Publications

September 2018
Case

The Financial Management of Harvard Business School

By: C. Fritz Foley and F. Katelynn Boland

In the spring of 2018, the Senior Associate Dean for Strategic Financial Planning at Harvard Business School considers potential refinements to the School's financial management practices. He faced questions about whether the metrics that had been used to evaluate... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit; Financial Management; Nonprofit Organizations; Education Industry; United States

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... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

Article

Making Sense of Accountability: Conceptual Perspectives for Northern and Southern Nonprofits

By: Alnoor Ebrahim

Keywords: Perspective; Nonprofit Organizations; Corporate Accountability

2017
Supplement

Uncommon Schools (B): Seeking Excellence at Scale through Standardized Practice

By: John J-H Kim and Sarah McAra

The (B) case provides an update to the (A) case by illustrating how charter school management organization Uncommon Schools responded to the disparity in its students’ 2013 standardized test results. In 2015, CEO Brett Peiser and his management team decided to align... View Details

Keywords: Charter Schools; Nonprofit Organizations; Strategy; Teaching; Talent And Talent Management; Innovation; Education; Early Childhood Education; Middle School Education; Organizational Structure; Performance Consistency; Growth and Development Strategy; Innovation and Invention; Education Industry

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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

September 2016
Teaching Note

Nuclear Energy: An Answer to Climate Change?

By: Michael W. Toffel and Glen W. S. Dowell

This case asks students to take the perspective of a nuclear energy industry association whose objective is convincing politicians and the public about the merits of its industry. The association is considering whether to approach environmental nongovernmental... View Details

Keywords: Nuclear Energy; Nuclear Power; Environment; Climate Change; Nonprofit Organizations; Environmental Protection; Environmental Strategy; Energy; Energy Sources; Renewable Energy; Partners and Partnerships; Alliances; Strategy; Energy Industry; United States

August 2017 (Revised September 2018)
Case

Audubon in 2017: The Turnaround

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

The case briefly describes the 112-year history of the organization and focuses particularly on the changes wrought by its new leader David Yarnold who was brought in by the board in 2010. Under Yarnold's leadership the organization went through two strategic plans... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Strategy; Change Management; Change; Leadership; Nonprofit Organizations; Strategy; Transformation

Book Review

Review of Nonprofit Trusteeship in Different Contexts by Rikki Abzug and Jeffrey S. Simonoff

By: Christopher Marquis

Keywords: Law; Nonprofit Organizations

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October 1993
Case

United Way of America: Governance in the Nonprofit Sector (A), The United Way

By: Jay W. Lorsch

Discusses the management practices of William Aramony at the United Way of America (UWA). First, the case describes the United Way movement, focusing on both the local chapters and the national organization. Second, it sets forth the Washington Post reports that lead... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Nonprofit Organizations; Management Practices and Processes; Managerial Roles; Management Teams; Crisis Management; Public Administration Industry; United States

June 2013
Background Note

Venture Philanthropy: Its Evolution and Its Future

By: Allen Grossman, Sarah Appleby and Caitlin Reimers

This note explores the current state of venture philanthropy in the U.S. and its future. Based on interviews with 28 practitioners in the field of philanthropy and a review of the literature since the publication of the article introducing the concept of venture... View Details

Keywords: Philanthropy; Nonprofit; Social Institutions; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Entrepreneurship; Civil Society or Community; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; United States

June 2015 (Revised October 2016)
Case

Denver Museum of Nature & Science

By: Jill Avery and Jim Rosenberg

Digital was on Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Programs Bridget Coughlin's mind these days. DMNS had been dabbling in digital for the past few years, but had never fully committed to it. The time had come to establish a strategic vision, and to decide... View Details

Keywords: Digital; Nonprofit; Arts; Education; Marketing; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Media; Education Industry; North America; United States

September 2016
Supplement

Health Leads: Reaching for Impact (B)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Sarah Appleby

The (B) case documents the development of a strategy to achieve system-level impact in a rapidly changing healthcare landscape for a nonprofit focused on addressing patients' basic social needs through healthcare institutions. Founded in 1996 with a volunteer-staffed... View Details

Keywords: Scaling Social Impact; Scaling Social Enterprise; Health Care Delivery; Health Care Outcomes; Nonprofit Scaling; Nonprofit; Social Enterprise; Social Entrepreneurship; Health Care and Treatment; Nonprofit Organizations; Growth and Development Strategy; Health Industry; United States

September 2011
Teaching Note

Salud Digna: Successfully Competing with For-Profit Organizations (TN)

By: Allen S. Grossman

Teaching Note for 311-051. View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Profit; Capital; Mission and Purpose; Growth Management; Nonprofit Organizations; Competitive Strategy; Mexico

22 Jun 2005
Keynote Speech

Corporate Leadership in the Nonprofit Sector." Panel moderator. "Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce

By: Lynn S. Paine

Keywords: Leadership; Nonprofit Organizations

Article

How Does Accountability Affect Mission? The Case of a Nonprofit Serving Immigrants and Refugees

By: Rachel Christensen and Alnoor Ebrahim

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Nonprofit Organizations; Refugees; Demography

January 2007 (Revised December 2008)
Case

Mercy Corps: Positioning the Organization to Reach New Heights

By: Allen S. Grossman and Caroline Joan King

Mercy Corps, the world's 5th largest international relief and development agency, is at a turning point. The nonprofit's opportunities to grow and serve a larger number of beneficiaries are unprecedented. By looking at the unique relationship between headquarters and... View Details

Keywords: Business Offices; Business Headquarters; Globalized Firms and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Structure; Nonprofit Organizations

September 2016 (Revised February 2019)
Case

KaBOOM!: Play at Scale (A)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Sarah Appleby

A case on scaling social impact for nonprofits. Founded in 1995, KaBOOM! quickly became a nationally recognized nonprofit in building playgrounds with strong corporate partnerships and volunteer-organizing capabilities. Over the years, KaBOOM! developed new programs,... View Details

Keywords: Scaling Social Impact; Scaling; Nonprofit Scaling; Nonprofit Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Enterprise; Growth and Development Strategy; United States

September 2016
Case

Health Leads: Reaching for Impact (Abridged)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Sarah Appleby

A nonprofit in the healthcare arena explores strategies to achieve system-level impact. Founded in 1996 with a volunteer-staffed help desk at Boston Medical Center connecting low-income patients with basic resources like heating assistance, job training, and childcare... View Details

Keywords: Scaling Social Enterprise; Scaling Social Impact; Health Care Delivery; Health Care Outcomes; Health Care Reform; Nonprofit; Nonprofit Scaling; Social Enterprise; Health Care and Treatment; Nonprofit Organizations; Growth and Development Strategy; Health Industry; United States