Publications

October 1999 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Women's World Banking: Catalytic Change Through Networks

By: James E. Austin and Susan Hamerling

Describes the evolution of Women's World Banking, an international microfinance nonprofit promoting financial access for poor women. Explores the organization's development of different types of networks to achieve its mission. View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; History; Networks; Microfinance; Nonprofit Organizations; Gender; Growth and Development Strategy

04 Feb 2008
Research & Ideas

Putting Entrepreneurship in the Social Sector

The social sector is big business. In the United States alone some 1.5 million nonprofits and other social ventures have combined revenues of $700 billion and control assets valued at $2 trillion—a seemingly substantial arsenal to tackle... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

Spring 2014
Article

What Impact? A Framework for Measuring the Scale & Scope of Social Performance

By: Alnoor Ebrahim and V. Kasturi Rangan

Organizations with social missions, such as nonprofits and social enterprises, are under growing pressure to demonstrate their impacts on pressing societal problems such as global poverty. This article draws on several cases to build a performance assessment framework... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Performance Evaluation

Find at Harvard

Read Now

This article examines the rise of hybrid organizations that combine aspects of nonprofits and for-profits and the challenges hybrids face as they attempt to integrate traditionally separate organizational models.

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October 1998 (Revised December 1998)
Case

CRA Managed Care, Inc. (B)

By: Myra M. Hart and Susan Harmeling

An entrepreneur's transition from chairman/CEO of a large privately held company, to chairman of a public company, to leadership in several large nonprofit organizations is chronicled. View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Nonprofit Organizations; Governing and Advisory Boards; Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career

29 Aug 2022
News

Harvard Business School Announces 2022 Goldsmith Fellows

July 1998 (Revised October 1999)
Case

IPODERAC

By: James E. Austin, Wendy Bermudez and Gustavo Escobar

This 32-year-old nonprofit organization has dedicated itself to the care and social development of abandoned street children in Mexico. Examines the organization's efforts to achieve financial sustainability, particularly through earned income activities on its farm.... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Management; Organizations; Problems and Challenges; Nonprofit Organizations; Balance and Stability; Service Industry; Mexico

25 Apr 2014
Video

Venkatesh Iyer - Making A Difference

October 2003
Case

Financing Biodiversity Conservation by the Global Conservation Fund

By: Mihir A. Desai and Julia Stevens

The Global Conservation Fund is an international nonprofit organization with a $100 million endowment and an exclusive focus on land preservation. The fund and its director must decide which projects to fund over the next year and what financing mechanism to use.... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Protection; Project Evaluation; Environmental Sustainability; Projects; Finance; Decision Making; Financial Instruments; Nonprofit Organizations

June 2003 (Revised March 2006)
Case

ACCION International

By: John A. Quelch

ACCION International is a major nonprofit player in microfinance. Reviews the organization's history and evolution, details current activities and relationships within its network, and assesses the organization's challenges moving forward. View Details

Keywords: Networks; Nonprofit Organizations; Microfinance

Anjali... View Details

30 Mar 2015
Video

Jennifer Moses - Making A Difference

May 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Case

Willa Seldon at Tides Center (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Stecker

Willa Seldon, an African-American woman with 16 years of for-profit experience, was hired as executive director of Tides Center, a nonprofit in San Francisco, CA. Tides Center was a fiscal sponsor dedicated to supporting individuals and groups working toward social... View Details

Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Nonprofit Organizations; Transition; Change Management; Leadership Style; Performance; Customer Satisfaction; San Francisco

25 Apr 2014
Video

Tom Kempner - Making A Difference

04 Jun 2024
Blog Post

Finding Alignment to Make Impact: Layla Ramirez (MBA 2017)

Before becoming a Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, Layla Ramirez (MBA 2017) was a prospective lawyer, an investment manager, a nonprofit leader, and a tech program manager. Beyond her professional roles, Ramirez is... View Details

April 2002 (Revised July 2003)
Case

Cisco Systems and its Community Fellowship Program (A)

By: Diana Barrett and Sheila McCarthy

Focuses on the introduction, implementation, and initial evaluation of Cisco Systems Community Fellowship Program. This program provided Cisco employees affected by the layoff the option of working with a nonprofit organization for one year. Instead of a severance... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Compensation and Benefits; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Web Services Industry; Information Technology Industry; United States