Focusing Service Management Efforts: A Model for Non profit Organizations

ABSTRACT

In recent years, many nonprofit organizations have experienced significant cut-backs in support from traditional sources while demand for their services has continued to increase. Many of these organizations have attempted to bridge this growing chasm by increasing their fund raising efforts. While not without value, these activities alone will not resolve the dilemma faced by many of these organizations. The authors present a 12-step model to assist managers in nonprofit organizations in determining how to reallocate scarce human and financial resources from non-crucial to truly critical service offerings and in so doing, better meet the needs of their critical constituencies.     

Hoping to Enhance a Local Funding Relationship: Exploring Private Sector Business Preferences When Contributing to Nonprofit Organizations

ABSTRACT

Nonprofit organizations want relationships with private sector businesses because nonprofits rely on fundraising to generate income, a portion of which is provided through the charitable giving of the private sector. Who the private sector contributes to, why they give, and what variables positively influence more giving, are all questions nonprofit organizations continuously want answers to. The answers though are often arbitrary, reflecting subjective criteria based on individual business preferences, the economic status of the marketplace, the community context, and the credibility of the nonprofit program. Because the relationship is dynamic and the answers may continue to change, nonprofits must continue to ask.

This article discusses an exploratory effort to identify the funding attitudes and behaviors of private sector businesses who contribute to their local nonprofit organizations.

The results showed the majority of private sector businesses who responded said they support their local nonprofits primarily with cash contributions, and identified altruism as a key motivation for giving. Results also revealed that their funding choices are somewhat arbitrary with little formalized process for decision-making. Dollars are contributed primarily by direction of individual managers or owners who prefer informal relationships with their local nonprofit organizations, but expect funding requests to clearly explain how the dollars will be used. The findings, although limited, provide results that further examine this complex relationship, and perhaps provide insight into how the relationship could be enhanced for the ultimate benefit of both organizations' needs.     

A Social Marketing Template for Solving the Musicians’ Dilemma Through Nonprofit Healthcare Networks

The Musicians’ Dilemma—the lack of affordable healthcare for the uninsured or underinsured musical entrepreneur—is actually a common problem plaguing not only 33% of musicians, but approximately 19% of the American population as a whole. The current research uses social marketing principles to conceptualize a template for designing a marketing program that meets the healthcare needs of the target market. Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) is a nonprofit organization that links healthcare providers, local businesses, and community donors in a network providing basic preventive health services to this essential segment of the community. HAAM's business model is analyzed and cast on the social marketing framework so that it can be adapted for use by other music cities. Although the template could also be applied to serve other uninsured populations, it is critical that research be undertaken to understand the specific characteristics and needs of each target market and used to adapt the model to those populations.     

Using Video to Build an Organization's Identity and Brand: A Content Analysis of Nonprofit Organizations' YouTube Videos

Organizational scholarship has increasingly focused its attention to how nonprofit, for-profit, and government agencies develop their unique organizational identity through their strategic communication efforts. As social media continues to become more prominent in communication campaigns due to the high levels of public usage and public involvement with organizations on social media sites, it is important to examine these social media messages as they relate to organizational identity. YouTube videos increasingly are being used by organizations to educate and inform just as much as they are to entertain. Through a content analysis of the most viewed videos on the top 100 official nonprofit YouTube channels, this study found that nonprofit organizations primarily use their YouTube videos to inform and educate viewers about their missions, programs, and services. While the videos also occasionally discuss the organizations' advocacy, volunteering, and fundraising efforts, nonprofit organizations were not living up to their potential in terms of engagement through direct appeals for involvement. Additionally, the organizations were more likely to use outsiders' words and stories to build the videos' narratives rather than using internal stakeholders. The benchmark numbers provided by this study reiterate key rules that are stressed in practitioner-oriented work on video production for branding and identity-building efforts.     

Operationalizing the Marketing Concept in the Nonprofit Sector

ABSTRACT

This paper questions the validity of applying the market orientation construct, which was developed ostensibly for and in large multinational organizations, to a sector whose characteristics differ greatly. Instead, this paper argues for a new approach to the operationalization of the marketing concept in the nonprofit sector. The components of this 'societal orientation' are delineated, as are the organizational imperatives, antecedents and the potential consequences and benefits associated therewith.     

Toward an Understanding of Donor Loyalty: Demographics,Personality, Persuasion,and Revenue

Donor loyalty is linked to revenue generation in nonprofit organizations. This study utilized a consumer-based marketing approach to donors and their contributions via examining loyalty to nonprofit organizations. Through a detailed literature review that identified five specific hypotheses, tested using a secondary analysis of a large survey, and the design and implementation of a second (online) survey, this article empirically assesses donor loyalty and provides findings that develop the literature, support practice, and identify areas of future research. The results demonstrate the linkages between donor loyalty and revenue, and provide a deeper understanding of the relationship of demographic factors, preference for consistency, materialism, and maximization to donor loyalty. Notably, the results clearly illustrate that habitual switchers donate substantially less than loyal donors. A series of areas for future research are identified and a number of recommendations are provided to practitioners vis-à-vis understanding their donors and enhancing their revenues through donations.     

Dissecting Word-of-Mouth's Effectiveness and How to Use It as a Proconsumer Tool

Companies are increasingly relying on alternative promotional activities, such as word-of-mouth communication (WOM), to reach their target markets. From a consumer protection perspective this may be troubling, as consumers may not always be aware of what is commercially motivated WOM and what is not. Based on a synthesis of the literature, this article develops the first practitioner-friendly model, which explains WOM's effectiveness as an information source for consumers and why it is a powerful tool for nonprofit organizations and government agencies. Then nine recommendations are developed to help nonprofit organizations and government agencies use WOM more effectively as a proconsumer tool. This is the first article to conceptualize proconsumer WOM rather than naturally occurring WOM or commercial WOM and to specifically focus on WOM to protect and educate consumers. The study paves the way to an untapped research area; that of proconsumer WOM by nonprofit organizations and government agencies.     

Market Orientation and Organizational Performance in the Nonprofit Context: Exploring Both Concepts and the Relationship Between Them

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the concepts market orientation and organizational performance for nonprofit organizations. To understand the nature of this link in the nonprofit context, the authors will discuss and elaborate on the applicability of both concepts to nonprofits. They will develop multidimensional notions of “societal orientation” and “nonprofit organizational performance,” which fit the specific operating environment of nonprofit organizations engaged in the provision of health and social services. The authors also propose a conceptual framework that relates both notions and present the main underlying propositions. They conclude by suggesting items to empirically measure both constructs and venues for future research.     

Use of the Customer Value/Mission (CV/M) Matrix in Strategic Nonprofit Marketing Analysis

ABSTRACT

Application of traditional portfolio methods to nonprofit marketing situations is difficult, to say the least. For the most part, they require detailed market share, market strength, market growth, market attractiveness, and cost and profit accounting information that many nonprofits do not have and may not be able to acquire given the nature of products typically offered by nonprofits, e.g., services and/or social behavior programs. We suggest use of a recently proposed product portfolio model, the customer value/mission (CV/M) matrix as a method that can help nonprofits in then-product planning endeavors. The CV/M matrix better serves the needs of marketing strategists not only in for-profit organizations but in nonprofit ones as well. This is because it reflects on customer value and differential advantage in the eyes of an organization's consumers. This paper directly compares the use of an older portfolio matrix that has been suggested for use in nonprofit organizations with use of the new matrix and discusses some advantages and disadvantages of each.     

Achieving Competitive Advantage Through the Application of Open Systems Theory and the Development of Strategic Alliances: A Guide for Managers of Nonprofit Organizations

ABSTRACT

To effectively compete in today's competitive business environment, nonprofit organizations need to operate as open systems developing strategic alliances with key actors. To help managers of nonprofit organizations develop such relationships, open systems theory is explained, the phrase “strategic alliances” is defined, and a system of alliances is presented as a tool for identifying and analyzing potential relationships.     

Princes and Paupers: Network Ties and Financial Contributions Among Nonprofit Arts Organizations

ABSTRACT

In the United States, nonprofit organizations are the primary vehicle through which wealthy patrons nurture arts and culture. They provide support for theatres, orchestras, operas, and ballet troupes of all sizes, as well as museums, galleries, zoos, and public radio and television stations. The survival of this subsector is dependent on the ability of individuals and foundations to raise and funnel money to the almost 7,000 nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in the United States. Nonprofit arts organizations have historically fared well during periods of financial constraint, in part because they have not depended heavily upon government subsidies. But another explanation for this stable funding picture may be the networks of overlapping board member and interpersonal ties of collegiality and friendship which characterizes the world of nonprofit arts organizations.

We began our research with the idea that network position, particularly as measured by network centrality, is an important resource for nonprofit arts organizations. We hypothesized that the more central an arts organization is in the entire network of for-profit and nonprofit arts organizations in the community, the greater will be the level of support it can generate from local donors. We also hypothesized that the more wealthy a nonprofit arts organization, the more central it is likely to be in the entire network of for-profit and nonprofit organizations.

Using an extensive database of almost 3,000 directors in the Louisville, Kentucky area, and special computer-based network analysis software packages, we were able to calculate the precise centralities of local arts organizations within a network of 149 organizations, corporations, and umbrella funding agencies. In order to determine the local financial support, we collected the 1990 IRS (Internal Revenue Service) Form 990 returns for nineteen of the twenty-five organizations (76%) we identified as active in the Louisville area. After determining organizational centrality, we did a bi-variate analysis between the centrality of an individual arts organization and total organizational wealth. What we found was that centrality is strongly associated with level of contributions and weakly associated with overall wealth. We believe that nonprofit arts organizations can take deliberate steps to maximize this resource by being aware of the other organizational (and social) ties of prospective directors.     

Marketing Management in Nonprofit Organizations: A Customer Analysis of Church Volunteers

ABSTRACT

Volunteers who work in nonprofit organizations serve an important role in our society, as evidenced by their economic impact. Nonprofit organizations which rely on volunteers are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit and retain sufficient numbers of volunteers to fulfill their missions. Faced with this situation, managers need to become more marketing oriented in their approach of dealing with their volunteers. A manager's first step in becoming more marketing oriented is obtaining a better understanding of the organization's volunteers. This article presents an example of a customer analysis of a specific group of volunteers–church volunteers, to test the efficacy of this approach in better understanding a target group of volunteers. Collecting data from survey respondents, comparisons are made between church volunteers and non-volunteers, between church volunteers and secular volunteers, and between church members who volunteer in their churches and church members who volunteer in secular organizations. The findings support the utility of such a customer analysis in helping a manager develop a more accurate mental model of the organization's volunteers.     

Nonprofit Board Members’ Reasons to Join and Continue Serving on a Volunteer Board of Directors

By expanding understanding of individuals’ reasons to serve on nonprofit boards, practitioners will be able to improve recruitment and retention of quality board members. This study explores board members’ reasons for joining and continuing to serve on a volunteer nonprofit board of directors. A survey of nonprofit board members shows similarities in reasons for initially serving and continuing to serve on a board, but analysis of group means reveals significant differences on 20 of 27 dimensions examined. Organizational-level reasons are reported as more important as a result of board service, whereas individual- and community-level items decline in importance after board service. Latent factors that appear to be important for both joining and continuing to serve on a nonprofit board include organizational commitment, personal growth, recognition, and socialness.     

Catch Them If You Can: The Effect of Reminder Direct Mailings on the Return Rate of First-Time Donors

Despite the relevance of interactive marketing strategies, most nonprofit organizations rely on a marketing mix with a focus on direct marketing. Previous research shows that, by optimizing the mailing frequency, organizations are able to distinguish their mailing from other mailings that donors receive. However, some organizations, such as blood services, struggle to convert the frequency recommendations into their marketing practice. As donation events occur irregularly and blood donors are only able to donate a certain number of times, mailing strategies have to result in blood donations. This study examines a strategy in which a reminder direct mailing follows the regular invitation a few days before a particular donation event. A field experiment was conducted with 396 donors; 203 received the double mailing. Surprisingly, the results from hierarchical binary logistic regressions do not reveal any differences between the experimental groups. A single direct mailing approach is recommended, leading to considerable cost savings.     

Professor Juha Näsi: A Professional and Personal Tribute

An important factor that leads governments to engage in public service contracts with nonprofit organizations is the belief that they share similar ethical and value orientations that will allow governments to reduce monitoring costs. However the notion of the existence of similarities in ethical climate has not been systematically examined. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the ethical climate in government and nonprofit sectors and to determine the extent to which similarities (and differences) exist in ethical climate dimensions. Using survey data and structural equation modeling technique, the factor structure equivalence and measurement invariance of the ethical climate in the two sectors are tested. Results indicate that while there is a significant overlap in shared perception of ethical climate dimensions, there are also key differences between the two sectors. The outcome of this research provides important preliminary insights for public policy makers in government to better understand the implications of using the nonprofit sector for service delivery.     

A Theoretical Examination of Giving and Volunteering Utilizing Resource Exchange Theory

Marketing literature has devoted a great deal of research to companies on how to market and promote themselves to consumers but comparatively little to nonprofits on how to promote donations. A likely reason for the dearth of research can be partly attributed to a lack of distinction between various types of helping behaviors. It's difficult to make assumptions about the exchange process when so many diverse helping behaviors are considered. This investigation has been an attempt to differentiate donating to nonprofit organizations from other forms of helping behavior. A taxonomy of time and money donations was developed under the theoretical framework of Resource Exchange Theory. The resulting taxonomy classifies the nature of the exchange between donors and nonprofits on dimensions of particularism and concreteness. The taxonomy also accounts for appropriate rewards for the different types of donation (money, time or both) as well personal involvement of the donor.     

Does Victim Responsibility Influence Nonprofit Volunteerism?

Volunteers provide billions of dollars of nonpaid labor to nonprofit organizations every year. The purpose of this study is to better understand why volunteers join nonprofit organizations. The central research question examines victim responsibility. That is, does the circumstance of the victim influence a volunteer's willingness to donate time? A survey was designed to investigate the research question. The survey contained nine questions related to age and circumstance of the victim and the likelihood of volunteering. One hundred and seventy-five surveys were completed. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the data. The results indicate that volunteers are more likely to volunteer to help when the victims are not responsible for their circumstance.     

Fundraising and the Elderly: A Content Analysis

Direct marketing, as an avenue for fundraising, provides nonprofit organizations with the ability to fulfill their missions and donors the opportunity to support a worthy cause. There are concerns, however, when sophisticated marketing practices target potentially at-risk consumers. Demographic studies clearly show that the percentage of elderly Americans, aged 65 and over, is rising with a corollary increase in the incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. These facts suggest this may be a group whose defining characteristics make them especially vulnerable. This exploratory study identifies and qualifies persuasive tactics used by several linked nonprofit organizations targeting one elderly Alzheimer’s victim over a 14-month period. The carefully designed direct mail solicitations utilize appeals that engender low elaboration likelihood and peripheral route processing. In addition, there is some evidence that even those appeals that might encourage high elaboration likelihood become heuristic cues for individuals with cognitive decrease. Taken together, the incorporation of multiple tactics within each solicitation, an approach referred to here as shotgunning, may have significant implications for future research and practice in communication, ethics, and public policy.     

Nonprofit Organizations' Strategic Responses to Changes in Their Funding Environment:

This pilot study examines nonprofit organizations' attempts to implement strategies in response to changes in their funding environment for HIV/AIDS services. Both past and future strategic initiatives were examined. Many of the related new revenue, legitimation, and retrenchment strategies were found to be significantly different across some types of nonprofit organizations but not for others. Operational implications and future research directions are addressed.