engrossed myself in examining human resource issues. This led me to a body of work around the impact of diversity on client and organizational performance and representative bureaucracy. I loved this research area and thought that perhaps one day I would get my Ph.D.
I ended up spending several years working in the nonprofit sector before going back to school and ended up in fundraising. I knew that my strengths in an organization would be in administrative and fundraising capacities–which was a great fit for my personality. I worked for small grassroots organizations and large prestigious organizations within the Atlanta area. My last place of employment was at Special Olympics Georgia where I was a Senior Development Manager. Working in the nonprofit sector as a fundraiser led me to develop a strong desire to research “giving” at the Ph.D. level.
Last year, under the guidance of my major professors I became engrossed in an analysis of foundation grant making with a unique dataset of a sample of foundations within Georgia. With this data, I conducted research understanding foundation grant making within Boulding’s (1973) concept of a grants economy. This research has led to several conference presentations and proposals. The results of one study used principal agent theory to understand how different “types” of foundations (i.e. family vs. independent foundations) prefer certain nonprofit characteristics (size, sector, financial health/efficiency characteristics). Additionally, I’ve conducted research using elite network theory to understand grant making preferences of elite foundations in Georgia (those foundations who are the largest by both total assets and total giving).
I have another stream of research where I examine wage differentials within specific demographics of the workforce (i.e. Generation Y). I also have a paper in the works looking to use public and private sector methods to evaluate the impact of workforce diversity on client outcomes in the nonprofit sector.
My goal is to not only earn my Ph.D. and join the ranks of academia where I can contribute to scholarship in this field but also to become a professor who serves as a role model inspiring students to pursue careers in the public sector.
An Introduction to the Third Sector Network
Photo courtesy of RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service, UT Austin
The month we spent in residence as summer fellows at the RGK Center at the University of Texas at Austin was enlightening and transformative, but we’re all in agreement that we have much unfinished business to address. This blog, we hope, will allow us to continue the discussion.
We are all in agreement that the world is rife with talk and activity of and within the third sector. Our interests are common, but each of us has managed to target something rather unique.
Nonprofit organizations, volunteerism, business associations, public charities, family foundations, art as investment, corporate social responsibility, generation X and Y in the nonprofit workplace, higher education, social enterprise…and the list of topics goes on and on. We are particularly concerned with what makes certain aspects of these topics “nonprofit,” “philanthropic,” or generally socially beneficial. Our common thread is our desire for the development of theory and practice in the third sector, and as our RGK mentor Peter Frumkin put it in his book On Being Nonprofit, the “structural features [that] give these entities a set of unique advantages that position them to perform important societal functions neither government nor the market is able to match.”
However, recent structural changes within some organizations have challenged that ideal…but odds are, one of us is interested in those changes, and we’ll eventually end up discussing it at some point.
We look forward to providing what we hope will be insightful commentary, and we invite you to take part in the discussion.
