Matching Items (24)
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In an effort to understand and improve interactions between homeless young adults and the nonprofit organizations that serve them, I engaged in a long-term, qualitative, participatory action project. My project involved input from homeless young adults, nonprofit organizations, volunteers/staff, and communication scholarship. While taking a community-engaged, participatory, and qualitative approach,

In an effort to understand and improve interactions between homeless young adults and the nonprofit organizations that serve them, I engaged in a long-term, qualitative, participatory action project. My project involved input from homeless young adults, nonprofit organizations, volunteers/staff, and communication scholarship. While taking a community-engaged, participatory, and qualitative approach, I focused on the interactions between youth and the organizations. Particularly, I drew on homeless young adult experiences to inform services and illuminate compassion within the context of the nonprofit organizations. In the end, this project extends the individual model of compassion to include presence, identifies potential ruptures in the process of compassion, and models compassionate dynamics in organizations. It also articulates a method I call pragmatic fieldwork, a qualitative and pragmatic approach to participatory action research. Each of these outcomes speaks to varied community interests, from theoretically nuancing scholarly models of compassion to informing policy in the interest of more effectively and compassionately serving homeless youth.
ContributorsHuffman, Timothy (Author) / Trethewey, Angela (Thesis advisor) / Tracy, Sarah J. (Committee member) / Hagar, Mark (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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In many respects, the current public child welfare system closely resembles that of over 100 years ago. Then, as well as now, nonprofit child welfare agencies are the critical providers of service delivery to vulnerable children and their families. Contemporary nonprofits, however, are confronted with social and fiscal pressures to

In many respects, the current public child welfare system closely resembles that of over 100 years ago. Then, as well as now, nonprofit child welfare agencies are the critical providers of service delivery to vulnerable children and their families. Contemporary nonprofits, however, are confronted with social and fiscal pressures to conform to normative practices and behaviors of governmental and for-profit organizations. Simultaneously, these agencies may also feel compelled to behave in accordance with a nonprofit normative ethic. Yet, scholars and practitioners are often unaware of how these different forces may be shaping the practices of child welfare agencies and, the nonprofit sector in general. This multi-paper dissertation examines how managerial and organizational practices of child welfare nonprofits are influenced business, government, and other nonprofit organizations and the extent to which processes process of institutional isomorphism in child welfare nonprofits are happening. Data was collected from a national ample of 184 child welfare administrators to explore marketization practices, collaboration behaviors, and managerial priorities of these agencies. Multinomial logistic, ordered logistic, and ordinary least squares regression, and historical analysis help shed light on the contemporary practices of these agencies. The results reveal that these agency's behaviors are shaped by government control, influences from the business community, identification with a nonprofit mindset (i.e., nonprofitness), funding streams, and various other factors. One key finding is that identification with a nonprofit mindset encourages certain behaviors like collaboration with other nonprofits and placing greater importance on key managerial priorities, but it does not reduce the likelihood of adopting business management strategies. Another important finding is that government control and funding does not have as strong as an influence on child welfare nonprofits as expected; however, influence from the business community does strongly affect many of their practices. The implications of these findings are discussed for child welfare agencies and the nonprofit sector in general. The consequences of nonprofits operating similarly to business and government are considered.
ContributorsRobichau, Robbie Waters (Author) / Catlaw, Thomas (Thesis advisor) / Nahavandi, Afsaneh (Committee member) / Gustavsson, Nora (Committee member) / Wang, Lili (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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Over the past forty years the nonprofit sector has experienced a steady rise in the professionalization of its employees and its operations. Some have argued that this trend is in large part a reaction to the requirements foisted upon the nonprofit sector through the passage of the Tax Reform Act

Over the past forty years the nonprofit sector has experienced a steady rise in the professionalization of its employees and its operations. Some have argued that this trend is in large part a reaction to the requirements foisted upon the nonprofit sector through the passage of the Tax Reform Act of 1969. While some scholars have detailed a number of unintended consequences that have resulted from this trend toward professionalization, in general scholars and practitioners have accepted it as a necessary step along the path toward ensuring that service is administered in an accountable and responsible manner. I analyze the contemporary trend in professionalization of the nonprofit sector from a different angle--one which seeks to determine how the nonprofit sector came to problematize the nature of its service beginning in the early twentieth century, as well as the consequences of doing so, rather than reinforce the existing normative arguments. To this end, I employ an "analytics of government" from an ethical and political perspective which is informed by Michel Foucault's conception of genealogy, as well as his work on governing rationalities, in order to reveal the historical and political forces that contribute to the nonprofit sector's professionalization and that shape its current processes, institutions, and norms. I ultimately argue that these forces serve to reinforce a broad movement away from the charitable impulse that motivates individuals to engage in personal acts of compassion and toward a philanthropic enterprise by which knowledge is rationally applied toward reforming society rather than aiding individuals. This movement toward institutional philanthropy and away from individual charity supplants the needs of the individual with the needs of the organization. I then apply this analysis to propose an alternate governing model for the nonprofit sector--one that draws on Foucault's exploration of ancient writings on love, self-knowledge, and governance--in order to locate a space for the individual in nonprofit life.
ContributorsSandberg, Billie (Author) / Catlaw, Thomas J (Thesis advisor) / Denhardt, Janet V (Committee member) / Hall, John S. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
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ABSTRACT This multi-case study research, using qualitative and quantitative methods, examines, compares, and validates the traits, behaviors, and formulas for success utilized by four experienced, long-term, exemplary executives who lead nonprofit organizations (NPOs) that serve homeless and "at risk" populations. Service longevity is a measure of success in this study

ABSTRACT This multi-case study research, using qualitative and quantitative methods, examines, compares, and validates the traits, behaviors, and formulas for success utilized by four experienced, long-term, exemplary executives who lead nonprofit organizations (NPOs) that serve homeless and "at risk" populations. Service longevity is a measure of success in this study and each leader subject must have served a minimum of five years at their NPO to participate, though most have been leading their respective NPOs far longer. An NPO leader affects not only an organization but individual constituents and the entire community. Each leader subject is considered successful by numerous constituents and the community. Anyone is at risk for homelessness and its effects on the entire community are boundless. Traits and formulas for success are measured using three surveys: Kouzes & Posner's 360 LPI and Most Admired Characteristics surveys and Cialdini's Influence IQ Test. Additional data sources are personal interviews, organizational 990s, annual reports, and other financial and programmatic data. The instruments for data analysis are a Likert 7 Point Importance Scale used for the program and organizational evaluations by NPO professional outside raters and the Strategic Plan. Analytic tools are the Pearson Product Moment Correlations, the organization's 990s, a 3 year annual report comparison, and participant observation. This study measures the leaders against the ideal. One common theme among all the leaders is consistency, one of Cialdini's Six Principles of Influence; ii
ContributorsOstrom, Martha (Author) / Cayer, N. Joseph (Thesis advisor) / Cialdini, Robert B. (Committee member) / Schlacter, John L (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Project C.U.R.E. is a nonprofit organization that delivers donated medical supplies and services to developing nations across the world. Currently, the Phoenix location has three full time employees, so a majority of the manual work is completed by episodic and long-term volunteers as well as semesterly interns. Volunteers are the

Project C.U.R.E. is a nonprofit organization that delivers donated medical supplies and services to developing nations across the world. Currently, the Phoenix location has three full time employees, so a majority of the manual work is completed by episodic and long-term volunteers as well as semesterly interns. Volunteers are the backbone of the organization's daily productivity. Productivity among the Project C.U.R.E. warehouses varies greatly by location and is not directly related to the size of the warehouse. Productivity if hereby defined as as a warehouse's capability to meet the organization's goal of one container per week. Productivity can be increased or decreased based on the number of volunteers, funding, and catalogued inventory. Across all warehouses there is generally an overflow of donated equipment and consumable products, and therefore this is not usually a factor in productivity. In order to better understand why the Phoenix warehouse is the second most productive despite being the smallest, we researched how the motivations of volunteers. A survey was conducted to assess the motives of Project C.U.R.E.'s volunteers by quantifying their responses according to the Volunteerism Functional Inventory (VFI). The survey also produced information regarding volunteer demographics (ie. including gender, age, and occupation), as well as statistics about how often they volunteer at Project C.U.R.E. and their overall satisfaction with the organization. The data was then analyzed to determine the most relevant VFI characteristic. Upon analyzing the data, it was observed that the majority of participants were male (58.95%) and were between the ages of 18 and 25 (82.11%). The results also showed that Project C.U.R.E. utilizes a large number of episodic volunteers from Arizona State University (due to its close proximity to the Phoenix warehouse) was supported in that the data showed 72.63% of participants were undergraduate students and that 48.42% had just volunteered for their first time. After combining survey questions that corresponded to the same characteristic of volunteerism as outlined by Clary et al. (values, social, career, understanding, protective, and enhancement) the average of the responses was taken and used to determine the most relevant motives for our volunteer population. Based on the data, values (average score of 5.0) and understanding (average score of 5.0) were the two most relevant characteristics and protective (average score of 1.0) was the least relevant to volunteers. Additionally, 41.1% of survey respondents reported food would incentivize them to return to Project C.U.R.E. Additionally, 35.6% of survey respondents reported receiving Project C.U.R.E. merchandise would incentivize them to return in the future. Moving forward, it is recommended that the Project CURE Phoenix location begin providing their volunteers with merchandise and other forms of recognition based on the number of hours they committed to the organization.
ContributorsPrimiano, Sarah (Co-author) / Maglajac, Benjamin (Co-author) / Wang, Lili (Thesis director) / Kizer, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / School for the Science of Health Care Delivery (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
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The contemporary world is motivated by data-driven decision-making. Small 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations are often limited in their reach due to their size, lack of funding, and a lack of data analysis expertise. In an effort to increase accessibility to data analysis for such organizations, a Founders Lab team designed a

The contemporary world is motivated by data-driven decision-making. Small 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations are often limited in their reach due to their size, lack of funding, and a lack of data analysis expertise. In an effort to increase accessibility to data analysis for such organizations, a Founders Lab team designed a product to help them understand and utilize geographic information systems (GIS) software. This product – You Got GIS – strikes the balance between highly technical documentation and general overviews, benefiting 501(c)3 nonprofits in their pursuit of data-driven decision-making. Through the product’s use of case studies and methodologies, You Got GIS serves as a thought experiment platform to start answering questions regarding GIS. The product aims to continuously build partnerships in an effort to improve curriculum and user engagement.

ContributorsFletcher, Griffin (Co-author) / Heekin, Noah (Co-author) / Ferrara, John (Co-author) / Byrne, Jared (Thesis director) / Givens, Jessica (Committee member) / Satpathy, Asish (Committee member) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies, Sch (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
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This paper analyzes the differences between for-profit marketing and nonprofit marketing and the nuances around nonprofit marketing. There are currently almost 1.8 million nonprofits registered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This sector contributed approximately $1.047.2 trillion to the US economy in 2016 alone (National Center for Charitable Statistics, 2020).

This paper analyzes the differences between for-profit marketing and nonprofit marketing and the nuances around nonprofit marketing. There are currently almost 1.8 million nonprofits registered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This sector contributed approximately $1.047.2 trillion to the US economy in 2016 alone (National Center for Charitable Statistics, 2020). Prior research on nonprofit marketing indicates that nonprofit marketing is more complex and nonprofit organizations face many challenges in developing marketing strategies. Many studies have shown a trend in emerging technologies impacting the way nonprofits can market, including demographic changes, social media, targeting strategies, and improved customer relationships (Andreasen, 2012; Switzer, 2021; Crawford and Jackson, 2019; George and Shah 2021; Graca and Zwick, 2020). To further explore nonprofit marketing and trends in the industry, I interviewed marketing specialists working in nonprofit organizations in Arizona to gain their perspective on marketing in the nonprofit sector. I found a lot of similarities between the results from prior studies on nonprofit marketing and the findings from my interviews such as personalized targeting strategies, the importance of relationships, technological advancements, lack of resources, and digital marketing strategies. However, it was interesting that respondents did not highlight issues related to demographic trends and social media as being central to their marketing strategies.

ContributorsDircks, Morgan (Author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description

Make-A-Wish America has a world-renowned reputation as one of the best nonprofits in the world, and is widely known amongst many individuals looking to support or donate to nonprofits. Their work is not only a fundamental part of human services care within the nonprofit world, but their unique online platform

Make-A-Wish America has a world-renowned reputation as one of the best nonprofits in the world, and is widely known amongst many individuals looking to support or donate to nonprofits. Their work is not only a fundamental part of human services care within the nonprofit world, but their unique online platform and social media presence is a differentiating factor among many other nonprofits and for-profit businesses alike. The purpose of this study is to research Make-A-Wish America’s brand management and marketing strategies as a nonprofit, including secondary research on the brand itself, analyze all environmental factors that affect its marketing strategy, assess their market segmentation, targeting, and positioning, and evaluate their integrated marketing communications strategy. Additionally, I conducted interviews with Make-A-Wish America professionals working within the brand management department at the national office. The individuals were interviewed with various marketing backgrounds within the brand department to gain a deeper insight into their individual experiences and assessments of Make-A-Wish America’s brand management and marketing strategy. My specific thesis goals include utilizing my marketing recommendations to grow Make-A-Wish America’s profits, specifically in actions to increase fundraising. Also, my thesis goal is to find recommendations to outperform competition in gaining supporters and donors as well as, more recently, analyzing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and making recommendations on how they can grow despite this economic tragedy. The results suggest that there are common themes amongst my secondary research and primary research, resulting in marketing recommendations that Make-A-Wish America can utilize to better market to donors and supporters in the future, giving them competitive advantage over other nonprofits and combatting the effects of COVID-19. Recommendations for Make-A-Wish America include investing in their own research and development in terms of customer relationship management tools, online fundraising campaigns, and technology to better inform donors of their mission, vision, and values, diversifying their donor profile and targeted communities, and taking advantage of their point of parity within their social media online platform.

ContributorsBarton, Maddy Taylor (Author) / Montoya, Detra (Thesis director) / Ostrom, Lonnie (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
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Food is one of the most universal and uniting human experiences. It is a powerful tool to bring communities together and it is a simple way to bring joy to an individual. This project is an exercise in marketing and entrepreneurship that was inspired by these ideas, which culminated in

Food is one of the most universal and uniting human experiences. It is a powerful tool to bring communities together and it is a simple way to bring joy to an individual. This project is an exercise in marketing and entrepreneurship that was inspired by these ideas, which culminated in a fundraiser bake sale to benefit Creighton Community Foundation, a local nonprofit.

ContributorsLondono, Jane (Author) / Byrne, Jared (Thesis director) / Martinelli, Sarah (Committee member) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2022-05
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The nonprofit sector exists as one of three working groups which contribute to the flow of the economy and society. Unlike the government and for-profit sectors, the nonprofit world has faced a growing responsibility alongside a lack of emphasis on the sector’s importance. Nonprofits have often faced a lack of

The nonprofit sector exists as one of three working groups which contribute to the flow of the economy and society. Unlike the government and for-profit sectors, the nonprofit world has faced a growing responsibility alongside a lack of emphasis on the sector’s importance. Nonprofits have often faced a lack of resources needed to combat these gaps. However, since Covid-19, resources have been diminishing even further. These resources can be identified as a variety of elements, from volunteers and paid staff to funds and access to overseas goods and services. A case study of the world-renowned Make-A-Wish Foundation and its Arizona Chapter perfectly illustrates the journey back to full mission-accomplishment in present times through their actions taken to combat common sector struggles. This case study proves importance of the nonprofit sector, accompanied by a call for education and re-emphasis of the nonprofit sector.

ContributorsBerglin, Halah (Author) / O'Flaherty, Katherine (Thesis director) / Mallace, Fran (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor)
Created2023-05