Publications

14 Dec 2011
Research & Ideas

The New Measures for Improving Nonprofit Performance

the programs. It's a process. It's slow. Ebrahim: I couldn't agree more. For a nonprofit leader, it's risky to reveal that your work is not having the impact you desire, particularly in this economy. If we can flip that attitude so that... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

16 May 2005
Research & Ideas

Nonprofit Networking: The New Way to Grow

Whether their mission is to protect wildlife, help disabled people, or offer financial services in developing countries, nonprofit organizations often believe they need to grow big before they can achieve significant social impact. HBS... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Program

Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management

Summary Today's nonprofit organizations are faced with shifting demands for services, resource constraints, and diverse operational challenges. They must also learn to navigate the advent of new technology and new sources of funding. To... View Details

January 2023 (Revised September 2024)
Supplement

The END Fund (B)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Courtney Han

Founded in 2012, the END fund focused on eliminating five Neglected Tropical Diseases that accounted for 80% of the tropical diseases affecting nearly 1.5 billion people worldwide. Its roughly $25 million/year annual budget was fully committed when it got news that the... View Details

Keywords: Health Disorders; Investment Funds; Global Range; Nonprofit Organizations; Resource Allocation; Decisions; Health Care and Treatment; Mission and Purpose

Program

Driving Nonprofit Performance and Innovation—Virtual

nonprofit organization—especially when tackling society's toughest challenges—senior executives and board members must prioritize assessment of organizational performance. In this live online program, you will explore how to align mission... View Details

November 1999 (Revised July 2001)
Case

New Profit Inc.: Governing the Nonprofit Enterprise

By: Robert S. Kaplan

New Profit, Inc. (NPI) is an innovative venture philanthropy fund. Founded by social entrepreneur Venessa Kirsch, NPI intends to raise large donations from individuals who wish to invest in nonprofit enterprises that could have a significant social impact and the... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Nonprofit Organizations; Venture Capital; Social Entrepreneurship; Corporate Governance; Performance Evaluation; Financial Statements; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Service Industry

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

13 Mar 2005
Research & Ideas

The Tricky Business of Nonprofit Brands

of funding erode for nonprofits, an increasing number are turning to the private sector for funding. Businesses are also increasingly searching for opportunities to form partnerships and co-branding programs with high-profile nonprofits.... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

Article

Operations Research in the Public Sector and Nonprofit Organizations

By: Zilla Sinuany-Stern and H. David Sherman

Public sector and nonprofit organizations (NPO) have been growing substantially in number and size since the turn of the millennium. In light of the ongoing economic crises these sectors are expected to grow even more with expanded demands for services, increased need... View Details

Keywords: Third Sector; Operations; Public Sector; Nonprofit Organizations

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2025
Working Paper

How Do Nonprofits Use Cash Windfalls? Evidence from $5B in Unrestricted Donations

By: Jennifer Walsh

How do nonprofits use unrestricted gifts? Donations to 501(c)(3)'s are increasingly given unrestricted due to concerns that restrictions on use unduly constrain nonprofits. I study the effect of such funding on recipients using a $5B sample of MacKenzie Scott's gifts... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Budgets and Budgeting; Compensation and Benefits

SSRN

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June 2006 (Revised January 2007)
Case

Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (A)

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Herman B. Leonard and Melissa Tritter

Dana Hall is a private all-girls school in New England facing a crisis in its mission. As social norms shift away from single-sex education, the school's enrollment is falling and deficits are becoming the norm. At the same time, the modern vision for girls' education... View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Financing and Loans; Nonprofit Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Strategic Planning; Education Industry; England

September 2014
Article

The New Heretics: Hybrid Organizations and the Challenges they Present to Corporate Sustainability

By: Nardia Haigh and Andrew J. Hoffman

Corporate sustainability has become mainstream; reaching into all areas of business management. Yet despite this progress, large-scale social and ecological issues continue to worsen. In this article, we examine how corporate sustainability has been enacted as a... View Details

Keywords: Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Mission and Purpose

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16 Jan 2018
News

Celebrating the Impact of Nonprofits

Photo courtesy of HBSASNE Clubs News Clubs News The HBS Association of Southeastern New England (HBSASNE) recently held its first-ever reunion of the local nonprofit leaders it has sent to the Strategic Perspectives in View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

22 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

Social Capital Markets: Creating Value in the Nonprofit World

for"outcome-based" funding — a process based on nonprofits achievingcertain goals. "It comes down to people questioning the system inwhich we've invested hundreds of billions of dollars and... View Details

Keywords: by Anne Kavanagh

23 Mar 2022
Blog Post

Learning Curve: The Brother-and-Sister Team Behind a New Edtech Nonprofit

math. They also had parents with the resources and knowledge to keep them academically engaged. Now the brother-and-sister team is trying to extend those same advantages to all Indian children through Rocket Learning, the edtech nonprofit... View Details

15 Apr 2022
News

Funding His Purpose

investments to both nonprofit and for-profit social impact companies. It also offers philanthropic fund management, and it partnered with a for-profit consulting firm that focuses on responsible investing to... View Details

03 Sep 2013
Working Paper Summaries

How the Zebra Got Its Stripes: Imprinting of Individuals and Hybrid Social Ventures

Keywords: by Matthew Lee & Julie Battilana

07 Sep 2021
News

Funding His Purpose

money,” Letelier says, and the grants that typically power nonprofits don’t typically offer organizations the flexibility of the financial products available to for-profit companies, which can mean everything from bootstrapping and... View Details

October 2012
Teaching Plan

Vertex Pharmaceuticals and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation: Venture Philanthropy Funding for Biotech (TP)

By: Robert F. Higgins

This is the teaching note related to HBS case 808005. In 2001, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated acquired the San Diego-based biotech company, Aurora Biosciences. The combination of Vertex's and Aurora's technologies would improve the flow of novel drug candidates... View Details

Keywords: Venture Philanthropy; Biotechnology; Funding Philanthropy Venture; Cystic Fibrosis; Foundations; Pharmaceuticals; Mergers and Acquisitions; For-Profit Firms; Venture Capital; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Science-Based Business; Nonprofit Organizations; Pharmaceutical Industry; Biotechnology Industry; United States; San Diego