Publications

April 2020 (Revised May 2025)
Case

Shorefast: A Strange and Familiar Way to Reimagine Capitalism

By: Brian Trelstad, Wendy Smith and Natalie Slawinski

In 2006, Zita Cobb and two of her brothers, Alan Cobb and Tony Cobb, native Newfoundlanders, launched Shorefast to help grow another leg of Fogo Island’s economy. Like so many rural communities, Fogo Island’s fate was tied directly to one primary resource—in this case... View Details

Keywords: Place Making; Non-profit; Hotel; Economic Development; Tourism; Social Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit Organizations; Development Economics; Economic Systems; Tourism Industry; Canada

September 1993 (Revised January 1994)
Case

Habitat for Humanity International

Habitat for Humanity, a not-for-profit, volunteer-based home builder, is coping with years of rapid growth and success. They now face a series of options to continue their successful course and must make corresponding organizational adjustments. Teaching objectives... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Nonprofit Organizations; Growth Management; Housing; Service Industry; United States

Profile

Carter Romansky

business through product sales), Carter did a major refocusing of his own. "I wanted to add values back into the picture," he says, explaining his attraction to the nonprofit sector. "Traditionally," Carter says,... View Details

April 2003 (Revised September 2003)
Case

Harold Morton and the Rivendell Board (A)

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Ingrid Vargas

Describes the thoughts of a new trustee prior to his first trustees meeting. View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards

22 Mar 2018
Blog Post

“Mission + Profit: What’s the Balance?” asks SECON 2018

How do you balance between being a mission-driven organization and a financially profitable company? That was the central question we posed to participants and speakers of this year’s Social Enterprise Conference (SECON). The 19th annual SECON took place from February... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit / Government; Nonprofit / Government; Nonprofit / Government; Nonprofit / Government; Nonprofit / Government

01 Feb 1998
News

Short Takes

Who Does Good and Why While it's common knowledge that business leaders often serve on nonprofit boards, there has been little formal information about the characteristics and motivations of such individuals. In a 1997 working paper... View Details

Keywords: Judith A. Ross

01 Mar 2014
News

Building Capacity in the Social Sector

would connect the SEI with his own Pennsylvania community. Thun's 2007 gift, an endowed scholarship that helps bring a Lehigh Valley nonprofit executive to the SEI's Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit... View Details

Keywords: SEI; Educational Services

Web

Impact Stories | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Filter Results: (52) Submit People Alumni Executive Education Faculty MBA Students Topics Business for Social Impact Impact Investing K-12 Education Nonprofit Strategy & Governance Public Sector Social Entrepreneurship Format Text Video... View Details

19 Jun 2013
News

Your Guide to Social Enterprise

Georgia Levenson Keohane Photo courtesy of Georgia Levenson Keohane What is social entrepreneurship? Is it simply an approach to business in which profit comes hand in hand with some positive social change? Or is it the application of business methods to a View Details

Keywords: Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations; Personal Services; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

Web

Blog | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Impact Measurement Inclusive Finance International Development K-12 Education Leadership Fellows Leadership in Challenging Times MBA Programs Microfinance Non Profit Management Nonprofit Supportive Services Public Sector Public-Private... View Details

April 2003 (Revised September 2003)
Case

Harold Morton and the Rivendell Board (B)

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Ingrid Vargas

Describes what happens as the trustee reflects on his first several years' experience. View Details

Keywords: Governance; Nonprofit Organizations; Governing and Advisory Boards

28 Jun 2018
Cold Call Podcast

L.A. Philharmonic Shows the American Symphony Orchestra Isn’t Dead Yet

Keywords: Re: Rohit Deshpande; Entertainment & Recreation; Fine Arts

February 2024 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Asian Community Development Corporation: Building Housing and Community

By: Michael Chu and Alexis Lefort

Based in Boston’s Chinatown, the Asian Community Development Corporation’s mission was to build affordable homes, empower families, and strengthen communities. The case examines whether ACDC should continue pursuing all three goals or focus on affordable housing. View Details

Keywords: Housing; Mission and Purpose; Nonprofit Organizations; Urban Development; Boston

April 2011
Case

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts: Alternative Futures

By: Allen Grossman and Coleman Radell

Ren Levy took over Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts when it was a group of warring constituents and has successfully brought a diverse group of arts organizations together. View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Strategy; Arts

January 2008 (Revised August 2012)
Case

Retail Sales of Health Insurance: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Grady Clouse

The BCBS of Florida is contemplating whether to enter the consumer-driven health care market and if so, whether to target such groups—and individuals—and in which of its geographic markets, and how. View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Nonprofit Organizations; Strategy; Insurance; Insurance Industry; Florida