Publications

09 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

Why Entrepreneurs Should Go Work for Government

organization was not eligible to receive nonprofit status—which meant donations would not have been tax-deductible and likely caused many potential donors to not contribute. "The One Fund team made it known we would proceed without... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

September 2021 (Revised February 2023)
Case

Harambe: Mobilizing Capital in Africa

By: Anywhere (Siko) Sikochi, Dilyana Karadzhova Botha and Francesco Tronci

Harambe was a non-profit organization whose mission was to build an ecosystem to identify promising young African entrepreneurs and provide them access to training, markets, capital, and support networks. From 2007 to 2021, Harambe had grown to a network of 367... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit Organizations; Business Model; Strategy; Organizational Structure; Business Startups; Capital; Venture Capital; Social and Collaborative Networks; Networks; Developing Countries and Economies; Emerging Markets; Africa; South Africa

September 2020 (Revised September 2021)
Case

Student Success at Georgia State University (A)

By: Michael W. Toffel, Robin Mendelson and Julia Kelley

Georgia State University had developed a reputation for driving student success by nearly doubling its graduation rate for students of all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. It did so while growing its student body and the proportion of Black/African... View Details

September 2010 (Revised November 2011)
Case

Salud Digna: Successfully Competing with For-Profit Organizations

By: Allen S. Grossman and Regina Garcia-Cuellar

Hugo Moreno, CEO of Salud Digna, was considering his growth options for the next three years. Would becoming a for-profit with access to greater capital be the best strategy or would this cause the organization to lose its social mission? Salud Digna provided... View Details

Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Health Testing and Trials; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Nonprofit Organizations; Health Industry; Mexico

18 Aug 2008
Research & Ideas

How Disruptive Innovation Changes Education

beginning. We have founded a nonprofit think tank, Innosight Institute, to promote the ideas from our work to the stakeholders in the system so that we can help create meaningful change. We also are employing the think tank to continue... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Education

03 May 2010
Research & Ideas

What Is the Future of MBA Education?

strategy consulting from a prior position in industry, government, or the nonprofit world—the MBA has long been viewed as absolutely essential. One dean, for example, noted that nearly 80 percent of students at his prior institution had... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Education

01 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

Five Questions for James Austin

opportunity to differentiate the company and its products. It can also elicit positive reactions from government officials and regulators on important business issues. Q: It's clear that nonprofits get financial benefits from partnering... View Details

Keywords: by Carla Tishler

07 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

The Organizational Model for Open Source

themselves from individual liability. Since the Free Software Foundation was founded in 1985, a number of new nonprofit foundations have formed, often around specific technologies, to serve the interests of programmers. HBS professor... View Details

Keywords: by Mallory Stark

19 Oct 2017
Research & Ideas

How Charitable Organizations Can Thwart Excuses for Not Giving

how much good the donation will achieve. “That gives you some moral wiggle room to pursue the more selfish action,” says Exley, an assistant professor in the Negotiation, Organizations & Markets Unit at HBS. Her research attempts to improve the performance of View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

10 Nov 2011
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Making Lincoln Center Cool Again

When Reynold Levy took over as president of New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in 2002, he faced a classic challenge for any nonprofit leader navigating a complex environment: staying relevant to the next generation. Levy... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Entertainment & Recreation

09 Mar 2003
Research & Ideas

Education, Technology, and Business: What’s the Catch?

was what led Ira Fishman in this direction. Fishman worked in the Clinton administration as Counsel and Director of the Task Force on Education at the Federal Communications Commission and founding CEO of the nonprofit E-Rate program that... View Details

Keywords: by Carla Tishler; Education

November 1989
Case

Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. (C)

By: James L. Heskett

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; United States

November 1989
Case

Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. (B)

By: James L. Heskett

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; United States

November 1989 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. (A)

By: James L. Heskett

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; United States

19 May 2003
Lessons from the Classroom

Business Plan Winner Targets India Dropouts

Harvard Business School MBA '03 students Raj De Datta, Arvind Krishnamurthy, and Meghna Modi recently won the Social Enterprise track of the annual HBS Business Plan contest with their plan for brokering microfinance loans to families in the service of keeping... View Details

Keywords: by Carla Tishler; Financial Services

June 2017
Technical Note

Issues in Non-Profit Governance

By: F. Warren McFarlan

Non-profit governance at its core is very different from for-profit governance. Certain aspects of non-profit governance are widely pervasive across all non-profits, while all others are idiosyncratic to specific sub-groups of non-profits. After identifying these... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Nonprofit Organizations