Publications

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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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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

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

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

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

SSRN

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08 May 2020
In Practice

Nonprofits Hurt by COVID-19 Must Hoard Cash to Hold On

survey by the Charities Aid Foundation of America. A staggering 97 percent of respondents expect their funding to decline during the next 12 months as the struggling economy and social distancing hurts fundraising efforts. What can View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

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

August 2021
Case

Andreessen Horowitz’s Cultural Leadership Fund (A)

By: Anita Elberse, Briana Richardson and Cydni Williams

In May 2020, Chris Lyons, a partner at leading venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz receives the news that his company has reached a verbal agreement with one of Silicon Valley’s hottest social-media startups to lead its ‘Series A’ funding round, in a deal that... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Talent Management; General Management; Inclusion; Talent and Talent Management; Diversity; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Networks; Nonprofit Organizations

February 2017
Case

Eve Hall: The African American Investment Fund in Milwaukee

By: Steven Rogers and Alterrell Mills

The case highlights the role of minority chambers of commerce and the background of Eve Hall, a well-regarded multi-sector leader asked to revive Wisconsin's African-American chamber. This case study examines the lending options that a minority chamber of commerce... View Details

19 Sep 2012
Research & Ideas

Funding Innovation: Is Your Firm Doing it Wrong?

problems inherent in corporate R&D funding and offers up possible solutions. The key to success, he believes, may lie in adopting a hybrid model that combines aspects of both the corporate research lab... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

26 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

Women Entrepreneurs Use Springboard for Funding

is the opportunity for these wonderful entrepreneurs to earn and return to those investors." Organized by the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Springboard Enterprises, in tandem with the Center for Women & Enterprise, a... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

August 2021
Supplement

Andreessen Horowitz’s Cultural Leadership Fund (B): Kevin Hart and Clubhouse

By: Anita Elberse, Briana Richardson and Cydni Williams

In May 2020, Andreessen Horowitz secures an agreement with Clubhouse, one of Silicon Valley’s hottest startups, to lead its ‘Series A’ funding round. One of the factors that insiders saw as pivotal in the race to be Clubhouse’s VC firm of choice was Andreessen... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Talent Management; General Management; Inclusion; Talent and Talent Management; Diversity; Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Networks; Nonprofit Organizations

May 2018
Case

The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation's Answer Fund

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Matthew G. Preble

January 2015 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Omar Selim: Building a Values-Based Asset Management Firm (A)

By: George Serafeim, Rebecca Henderson and Shannon Gombos

The sustainable investing market was a recent phenomenon in the first decade of the 21st century. However, an increasing number of investors began to integrated Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues in investment decisions. At Barclays Capital, Omar Selim... View Details

October 2017 (Revised September 2018)
Supplement

Jumia Nigeria: from Retail to Marketplace (B)

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Namrata Arora

This follow up case study explores the ramifications of Jumia's decision to move from a retail-led to a markplace business model for its e-commerce platform. The case visits the company's successes as well as its many failures when adopting this vendor-led strategy. ... View Details

Keywords: Retail; Marketplace; Inventory; Funding; Business Ecosystems; Business Ecosystem; Competition; Business Model; Globalization; Emerging Markets; Expansion; Logistics; Retail Industry; India; Nigeria; Africa

2012
Working Paper

Leviathan in Business: Varieties of State Capitalism and Their Implications for Economic Performance

By: Aldo Musacchio and Sergio G. Lazzarini

In this paper we document the extent and reach of state capitalism around the world and explore its economic implications. We focus on governmental provision of capital to corporations—either equity or debt—as a defining feature of state capitalism. We present a... View Details

Keywords: State Capitalism; State-owned Enterprises; Development Banks; Sovereign Wealth Funds; Economic Systems; State Ownership; Sovereign Finance; Business and Government Relations; Investment

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01 Dec 2015
Research & Ideas

What to Do When Your Organization Has Dueling Missions

commercial revenue to fund its social mission. As such, hybrids combine typical aspects of both corporations and social organizations. “Hybrids have to simultaneously pursue commercial and social objectives”... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

February 2014
Background Note

Raising Startup Capital

By: Jeffrey Bussgang

Entrepreneurs typically focus their full energies on business-building. But raising capital is a core part of building a valuable business. Developing expertise in raising capital is more than a necessary evil, it is a competitive weapon. Master it and you will be in a... View Details