Incentivizing For-Profit Investment in the Non-Profit Initiatives of The Community Cooperative: An Evaluation Study

By Dr. Norman Keith White, Esq.

This qualitative study evaluated the steps necessary for a non-profit organization to incentivize private investment in its non-profit initiatives. The research questions for this study examined the knowledge, motivation and organizational factors that influenced the Community Cooperative’s efforts to incentivize private investment in its non-profit initiatives. The research methods included interviews with the Board of Directors of the Community Cooperative and a document review. The researcher received unanimous approval by the Board of Directors to conduct the study and gained approval through school leadership and the university’s Institutional Review Board.
The data analysis produced several themes. These themes were that the Board of Directors possessed procedural knowledge gaps and self-efficacy motivational gaps. Additionally, the organizational settings did not provide enough structural support or accountability. Without enough structural support and accountability, the organization could develop ideas but failed to execute on those ideas. These themes were exhibited by the stakeholders’ inability to collect data and create programming that incentivized private investment in its non-profit initiatives.
Recommendations included allocating resources towards the development of programming and data collection that incentivize private investment. The other recommendation includes providing training for the stakeholders in the organization so that they learn how to execute the steps required to achieve the organizational goal.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jan 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781716208294

Book preview

Esq.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

To my dissertation committee chair, Dr. Jennifer Phillips, for being a stern but guiding hand and inspiring me to constantly define my position instead of defending my biases. Thank you for believing in me and being so supportive that I would often feel unworthy of your help. Your care for my work provided a foundation for the confidence I have going forward. My time in your care and under your guidance has made me a better professional, a better student and a better human. Thank you and I am forever grateful. Cartier, Lauren and Natalie- I love and appreciate you folks so much.

To my dissertation committee members, Dr. Helena Seli and Dr. Kalima Rayburn, for challenging me to be produce the best version of myself through my work and for encouraging me in the belief that my work is important. Your expertise and guidance has helped me refine my lofty but ever-present goal of changing the world. Thank you both for working with me and on me as I developed in this program. Thank you!

Completing this dissertation would be impossible without the support of my incredible wife, Allegra, and our children, Kennedy, Kalle, Klark, Kingston and Kohen. This dissertation and all of the efforts to create a more sustainable world are dedicated to my family. I love you Allegra, and I owe my growth and development to your love, patience and faith. Thank you for choosing me.

To my best friends, Mom and Dad. Norman, Sr and Gloria White. I’ve always used my middle name (Keith) in an effort to establish my own identity, but as I’ve grown that identity is more established in how you raised me. You provided incredible examples of love, grace, faith and perseverance. And although I am also using a pseudonym for my last name (Africa), it is an effort to honor the ancestors that chose you to be my parents. I could not have asked for better parents. I love you. And that’s on periodt!

To my Brooklyn Combine family, you guys saved my life in a time when I was lost and looking for community. I love you guys. Now let’s disrupt up the world!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Introduction of the Problem of Practice

Organizational Context and Mission

Organizational Goal

Related Literature

Importance of the Evaluation

Description of Stakeholder Groups

Stakeholder Group for the Study

Purpose of the Project and Questions

Methodological Framework

Definitions

Organization of the Project

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Influences on the Problem of Practice

The History and Development of Private Sector Investment

The Standard Goals of Private Investment

The Changing Landscape of Investment Goals and Models

The Standard Model of Non-Profit Development and Funding

Emerging Practices in Non-Profit Funding and Development

Challenges in Incentivizing Private Investment in Non-Profit Initiatives

Capturing Data that will Incentivize Private Investment into Non-Profit Initiatives

Tying Investment to Programming

The Clark and Estes Gap Analysis Framework

Stakeholder Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Influences

Knowledge and Skills

Motivation

Organization- Related Influences

Conceptual Framework: The Interaction of Stakeholders’ Knowledge and Motivation and The Organizational Context

Summary

CHAPTER THREE:  METHODS

Participating Stakeholders

Individual Interview Sampling Criterion and Rationale

Interview Sampling Strategy and Rationale

Explanation of Choices

Documents and Artifacts

Qualitative Data Collection

Interviews

Documents and Artifacts

Data Analysis

Credibility and Trustworthiness

Ethics

CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS

Research Questions

Knowledge, Motivation, and Organizational Findings

Knowledge Findings

Motivation Findings

Organizational Influences’ Findings

Synthesis

CHAPTER FIVE: SOLUTIONS, IMPLEMENTATIONS AND EVALUATION PLAN

Recommendations for Practice to Address KMO Influences

Knowledge Influences and Recommendation

Motivation Recommendations

Organization Recommendations

Integrated Implementation and Evaluation Plan

Organizational Purpose, Need and Expectations

Level 4: Results and Leading Indicators

Level 3: Behavior

Level 2: Learning

Level 1: Reaction

Evaluation Tools

Immediately Following the Program Implementation

Delayed for a Period After the Program Implementation

Data Analysis and Reporting

Summary

Limitations

Implications for Practice

Future Research

Conclusions

References

APPENDICES

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

Appendix D

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study evaluated the steps necessary for a non-profit organization to incentivize private investment in its non-profit initiatives. The research questions for this study examined the knowledge, motivation and organizational factors that influenced the Community Cooperative’s efforts to incentivize private investment in its non-profit initiatives. The research methods included interviews with the Board of Directors of the Community Cooperative and a document review. The researcher received unanimous approval by the Board of Directors to conduct the study and gained approval through school leadership and the university’s Institutional Review Board.

The data analysis produced several themes. These themes were that the Board of Directors possessed procedural knowledge gaps and self-efficacy motivational gaps. Additionally, the organizational settings did not provide enough structural support or accountability. Without enough structural support and accountability, the organization could develop ideas but failed to execute on those ideas. These themes were exhibited by the stakeholders’ inability to collect data and create programming that incentivized private investment in its non-profit initiatives.

Recommendations included allocating resources towards the development of programming and data collection that incentivize private investment. The other recommendation includes providing training for the stakeholders in the organization so that they learn how to execute the steps required to achieve the organizational goal.

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Introduction of the Problem of Practice

This dissertation addresses the need to incentivize private investment in non-profit initiatives and the challenge of finding shared common goals when private institutions support non-profit entities. Non-profit institutions can be very effective when the institution can develop community programs that are both in alignment with their non-profit initiative and attractive to private investors. When different institutions share common goals and desired outcomes, the financial support of one institution into another with the mutual expectation of a benefit in return, is considered an investment. Grabenwarter and Heinrich’s (2011) research and inability to find many shared common goals between private institutions and non-profit initiatives illustrates this problem and is an example of the challenges that exist in solving this problem. The concept of private investment in non-profit initiatives creates a unique opportunity for non-profit entities to offer a return on investment that is not limited to an interest rate. However, the evidence shows that positive social impact and other non-profit outcomes are not enough to incentivize private investment in non-profit and government work (Shaoul et al., 2011). Thus, the work of non-profit entities involves providing a return on private investment that is directly connected to a social good and also financially competitive with traditional investment scenarios. These returns could be in the form of tax credits that make development for the benefit of underserved communities profitable or the creation of workforce development programs that provide jobs to vulnerable communities and skilled labor to employers. By framing the funding of non-profit work as an investment, a non-profit can increase the potential for program underwriting and scale to serve the increasing needs of underserved populations. This problem is important to address because private investment in non-profit and governmental work is essential to building strong and sustainable communities (Roundy et al., 2017).

Organizational Context and Mission

The Community Cooperative for Progressive Action, Inc. (pseudonym, The Community Cooperative) is a non-profit organization dedicated to sustaining the culture that supports and advances the well-being of oppressed peoples in general, and the Pan-African diaspora in particular. To this end, the Community Cooperative works with schools, community organizations, and dedicated city officials to help provide critical education, leadership, and social support programs to youth and young adults in low-income and under-served communities. The Community Cooperative is deeply impacted by its inability to incentivize private investment because the organization currently relies on the donations of its community members, the board,