Publications

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January 2001 (Revised June 2001)
Case

Local Initiatives Support Corporation

By: James E. Austin and Kim Slack

Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC) is a $74 million nonprofit social enterprise that combats poverty by helping community development organizations build affordable housing and create economic development opportunities through public-private partnerships. Poses a... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Development Economics; Education; Capital; Investment Funds; Taxation; Growth and Development; Partners and Partnerships; Nonprofit Organizations; Segmentation; Service Industry

Find at Harvard

18 Jun 2019
News

Can Khan Academy Scale to Educate Anyone, Anywhere?

How Companies Can Help Rebuild America’s Common Resources

In cities and metros across the United States, leadership from government, business, labor, education, and the nonprofit sector have started to work together across sectors to bolster communal resources. These cross-sector collaborations are diverse in nature, and... View Details

November 2005 (Revised August 2006)
Case

John Whitehead: A Life in Leadership

By: William W. George and Andrew N. McLean

In 2005, John C. Whitehead, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. (LMDC), confronts the collapse of a delicate agreement among business, government, and public interests in rebuilding on the World Trade Center site. Provides information on the leadership... View Details

Keywords: Education; Construction; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Biography; Leadership; Leadership Development; Agreements and Arrangements; Nonprofit Organizations

January 2003 (Revised January 2007)
Case

Guide Dogs for the Blind Association

By: Allen S. Grossman, Jane Wei-Skillern and Kristin Lieb

In 2002, Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, the recognized world leader in the breeding and training of guide dogs, was in the midst of broadening its reach and providing additional mobility services. Chief Executive Geraldine Peacock was concerned that systemic... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Growth and Development Strategy; Resource Allocation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Programs; Networks; Nonprofit Organizations; Competitive Strategy

July 2017 (Revised July 2018)
Case

Entrepreneurship for All

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Julia Kelley

Entrepreneurship for All (EforAll) is a Lowell, Massachusetts–based nonprofit that hosts business accelerators for entrepreneurs in underserved communities. By mid-2017, EforAll has five office locations in Massachusetts, and its leadership and the Board of Directors... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions

June 2017
Case

Guillermo Jaime—An Endeavor Entrepreneur

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Sarah Mehta and Aldo Sesia

Guillermo Jaime was the founder and CEO of Mejoramiento Integral Asistido (MIA), a for-profit company providing affordable housing to low-income Mexicans living at the base of the pyramid (BOP). This case tells the story of Jaime and Endeavor, a nonprofit dedicated to... View Details

Keywords: Base Of The Pyramid; Social Capitalism; Housing; Emerging Markets; Social Enterprise; Society; Wealth and Poverty; Social Entrepreneurship; Construction Industry; Mexico

28 Aug 2024
News

Harvard Business School Announces 2024 Goldsmith Fellows

28 Feb 2022
News

The Importance of the Governance Committee to a Successful Development Program

September 2016 (Revised December 2018)
Case

Joan Bavaria and Multi-Dimensional Capitalism

By: Geoffrey Jones and Seema Amble

The case examines the career of Joan Bavaria, a pioneer of socially responsible investing and founder of Trillium Asset Management and Ceres, the nonprofit organization advocating for sustainability leadership. It describes her personal journey from art student and... View Details

Keywords: Integrated Corporate Reporting; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Personal Development and Career

August 2011 (Revised July 2014)
Case

Social Innovation at Salesforce.com

By: Christopher Marquis, Marley C. Kornreich and Bobbi Thomason

Salesforce.com recently implemented an innovative social enterprise business model whereby the Salesforce.com Foundation funds its operations and grant budget by selling discounted salesforce.com software licenses to nonprofits and education clients. The case recounts... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business Model; Information Technology; Leading Change; Problems and Challenges

25 May 2021
News

Meet the 2021-2022 Leadership Fellows

06 Jul 2020
News

Advanced Leadership Through Smart Innovation, With Special Guest Rosabeth Moss Kanter

October 1987 (Revised September 1992)
Case

Hurricane Island Outward Bound School

Hurricane Island Outward Bound, a small, nonprofit school that helped pioneer experiential education in the United States, has recently recovered from a financial crisis. Students take the role of the school's new marketing manager, who is preparing his first marketing... View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Nonprofit Organizations; Marketing Strategy; Education; Education Industry; United States

09 Dec 2014
News

Can Your Movie Change the World?

June 2008 (Revised August 2008)
Case

World Wildlife Fund US

By: Jane Wei-Skillern and Kerry Herman

World Wildlife Fund US is a leading international conservation nonprofit that operates within a global network of WWF organizations. This case examines WWF US's strategy to achieve its mission of protecting natural wildlife and resources. In contrast to traditional... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Partners and Partnerships; Environmental Sustainability; Nonprofit Organizations; Social and Collaborative Networks; Trust; Integration; Sumatra; United States

20 Nov 2019
News

HBS Examines Alumni Social Impact in the World

November 2009
Article

What Would Peter Say?

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Heeding the wisdom of Peter Drucker might have helped us avoid - and will help us solve - numerous challenges, from restoring trust in business to tackling climate change. He issued early warnings about excessive executive pay, the auto industry's failure to adapt and... View Details

Keywords: Judgments; Employee Relationship Management; Leadership; Goals and Objectives; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Business and Shareholder Relations