Publications

March 1991 (Revised December 1994)
Case

Steve Mariotti and NFTE

Less than three years ago, Steve Mariotti created NFTE, a nonprofit organization for teaching entrepreneurship to disadvantaged youths. The organization has gained national recognition, and offers a variety of programs on a budget of nearly half a million dollars. It... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Nonprofit Organizations; Growth Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Teaching; Business Startups

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

January 2025
Case

Transforming Talent at Teach For Taiwan

By: Juan Alcácer and Chi Kuan

The Teach For Taiwan (TFT) case follows founder Anting Liu as she considers how to scale the nonprofit’s talent strategy after a decade of impact in rural education. TFT recruits high-potential young professionals into a 2-year teaching fellowship, aiming to address... View Details

Keywords: Teaching; Talent and Talent Management; Leadership Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Nonprofit Organizations; Education Industry; Taiwan

September 1998 (Revised November 1998)
Case

STRIVE

STRIVE provides employment training and placement to chronically unemployed inner-city minority youth and young adults. This case describes STRIVE's creation as a community-based, single-site nonprofit in Harlem in 1984; the development of its service model (short,... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Growth Management; Employment; Training; Employment Industry

May 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Case

The Robin Hood Foundation

By: Alnoor Ebrahim and Cathy Ross

Created by hedge fund and financial managers, the Robin Hood Foundation fights poverty through grants to nonprofit organizations. As the global financial crisis continues to impact the poor disproportionately, the Foundation needs to ensure that its funds are being... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Poverty; Organizational Design; Performance Effectiveness; Financial Crisis; Programs; Measurement and Metrics

20 Nov 2019
News

HBS Examines Alumni Social Impact in the World

31 Aug 2021
News

Trust: How To Earn It, Keep It, And Assess It In Others

2014
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: Raymond Jetson's MetroMorphosis and the Effort to Transform Baton Rouge

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Rakesh Khurana and Daniel Penrice

Raymond Jetson, an inner-city pastor, former Louisiana state legislator, and 2010 Harvard University Advanced Leadership Fellow, has embarked on a new career as a social entrepreneur. The case charts Jetson's career in public life and the ministry, his experience as an... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit Organizations; Business and Community Relations; Problems and Challenges; Leadership; Louisiana; Baton Rouge

Article

The Influence of Ownership on Accounting Information Expenditures

This paper analyzes the association between ownership, top management incentives, and expenditures on accounting information. We argue that organizations with privately appointed boards of directors such as for-profit and non-governmental nonprofit organizations use... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Motivation and Incentives; Accounting; Health Care and Treatment; Ownership; Health Industry

2007
Chapter

Beyond Dependence: Conceptualizing Information and Accountability in NGO-Funder Relations

By: Alnoor Ebrahim

This paper explores the linkages between information systems and accountability in nongovernmental and nonprofit organizations (NGOs). The information systems in four NGOs are introduced: two Indian NGOs engaged in natural resource management and rural development, an... View Details

Keywords: Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Corporate Accountability; Information Management; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Non-Governmental Organizations; Information Technology; India; District of Columbia

August 2024 (Revised November 2024)
Case

No Labels and the 2024 Presidential Insurance Plan

By: Robert F. White and Tom Quinn

After observing record voter dissatisfaction with the choices in the 2024 U.S. presidential election—Democratic nominee President Joe Biden and Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump—the bipartisan nonprofit No Labels decided to reserve ballot access in... View Details

Keywords: Disruption; Forecasting and Prediction; Lawsuits and Litigation; Failure; System Shocks; Political Elections; Motivation and Incentives; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; United States

2015
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: Robert Whelan and the Student Loan Crisis (B)

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Grace Sza-Hua Chen and Ai-Ling Jamila Malone

Bob Whelan developed an idea with partners that was a seed before his fellowship year and addressed a significant national challenge - college financing - with a creative concept and experience from his years in investment banking. His nonprofit was called 13th Avenue... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise; Higher Education; Financing and Loans; Borrowing and Debt; Leading Change; Education Industry; Financial Services Industry

2011
Book

Do More Than Give: The Six Practices of Donors Who Change the World

By: Leslie Crutchfield, John Kania and Mark R. Kramer

Do More Than Give provides a blueprint for individuals, philanthropists, and foundation leaders to increase their impact. Based on Forces for Good, this groundbreaking book demonstrates how the six practices of high-impact nonprofits apply to donors... View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

Find at Harvard

28 May 2020
News

Meet the 2020-2021 Leadership Fellows

Teaching Interest

Social Innovation Field Projects

By: John Jong-Hyun Kim

The class will serve as the central clearing house for all independent projects relating to enterprises that are creating social value, with projects ranging from nonprofits to purpose driven for-profit businesses. This course provides students an opportunity to use... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Social Innovation; Social Enterprise

March 2019 (Revised April 2019)
Case

Measuring Impact at JUST Capital

By: Ethan C. Rouen and Charles C.Y. Wang

JUST Capital is a nonprofit organization that seeks to make public companies more "just" by measuring and ranking their overall impact on society, based on the priorities most important to the average American. This case examines JUST’s strategy for influencing... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Issues; Performance Evaluation