Syllabus for Theory and Practice of Nonprofit Management 2010

Milano, The New School for Management and Urban Policy

Theory and Practice of Nonprofit Management

SYLLABUS as of 1-11-10 Spring 2010 Thursdays 6:00 p.m. to 7:50 p.m., January 28 through May 13 Room 1107 at 6 East 16th Street (between Union Square and Fifth Ave.) Instructor: Graduate Assistant: Bonnie McEwan Emma Fawcett Office Hours: T & Th, Milano Rm. 703 [email protected] 212-229-5400 x1618 (Milano office) 917-693-0940 (mobile & best # for me) [email protected] Course Description: Theory and Practice is, in essence, the story of nonprofit organizations. It’s a big story, and as every news reporter knows, a good way to tell a big story is to organize it in terms of the “five Ws” – Who, What, When, Where and Why (and sometimes, How). In this course we will study and debate these key components of the nonprofit story. What exactly are nonprofit organizations, why do they exist, what do they look like, where are they, who are the people behind them -- and importantly, where and how do you fit into the story? Today nonprofit executives and volunteers are faced with a dynamic operating environment that requires them to respond rapidly to change while at the same time staying true to the values that originally inspired their work. They are subjected to increasing levels of public scrutiny and heightened expectations for performance while in the throes of a stagnant economy. On the flip side, technology and innovative thinking offer an array of new ideas and opportunities for addressing the complex social issues that nonprofits seek to impact. What tools and skills do nonprofit leaders need in order to meet contemporary challenges and maximize opportunities for success? And once you are out in the nonprofit/NGO world of work, how will you balance competing demands and make sound decisions for your cause? The objective of this course is to help prepare you to do exactly that. We will examine the history and scope of the nonprofit sector, both globally and within the US, as well as contemporary theories of nonprofit enterprise, governance and leadership, ethics, marketing and brand identity, advocacy techniques, decision-making models and current ideas about possible futures for the sector. Students will leave the course with a solid understanding of these intriguing organizations whose bottom lines are focused not on generating profits, but on changing lives. Required Reading: The texts below will serve as the basis for our discussions, supplemented by journal and other articles to be distributed in class or made available on BlackBoard. Robert D. Herman & Associates, The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, Second Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, Inc., 2005.

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Theory and Practice of Nonprofit Management -- Bonnie McEwan 2

Course Client: Council on Community Services, Port Chester, NY The Council of Community Services of Port Chester, Rye Brook, and Rye Town is a nonprofit 501c3 organization whose mission is to bring together community leaders to assess and meet the vital needs of the community by identifying those needs and working towards solutions by 1) mobilizing community involvement, 2) developing, redirecting and/or coordinating services, 3) advocating for informed decisions by policy makers and contributors and 4) linking people with community resources. Learn more about our client at http://www.communitycouncil-pcrb.org/ Course Requirements/Grading There will be two required writing assignments and one group project: 1. A short paper (3 - 5 pages) assessing where our course client, the Council for Community

Services (CCS), fits into the larger context of the nonprofit sector and suggesting applicable theories that may account for its existence and mission. Course readings, a client meeting and class discussion will provide the basis for your analysis and should be cited in your paper. This paper is due in hard copy at the beginning of class on February 25 (week 5).

2. A term paper (12 - 15 pages) on a topic of your choosing that is related to nonprofit policy

issues or management functions as suggested by this course. The paper should reflect research and should be properly annotated. To stimulate your thinking, there is a list of some possible topics at the end of this syllabus. To avoid dead ends and time-consuming false starts, term paper topic approval is required in advance. The deadline for approval of term paper topics is April 1 (week 9). Please submit a 1-2 page outline of your paper topic for approval. The term paper is due in hard copy at the beginning of class on Thursday, May 6 (week 14). You should plan on sharing some of your findings as a part of the class discussion on May 6th.

3. The group project focuses on analyzing the challenges and opportunities of our course client and suggesting strategies and techniques to help CCS improve its performance. Students will be divided into small consulting groups of 4 or 5 people and will work as a team. Each group will submit its recommendations in a single PowerPoint presentation, supplemented by an explanatory narrative of no more than 5 pages in hard copy, on Thursday, April 15. More details of the group project will be discussed in class. Students are expected to discuss all assignments in class. All papers should be annotated or footnoted with sources used according to MLA style. LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE PENALIZED ONE-HALF GRADE. PAPERS THAT ARE LATE BY MORE THAN ONE WEEK WILL BE PENALIZED A FULL GRADE. Please note that an Incompete is given only in cases of medical emergency or bereavement. Class attendance, promptness, and participation in class discussions are very important. The final course grade will be computed as follows:

Class attendance and participation 30% Short paper 15% Group project 25% Term Paper 30%

http://www.communitycouncil-pcrb.org/


Class Schedule and Assignments: Week 1 - Thursday, January 28 The ‘Who’ Is You. What you bring and why you’re here Week 2 - Thursday, February 4 What Is a Nonprofit, Anyway? The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, Second Edition, Chapter 3, “The Legal Framework of the Nonprofit Sector in the United States,” Thomas Silk, and in e-Reserve: “Recollections of Institution-Building” (1771-84), from the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and “Debate Over a Great Society Nonprofit Organization in Mississippi” (1967), Senator John Stennis and Attorney Marian Wright, both in Hammack, David C., Making the Nonprofit Sector in the United States, pp. 70-84 and pp. 422-438, respectively. Week 3 – Thursday, February 11 Where and When – A Brief History of the Sector The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, Second Edition, Chapter 1, “Historical Perspectives on Nonprofit Organizations in the United States,” Peter Dobkin Hall, and Chapter 5, “The Internationalization of the Nonprofit Sector”, Helmut K. Anheier, Nuno Themudo, and in e-Reserve: “Economic Cooperation Among Negro Americans” (1907), by W.E.B. Du Bois, in Hammack, David C., Making the Nonprofit Sector in the United States, pp. 264-285. Week 4 - Thursday, February 18 The Five Ws of CCS: Client presentation in class The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, Second Edition, Chapter 4, “The Changing Context of American Nonprofit Management,” Lester M. Salamon. Week 5 – Thursday, February 25 – First paper due at beginning of class Who’s in Charge Here? – Leadership The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, Second Edition, Chapter 6, “Board Leadership and Board Development”, Nancy R. Axelrod and Chapter 7, “Executive Leadership”, Robert Herman and Richard Heimovics. Week 6 - Thursday, March 4 What’s Up, Doc? – Strategic Planning The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, Second Edition, Chapter 8, “The Strategy Change Cycle…” John M Bryson.


Week 7 - Thursday, March 11 How’re We Doing? – Organization Assessment The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, Second Edition, Chapters 14 and 16, “Evaluating the Effectiveness of Nonprofit Organizations”, Vic Murray and “Outcome Assessment and Program Evaluation”, John Clayton Thomas. SPRING BREAK – Thursday, March 18 – NO CLASS Week 8 – Thursday, March 25 Who We Are and Why We Matter – Marketing & Brand Identity The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, Second Edition, Chapter 12, “Marketing for Nonprofit Managers”, Brenda Gainer, Mel S. Moyer Week 9 - Thursday, April 1 Where Does the Money Come From? – Revenue Generation The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, Second Edition, Chapter 17, “Designing and Managing the Fundraising Program”, Robert E. Rogal, and Chapter 18, “Enterprise Strategies for Generating Revenue”, Cynthia W. Massarsky. Harvard Business Review, “Should Nonprofits Seek Profits?” William Foster and Jeffrey Bradach, February 2005 Assignment for week 10: Bring in a completed Form 990 from guidestar.org Week 10 - Thursday, April 8 And Where Does It Go? The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, Second Edition, Chapters 19 and 20, “Financial Accounting and Financial Management”, Robert N. Anthony and David W. Young, and “Management Accounting”, David W. Young Week 11 - Thursday, April 15 - Group projects due Who’s on First? – Managing people in a nonprofit The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, Second Edition, Chapters 13, 22 and 23, “Designing and Managing Volunteer Programs”, Jeffrey L. Brudney. “Keeping the Community Involved: Recruiting and Retaining Volunteers”, Stephen McCurley. “Finding the Ones You Want…”, Mary R. Watson, Rikki Abzug.


Week 12 - Thursday, April 22 Advocacy and Ethics The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, Second Edition, Chapters 9 and 10. “Nonprofit Lobbying”, Bob Smucker and “Ethical Nonprofit Management”, Thomas H. Jeavons. Week 13 - Thursday, April 29 What Lies Ahead – Possible Futures for the Nonprofit Sector The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, Second Edition, Chapter 2 and Conclusion. “ Nonprofit Organizations and Social Institutions”, Jon Van Til, and “The Future of Nonprofit Management”, Robert D. Herman, and in e-Reserve: Akira Iriye, Global Community: The Role of International Organizations in the Making of the Contemporary World, “Conclusion,” pp. 195-209. Week 14 - Thursday, May 6 - Term paper due at beginning of class What I Discovered Round Robin Discussion of Paper Topics and Findings Week 15 – Thursday, May 13 What Will You Carry? The Two-Sentence Takeaway


Possible areas of study for term papers, with some examples ♦ Critique of selected nonprofit sector theories

♦ Choose two theories that you like and defend them. Give specific examples of instances

where you see these theories in practice.

♦ Challenge two theories you think are faulty. As above, be specific.

♦ Strategic planning in Nonprofit Organizations

♦ Defend strategic planning. Why is it worth the time and effort when many plans end up

sitting on a shelf?

♦ Suggest ways to improve the planning process in an existing organization with which

you are familiar. Cite specific research you conducted with that organization.

♦ Nonprofit Governance and leadership

♦ Topic: How to recruit and train a high functioning nonprofit board

♦ Should clients sit on a nonprofit board? Why or why not? Give examples from real

organizations that you have researched and interviews you conducted.

♦ Human Resources management in nonprofit organizations

♦ How can nonprofit organizations attract top talent in high-demand fields (IT, e.g.)?

♦ Should nonprofits adopt corporate-style management practices? (e.g., nomenclature,

bonuses, marketing budgets). What are the pros and cons?

♦ Dilemmas of attracting and rewarding competence in nonprofit organizations

♦ Is maintaining internal pay equity worth sacrificing a nonprofit’s ability to attract new,

more expensive talent?

♦ Should nonprofits require continuous professional development training for staff? How

would such a program work? Who would pay? Would top management be included?

♦ Nonprofit law

♦ Some nonprofits seem to skirt the laws regarding tax-exempt activities, such as making

profits or lobbying. Should there be sanctions against those that do? What would the

sanctions looks like? Who would oversee them? How would you assure fairness in

application of the sanctions?

♦ Should nonprofit organizations be allowed to deny certain people membership? If yes,

on what basis? Race? Gender expression? Citizenship? Criminal record? Religious

belief? If no, can you think of any instances when an exception should be made?

♦ Nonprofit advocacy

♦ Defend this statement: Nonprofits have every right to advocate for public policies that

benefit their clients.


♦ Challenge the statement above.

♦ Issues of racial, ethnic and cultural diversity in the nonprofit sector

♦ Many nonprofits are formed around issues of common identity (e.g., Gay Men of African

Descent, Willie Mae’s Rock Camp for Girls, Presbyterian Women United). As nonprofit

organizations become increasingly diverse, when does a group become not a group? In

other words, at what point is the membership so diverse that the group no longer has a

common identity? Or is this whole idea just a smokescreen to avoid diversity? Give

specific examples from your own research, reading and experience.

♦ Fundraising and development

♦ What are the two or three most pressing issues in fundraising today? How do you think

they should be addressed?

♦ Challenge or defend this statement: Earned income, social entrepreneurship and other

forms of revenue generation are eclipsing traditional fund development in the nonprofit

sector. Give concrete examples to support your position.

♦ Nonprofit marketing

♦ These days many nonprofit organizations are spending significant money on branding

campaigns. Either challenge or defend this practice, citing examples to support your

views.

♦ Analyze the marketing strategy of a successful nonprofit organization of your choice.

How do you know the strategy is successful?

♦ International nonprofit management

♦ Topic: Choose a global nonprofit that maintains offices in several different areas of the

world. Assess the way cultural differences impact the management of the organization.

♦ Of the wealthy, “developed” nations some (e.g., the Netherlands, the UK) routinely

donate more money per capita to the “developing” world than do others (e.g., the US,

Japan). Research, discover and discuss the possible reasons for this.

♦ History of the nonprofit sector

♦ It is sometimes said that religion is the godmother of the nonprofit sector. This begs the

question, which religion? Or do all religions promote “charity?” Research at least two

different religions (e.g., Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, etc.) and

trace how, if at all, the religions facilitated the development of charitable organizations.

♦ Today foundations play a significant role in American culture, with an influence beyond

that which comes from simple grantmaking. How did this come about and what do you

see as the role of foundations in the future?


♦ Management issues for small nonprofits

♦ Compared to larger nonprofits, what are the pros and cons of being a small nonprofit in

today’s economic and political environment?

♦ Are some charitable purposes (aka missions) more suitably carried out by small

nonprofits rather than large ones? What do these missions have in common that allow

them to be classified or grouped together? Cite several specific examples to support

your points.

♦ Ethical issues for nonprofits

♦ Develop a set of ethical principles that a nonprofit organization could ask potential board

members to sign. Explain your reasons for including each of the principles in the

document.

♦ What systems and controls should a typical nonprofit have in place to ensure that its

staff and volunteers operate ethically? Give examples of how these controls work.

♦ Scope and dimensions of the nonprofit sector

♦ Each year the IRS grants 501(c)3 status to tens of thousands of new nonprofit

organizations. Discuss the pros and cons of adding all of these new nonprofits annually

to an already large and diverse sector.

♦ Some nonprofits seem to have more in common with for-profit organizations working in

the same field than they do with other nonprofits. Cite several examples and explain

why you think this is true. Or refute this statement, also with examples.

♦ Technology’s impact on the nonprofit sector

♦ Discuss how technological developments in the last 5 years have changed the way that

advocacy nonprofit organizations do business.

♦ Internet technologies have made it possible for some nonprofit organizations to exist

virtually, with no physical office space. Select three such nonprofits and

compare/contrast the way they do business. Are the missions of these groups

dependent on their ability to be virtual, and if so how?

♦ Measuring the impact of the nonprofit sector on society

♦ Discuss various methods for measuring the impact that an individual nonprofit

organization may be having on the society at large. Give specific examples.

♦ Defend or challenge this statement: The nonprofit sector is essential to maintaining a

free society. As always, give specific examples to support your contentions.