The Impossibility and Necessity of Theodicy

ABSTRACTThere have been fewer population‐level studies of religious organization revenues compared to other nonprofit organizations. This discrepancy is due to the exemption of houses of worship from filing the U.S. Form 990, which is the basis for most nonprofit financial analysis in academic literature. Using granular financial data on over 30,000 religious organizations in Canada from 2009 to 2016, we explore the characteristics of the revenue portfolios for this under‐studied subsector of tax‐exempt organizations. In addition to providing useful descriptive information, such as the differences between funding portfolios by religion or denomination, we identify characteristics associated with financial growth using dynamic difference‐generalized method of moments estimations. We find that donations where receipts were given drive almost all portfolios, while revenues that comprise the portfolio fringe vary widely in form and importance for growth. This study yields information useful to practitioners and researchers interested in nonprofit finance and the financial management.

ABSTRACTThis article explores the impact of Covid‐19 on nonprofit resilience, utilizing the UK social enterprise ecosystem as the area of focus. The article engages the theoretical concepts of organizational resilience and community engagement; specifically, how these are impacted by exogenous shocks that change ecosystem dynamics. The article focuses in particular on financial resilience within the context of social enterprises in the United Kingdom both before and during the Covid‐19 pandemic, explored through a grant funding program delivered between 2021 and 2023. The research utilizes quantitative financial and organizational data gathered from 1507 social enterprise applicants to this grant fund, based upon the period 2019–2022. This is supplemented by qualitative data in the form of interviews and focus groups held with social entrepreneurs (N = 17) and key ecosystem support stakeholders (N = 16), as well as researcher observations of discussions of social enterprise applications from the grant fund panel meetings. The research demonstrates how Covid‐19 impacted organizations' resilience over time, illustrating financial and social resilience among the social enterprise sample engaged during the period 2019–2022. The paper posits that this financial and social resilience is grounded within social enterprises' focus on their communities and their hybrid missions. The findings are useful to policy‐makers and practitioners looking to understand and support third‐sector resilience in the post‐pandemic world.

ABSTRACTThis research note focuses on the experience of nonprofit organizations that relied on in‐person essential volunteers during the pandemic to conduct their core, mission‐related programs. We use unique case data from a survey of a single organization's volunteers before and during the pandemic. We found that there were very few socio‐demographic differences between volunteers before and during the pandemic. However, the organization's volunteer administrative data revealed important differences in the modes that volunteers engaged with the organization. While the total number of volunteers decreased significantly, the number and frequency of individual volunteers volunteering alone increased during the pandemic, and the decline in volunteers overall was driven by the many organized groups of volunteers that the organization depended on pre‐pandemic, which declined precipitously. Individual, committed volunteers became more essential to the organization during the pandemic to help sustain the organization when their stable flows of revolving volunteer groups ended. The prior volunteer management inattention to core, individual volunteers before the pandemic and over‐reliance on revolving volunteer groups left the nonprofit vulnerable at the time of the pandemic disruption, which provides lessons for many similar organizations. Our findings suggest that organizations that benefit from steady volunteer groups should do more to promote individual volunteer loyalty while also managing the revolving door of groups.

ABSTRACTPeer‐to‐peer fundraising has become a popular funding approach for nonprofit organizations, generating quick revenue and a promising opportunity for donor base expansion by transforming peer donors into organizational donors following their peer donation. This study uses survey data from 706 participants to examine peer donors' transformation likelihood and its determining factors. Additionally, it evaluates the capacity of machine learning to predict which peer donors are most likely to transform. The results reveal that, among peer donors who lack prior affiliation with the nonprofit organization, the transformation likelihood is 14.1%, indicating a transformation rate of approximately one in seven peer donors. Regarding the determining factors, post‐donation communication with peer donors after their initial donation increased the odds of transformation threefold, while established nonprofit‐related factors, such as trust in the organization, exhibit no influence. Moreover, applying the random forest approach allowed for the prediction of the transformation with an accuracy of 79% slightly outperforming logistic regression. This study assists in identifying the donors most likely to transform, enabling fundraising managers to allocate efforts effectively and maximize fundraising success.

ABSTRACTApproximately 15% of workers are exposed to bullying in their workplace. However, few studies appear to have been conducted in nonprofit and voluntary organizations. This scoping review explored prevalence and structural and contextual factors that influence bullying in nonprofit and voluntary organizations. From a capture of 671 papers, 54 were assessed for eligibility and 18 full‐text articles were reviewed. Bullying is prevalent in nonprofit and voluntary organizations at the same or higher levels as other sectors, with sexual harassment appearing to be a serious problem in the context of fundraising. A synthesis of papers found a suite of factors presented in four themes; complex and unique power relations, the exploitation of virtuosity, the exercise of hegemonic power, and asymmetrical power and extreme dependency, which together act to stabilize the presence of bullying in nonprofit and voluntary organizations. Such dynamics need to be disrupted for intervention to occur. Further research is needed on how volunteers “sense‐make” in the face of dissonance between organizational mission and behavior, intervention evaluation, and regulating philanthropic donation to reduce donor dependence.

ABSTRACTThe alignment between organizational and employee human values is critical in institutions that base their management on values. This research aims to link Schwartz's 10 human values to workplace authenticity, determining prevalent values in organizations. In tandem, nonprofit organizations are intricately intertwined with the values held by their members, forming the bedrock of their identity. To achieve this goal, an in‐depth analysis is conducted on three nonprofit and faith‐based organizations. The study proposes a hybrid model, merging a genetic algorithm with a linear mixed model, to comprehensively explore the intricate relationship between employees’ human values and authenticity in organizational settings. The underlying model is estimated from data to theory using a genetic algorithm (global optimization) to dynamically determine the best set of human values regressors (also considering interaction effects). The regressors selected to explain the authenticity construct the most from two perspectives, namely, the general model (fixed effects) and the particular model (random effects).

ABSTRACTPrevious approaches to model the performance of nonprofit organizations and their determinants largely rely on linearity and monotonicity assumptions. This research note makes a methodological contribution by jointly using descriptive and predictive models, particularly advanced machine‐learning algorithms that allow for the consideration of non‐linear or non‐monotonic relationships, to understand the relevance of factors associated with the performance of nonprofit sport clubs as well as the nature of relationships. Data were collected via an online survey with 126 representatives of Canadian sport clubs, in which four performance domains were considered: Member relationship, service quality, financial stability, and sporting success. Explanatory linear regressions and four machine‐learning models (i.e., ridge regression, bagged regression, random forest, and gradient boosting machine) are used. The results reveal that machine‐learning models increase the explanatory power compared to linear models. The random forest outperforms the other models in terms of root mean squared error and, partly, mean absolute error, and R square (even though absolute levels of R square are low at times, particularly for financial stability and sporting success, where the presence or absence of a high‐volume donor or high‐performance sports mission might help or hinder performance). Non‐linear relationships are found for several predictors across the four dimensions that were considered, such as the use of outside knowledge, trust, coopetition, age, and tenure of the club representative. We showcase the use of joint computational techniques in nonprofit research to serve two relevant goals: enhance the explanatory power and maintain the interpretability of predictive models.

ABSTRACTDevelopment NGOs face expanded pressures for accountability, both to deliver project results and to operate with participatory and democratic processes. Existing research distinguishes between “upward” accountability to donors and “downward” accountability to clients or beneficiaries, and it often finds that pressures of upward accountability can be stronger. We examine the practices of a subset of NGOs that could be an ideal case for strong downward accountability: small transnational NGOs, which rely on individual donors, tend to make long‐term commitments to a handful of sites, and prize relationships with beneficiaries. We analyze a survey of small U.S.‐based NGOs and find that informal, relational forms of downward accountability dominate among this group. Our analysis finds that the reported frequent visits by U.S. leadership and partnership structure with the host community are associated with more robust downward accountability. Contrary to our predictions, higher shares of funding from foundations and government are not associated with weaker downward accountability. Most importantly for theory, we learn that a lack of required formal upward accountability—in written reports and quantification—is not sufficient to produce stronger downward accountability. Small NGOs are largely untouched by the era of evaluation and quantification in the management of nonprofits. We cannot say whether the absence of these pressures is necessary to promote downward accountability, but we conclude that it is not sufficient.

ABSTRACTPatterns of nonprofit sector growth, organizational birth, and organizational dissolution continue to be at the forefront of the nonprofit management literature. We contribute to this line of research by examining entry, exit, and growth simultaneously, employing the longest panel of US nonprofits of which we are aware. We find estimates of entry ranging between four and 5%, while exit ranges between 1% and 2% per year. The combined rates result in positive sector growth every year, despite variations in regulatory and economic conditions. Our results indicate that lack of exit—not excess entry—is an important, and often overlooked, factor for continued growth of the nonprofit sector. Furthermore, we document the importance of including 990‐N filers and addressing missed filings, demonstrating the bias introduced in metrics of sector growth and exit if we do not account for these issues. We conclude by providing guidance on best practices for scholars and practitioners when measuring nonprofit entry, exit, density, and growth metrics, along with suggested reframing of the mindset around sector growth to consider a lack of exit driving growth rather than exclusively focusing on the creation of new nonprofits.

ABSTRACTCommunity foundations can strengthen their localities by connecting philanthropists with areas of greatest need. This article seeks to examine if equitable practices constitute more equitable decision‐making in the structure and processes of the foundation. To this end, we explore decision‐making in terms of the processes involved in funding allocation and grantmaking of discretionary funds in foundation boardrooms, where these decisions typically begin or take place. Through an inductive approach, we formulate a theoretical framework and test our framework through surveys to community foundation leaders. Findings reveal that cultivating diversity and inclusive practices in decision‐making, organizing decisions by mission and strategic goals, and an organizational commitment to equity can strengthen perceived equitable decision‐making. This research has substantial implications in nonprofit spaces by exploring informal and nontraditional prescriptions for better engaging with communities they are serving and creating a more inclusive society. Theoretical and practical contributions are made for advancing equity through decision‐making in spaces where important community‐based decisions are made.

ABSTRACTMutual aid groups surfaced globally to serve marginalized communities, offering a crucial community‐led crisis response at the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Despite playing a critical role in community‐led crisis responses, the existing literature offers limited insight into why and how they emerged to address the immediate needs of these communities. This study addresses this gap by investigating mutual aid organizing during the pandemic. Employing a sequential mixed methods approach, we utilize survey and interview data to examine how mutual aid groups in the United States rapidly responded to community needs, establishing legitimacy and gaining support from stakeholders. While these groups faced unique management challenges, they offer valuable lessons for the public and nonprofit sectors serving marginalized communities. These lessons include cultivating inclusive and egalitarian relationships, facilitating reciprocity and communal sharing, and catalyzing community‐led responses. Such community‐rooted responses offer crucial insights for enhancing community resilience during and after the pandemic.

ABSTRACTIn nonprofit literature, there is evidence that a more relative dependence on public funding tends to result in nonprofits relying more heavily on insider/cooperative rather than outsider/confrontational advocacy. This led some researchers to believe that there is a resource imbalance between nonprofits and governments while others were convinced of a balance. However, there is hardly any empirical evidence that tests these assumptions. In this paper, we aim to address this research gap by examining the moderating effect of public funding and public service delivery on the relationship between nonprofit perceptions of government support for advocacy and advocacy tactics. Based on a survey of Flemish nonprofits, we find that these nonprofit organizations more frequently use cooperative insider rather than confrontational outsider tactics. Moreover, public funding and public service delivery are important explanatory and moderating variables.

ABSTRACTLeaning on social exchange theory and job demand Resource theory, this study examines the impact of ability, motivation, and opportunity strategic human resource management bundles on job performance via the mediating mechanism of work engagement. Our data were gathered in two waves from 270 paid employees employed by 30 nonprofit organizations in Palestine and were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling. The findings reveal that ability, motivation, and opportunity for strategic human resource management bundles have a significant positive impact on work engagement and job performance. Among these bundles, the opportunity‐enhancing bundle emerged as the strongest predictor of work engagement and job performance. Work engagement was found to partially mediate the relationship between strategic human resource management and performance. The novelty of this study lies in its examination of these relationships using a multilevel longitudinal methodology in the understudied contexts of the nonprofit sector and an Eastern setting, thereby addressing several theoretical, methodological, and empirical gaps within the literature on strategic HRM, the non‐profit sector, and positive psychology.

ABSTRACTFor nonprofits facing a shifting volunteer base and pressure to engage volunteers in new ways, mandatory service presents both opportunities and challenges for volunteer management that are similar yet distinct from episodic volunteers. In this manuscript, we use semi‐structured interview data from a sample of 26 nonprofit organizations to explore why and how nonprofits use court‐mandated volunteers (CMs). We find that nonprofits base their decisions on whether and how to use CMs on instrumental, expressive, and affiliative considerations. Our findings suggest that nonprofits who use CMs perceive that engaging with CMs aligns with their mission, can accommodate many volunteer hours in a short amount of time, and possess the capacity to effectively manage CMs. However, when nonprofits choose to use CMs, especially those with full‐time volunteer managers, they utilize them differently than traditional volunteers, tending to put them in sweat roles segregated from other volunteers and service beneficiaries. This differential use of CMs raises important concerns about whether this sort of mandated service can achieve its purpose of connecting CMs to their communities to curb recidivism. Further, it challenges the very notion of what it means to be a volunteer from both the coercive nature of the relationship and how this labor is used, leading us to consider individuals engaging in mandated service as volunteers in name only.

ABSTRACTNonprofit organizations are increasingly compelled to demonstrate their success to stakeholders, drawing scholarly interest toward systematizing indicators of their success. But what best indicates success is in the eye of the beholder, as success is socially constructed. This paper examines the multifaceted success indicators used by nonprofit leaders in practice and explores how they align with scholarly conceptions of nonprofit success. We develop a framework of nonprofit success from the perspective of nonprofit leaders that is more comprehensive and generalizable than previous ones by analyzing responses from leaders of 861 randomly sampled nonprofit organizations in three metropolitan regions representing different institutional contexts—Vienna (Austria), Shenzhen (China), and San Francisco (USA). Despite contextual differences, leaders' understandings have much in common across settings. The indicators overlap with existing scholarly understandings of nonprofit performance and effectiveness, focusing on internal actions and external stakeholder relationships. However, our findings also uncover two practically relevant groups of indicators that are under‐appreciated in scholarly discourse: relationships within the organization (cohesiveness and social inclusion), and the uptake behavior of external stakeholders (engagement with the organization's offerings). Our findings categorize these indicators in terms of whether they manifest inside or outside the organization and whether they emphasize actions or relationships. The two‐dimensional framework thereby maps common ground among nonprofit leaders across diverse national and organizational contexts, noting how the priority of success aspects varies. Our comparative data underscore the wide‐ranging applicability of the proposed framework, illuminating new directions for research on nonprofit success.