In 2002, a successful community development corporation in Boston, Massachusetts was approached by two other organizations about potential mergers. Each organization had distinctive geographical and ethnic roots but there were clear financial and management advantages to be had from combining assets. In one case, merger discussions proceeded with the benefit of lawyers and common board connections. In the other case, despite good progress at the beginning, the merger talks became increasingly contentious with opposition from community groups who rallied political leadership to step in. HKS Case Number 1921.1

In 1997 three students joined a protest against the electoral victory of Slobodan Milosevic's Serbian Socialist Party. Upon the protest's ultimate defeat, and Milosevic's return to power, the students vowed to continue the struggle for civic activism in Serbia. Their efforts manifested in the creation of the Centre for Civil Society Development PROTECTA, an NGO committed to promoting civic engagement throughout Serbia. Twelve years following the protests PROTECTA has a budget of half-a-million Euro, twenty full-time employees, and working relationships with major public and private international donors. The story is more impressive considering that this organizational growth took place during extreme political, economic, and social upheaval. This case offers students an opportunity to recount the rise of the organization under increasingly trying personal, political and professional circumstances, namely war and a repressive state. These circumstances call into question some potential ethical concerns regarding management in a hostile political environment. It also offers an opportunity for students to make a decision and plot strategy for the organization's future in areas such as leadership transition, core competencies, financial sustainability, and staffing. HKS Case Number 1924.0

In 2002, a successful community development corporation in Boston, Massachusetts was approached by two other organizations about potential mergers. Each organization had distinctive geographical and ethnic roots but there were clear financial and management advantages to be had from combining assets. In one case, merger discussions proceeded with the benefit of lawyers and common board connections. In the other case, despite good progress at the beginning, the merger talks became increasingly contentious with opposition from community groups who rallied political leadership to step in. This case offers the opportunity to analyze the action and decision-making of the three organizations using alliance, negotiations, organizing and strategic frameworks. It also allows the class to engage in discussion about the nature of "community" in community-based organizations. HKS Case Number 1921.0

The spring of 2005 marked a tricky juncture for the leaders of a program designed to improve health care access for thousands of residents living in impoverished, isolated settlements just north of the Mexican border in the Lower Rio Grande Valley and also for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which had provided the program with a four-year startup grant, due to expire in a few months time. The project leaders wanted to keep the Integrated Health Outreach System (IHOS) alive, but were not sure how to fund it. In addition, frustrated by aspects of the project's design, they wanted to reorganize and refocus the program. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, meanwhile, had gone through an internal organizational change that had significantly changed RWJF's approach to charitable giving. In general, the Foundation was no longer funding "safety net" programs like IHOS, but had moved toward broader, systemic, collaborative efforts to address the root causes of poor health in vulnerable populations. But the RWJF administrators recognized that the plight of the IHOS clients was extreme. In addition, they knew that resources on the border were scarce. In practical terms, that meant the Foundation was reluctant to cut off the IHOS funding at least not until IHOS could stand on its own feet. HKS Case Number 1852.0

In the early 1980s, Missouri's director of early childhood education launched a novel parent education pilot project designed to increase children's kindergarten readiness and support family wellbeing by sending specially trained educators on monthly home visits to help parents foster their babies' early development. By 1985, when an evaluation touted strong results for the pilot, the Missouri legislature already had made the program-dubbed Parents as Teachers-a mandatory offering of school districts statewide. Soon after, the St. Louis-based Parents as Teachers National Center, formed to oversee the state program and respond to outside inquiries, became an independent nonprofit. From the start, the National Center staff built quality controls into program design and the training of parent educators while simultaneously embracing rapid growth; by 1999 Parents as Teachers programs served more than 500,000 children in the US and six foreign countries. But despite such quality control efforts, the flexibility and adaptability that aided fast replication left the National Center with no effective way to manage or monitor the more than 2,000 sites worldwide. As a result, the National Center was forced to take a hard look at its replication model, its oversight role, and at how the center could better monitor and improve program quality. HKS Case Number 1849.0

In the early 1980s, Missouri's director of early childhood education launched a novel parent education pilot project designed to increase children's kindergarten readiness and support family wellbeing by sending specially trained educators on monthly home visits to help parents foster their babies' early development. By 1985, when an evaluation touted strong results for the pilot, the Missouri legislature already had made the program-dubbed Parents as Teachers-a mandatory offering of school districts statewide. Soon after, the St. Louis-based Parents as Teachers National Center, formed to oversee the state program and respond to outside inquiries, became an independent nonprofit. From the start, the National Center staff built quality controls into program design and the training of parent educators while simultaneously embracing rapid growth; by 1999 Parents as Teachers programs served more than 500,000 children in the US and six foreign countries. But despite such quality control efforts, the flexibility and adaptability that aided fast replication left the National Center with no effective way to manage or monitor the more than 2,000 sites worldwide. As a result, the National Center was forced to take a hard look at its replication model, its oversight role, and at how the center could better monitor and improve program quality. HKS Case Number 1850.0

In the late 1990s, the leadership of Neighborhood Conservation Services (NCS) of Barberton, Ohio--a nonprofit housing rehabilitation organization founded two decades earlier to help reverse the decline of this aging industrial city--found its once popular mission had suddenly become politically controversial. The long unassailable idea of using public funds to target low-interest loans to lower-income homeowners was being questioned by elected officials in the city of 28,000, officials concerned that limiting loans to those of low-income--in conjunction with a concentration of public housing and rent subsidies--might make Barberton a "magnet" for low-income households. A mayor intent on reviving the city's tax base and attracting and retaining the middle class challenged NCS to demonstrate how its policies could help the city. This new political climate posed a difficult and crucial strategic challenge for the organization--which relied on funds voted by the City Council for the overwhelming majority of its budget. NCS, believed its leadership, would have to find ways to reconcile its mission with the new political climate in town or find a new way to fund its programs--or simply close up shop. This nonprofit management case is meant to allow for discussion of how organizational strategy should adapt to political change. In particular, it raises the question of the extent and nature of the obligation of those receiving public funds to defer to elected officials. The case can also be used in discussion of housing policy per se, to explore the question of when and where housing subsidies are appropriate. HKS Case Number 1707.0

Thirty years after its founding in 1973, New York City's Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) found itself at a crossroads. The nonprofit, church-related organization that had long-provided tenants with assistance in renovating abandoned properties and converting them into cooperatives, UHAB was under pressure to adapt to a changing business climate, as the number of tax-foreclosed, city-owned properties declined in a resurgent New York city. What's more, UHAB, led by the same executive director for more than 20 years, faced tensions between an idealistic, semi-autonomous staff and the needs and demands of public contracts with requirements that specific tasks be completed in a measurably cost effective manner. As UHAB entered its fourth decade, a new chief operating officer must address its programmatic and managerial challenges, such that its idealism and individualism could happily co-exist with sound business practice. HKS Case Number 1711.0

Nearly 30 years after it was first incorporated to help stabilize and improve older, declining parts of the city, Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) of Chicago had become among the best-known and most-respected organizations of its kind. Its combination of low-interest lending to homebuyers and home renovators, as well as its neighborhood improvement efforts, had won it credit for helping to maintain or revive parts of Chicago during a time when the city was losing population and private financial institutions were loathe to make conventional loans in its poorer neighborhoods. But, in the late 1990s, NHS Chicago finds it is facing a struggle to survive. Poorer neighborhoods, long-starved of credit, find themselves flooded by lending offers from a new generation of so-called "subprime" lenders. NHS efforts to improve the nine Chicago neighborhoods in which it has offices are threatened both by mortgage foreclosures which result from such high-interest loans, and by a decline in NHS Chicago's own lending business, which has difficulty competing with well-advertised "subprimes". This case raises the question of what strategy NHS Chicago, under pressure from a major foundation which had historically helped support it, should adopt to right itself financially and whether and how it should continue the mission for which it was founded. Case discussion may include both an examination of data-including trends in its revenues and expenses-and of prospective long-term organizational strategies. HKS Case Number 1659.0

When the fast-growing Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, Florida finds out that a key, privately-owned parcel of land adjoining its "campus" is up for sale, it moves quickly-but unsuccessfully-to convince the owner to sell the land through an arrangement combining a long-term payout and select tax advantages. The owners' rejection of this approach forces the museum to consider a variety of other options, ranging from partnership with a for-profit firm to a request for financial assistance from local county government, that already owned the land on which the formerly-public museum was located. This case uses the "Fowler Avenue land parcel question" as a window into the ways in which sudden, individual decisions faced by nonprofit boards of trustees are linked to larger strategic and financial issues for institutions. The MOSI board must consider the long-term prospects for its endowment, the question of admission fees, even the question of the propriety and efficacy of using board members to lobby public officials. The case was developed with the support of the Museum Trustee Association. Author: Howard Husock Sponsor: Christine Letts HKS Case Number 1629.0

When the fast-growing Museum of Science and Industry in Tampa, Florida finds out that a key, privately-owned parcel of land adjoining its "campus" is up for sale, it moves quickly-but unsuccessfully-to convince the owner to sell the land through an arrangement combining a long-term payout and select tax advantages. The owners' rejection of this approach forces the museum to consider a variety of other options, ranging from partnership with a for-profit firm to a request for financial assistance from local county government, that already owned the land on which the formerly-public museum was located. This case uses the "Fowler Avenue land parcel question" as a window into the ways in which sudden, individual decisions faced by nonprofit boards of trustees are linked to larger strategic and financial issues for institutions. The MOSI board must consider the long-term prospects for its endowment, the question of admission fees, even the question of the propriety and efficacy of using board members to lobby public officials. The case was developed with the support of the Museum Trustee Association. HKS Case Number 1629.1

In this case, the relationship between public goalsthe revitalization of distressed neighborhoods in Philadelphiaand nonprofit organizations is mediated by an unusual vehicle. A Pennsylvania state tax credit program is designed to channel funds from private, for-profit firms to not-for-profit neighborhood groups. The case describes the first five years of the so-called Philadelphia Plan and a series of specific projects supported by specific firms, in exchange for a reduction in state corporate taxes. The projects profiled include a housing program for the formerly homeless supported by Crown, Cork and Seal Corporation; a neighborhood housing improvement program supported by Allstate Insurance; and a community development corporation and builder of subsidized housing supported by Mellon Bank. The case implicitly raises the question of whether it is prudent or effective for state government to direct funds toward nonprofits in this way; whether government should facilitate such "tripartite" (public, private, nonprofit) arrangements which could redound to the business advantage of firms; whether public sector involvement in fundraising for nonprofits will support their mission or divert them from it. For students of urban problems, the case also raises the question of whether the work of nonprofits such as those described in the case can be an effective means of improving distressed neighborhoodsand how such improvement could or should be measured. HKS Case Number 1578.0

This series of contextual essays provides an overview of the history and status of philanthropic giving in the United States. Drawing on federal tax-based data, reports of the National Commission on Philanthropy and Civic Renewal, the American Association of Fund-Raising Counsel and a wide variety of scholarly sources, the notes look broadly at overall philanthropic trends (share of national income devoted to philanthropy; major recipients of charitable donations; sources of donations) and at the giving patterns of the various sectors of the economy: individuals, corporations and foundations. Each note begins with specific conclusions (e.g. almost half of all philanthropy goes to religious institutions; the strongest predictor of giving is level of wealth; foundation giving is highly-correlated to the performance of the stock market; corporate philanthropy is increasingly a component of firms' competitive strategy) before elaborating on the conclusions and providing an extensive bibliography. Although not providing an explicit overview of the independent (non-governmental) sector as a whole, the notes comment on the evolution of the sector and its changing reliance on private and public support. HKS Case Number 1445.0

This series of contextual essays provides an overview of the history and status of philanthropic giving in the United States. Drawing on federal tax-based data, reports of the National Commission on Philanthropy and Civic Renewal, the American Association of Fund-Raising Counsel and a wide variety of scholarly sources, the notes look broadly at overall philanthropic trends (share of national income devoted to philanthropy; major recipients of charitable donations; sources of donations) and at the giving patterns of the various sectors of the economy: individuals, corporations and foundations. Each note begins with specific conclusions (e.g. almost half of all philanthropy goes to religious institutions; the strongest predictor of giving is level of wealth; foundation giving is highly-correlated to the performance of the stock market; corporate philanthropy is increasingly a component of firms' competitive strategy) before elaborating on the conclusions and providing an extensive bibliography. Although not providing an explicit overview of the independent (non-governmental) sector as a whole, the notes comment on the evolution of the sector and its changing reliance on private and public support. HKS Case Number 1443.0

This series of contextual essays provides an overview of the history and status of philanthropic giving in the United States. Drawing on federal tax-based data, reports of the National Commission on Philanthropy and Civic Renewal, the American Association of Fund-Raising Counsel and a wide variety of scholarly sources, the notes look broadly at overall philanthropic trends (share of national income devoted to philanthropy; major recipients of charitable donations; sources of donations) and at the giving patterns of the various sectors of the economy: individuals, corporations and foundations. Each note begins with specific conclusions (e.g. almost half of all philanthropy goes to religious institutions; the strongest predictor of giving is level of wealth; foundation giving is highly-correlated to the performance of the stock market; corporate philanthropy is increasingly a component of firms' competitive strategy) before elaborating on the conclusions and providing an extensive bibliography. Although not providing an explicit overview of the independent (non-governmental) sector as a whole, the notes comment on the evolution of the sector and its changing reliance on private and public support. HKS Case Number 1444.0

This series of contextual essays provides an overview of the history and status of philanthropic giving in the United States. Drawing on federal tax-based data, reports of the National Commission on Philanthropy and Civic Renewal, the American Association of Fund-Raising Counsel and a wide variety of scholarly sources, the notes look broadly at overall philanthropic trends (share of national income devoted to philanthropy; major recipients of charitable donations; sources of donations) and at the giving patterns of the various sectors of the economy: individuals, corporations and foundations. Each note begins with specific conclusions (e.g. almost half of all philanthropy goes to religious institutions; the strongest predictor of giving is level of wealth; foundation giving is highly-correlated to the performance of the stock market; corporate philanthropy is increasingly a component of firms' competitive strategy) before elaborating on the conclusions and providing an extensive bibliography. Although not providing an explicit overview of the independent (non-governmental) sector as a whole, the notes comment on the evolution of the sector and its changing reliance on private and public support. HKS Case Number 1446.0

U.S. foundations and nonprofits work diligently on behalf of society's most needy and yet report that progress is slow and social problems persist. How can they learn to be more effective with their limited resources? Foundations should consider expanding their mission from investing only in program innovation to investing in the organizational needs of nonprofit organizations as well. Their overemphasis on program design has meant deteriorating organizational capacity at many nonprofits. If foundations are to help nonprofits be assured of making payroll, paying the rent, or buying a much-needed computer, they must develop hands-on partnering skills. Venture capital firms offer a helpful benchmark. In addition to putting up capital, they closely monitor the companies in which they have invested, provide management support, and stay involved long enough to see the company become strong.

The end of the apartheid government in South Africa signals myriad changes in that society -- including a basic examination of how government should regulate philanthropic and nonprofit, Nongovernmental organizations. Such groups fell into two major categories -- traditional charities, most of which were formally organized, and community-based organizations, some of them informal, which had been part of the vanguard of apartheid opposition. When the post-apartheid government drafts legislation to oversee NGOs, controversy erupts. What proponents view as necessary financial safeguards, some NGO leaders view as potential government interference. HKS Case Number 1374.0

At a time, in the early 1980s, when Peru is wracked by leftist terrorism and hampered by weak central government, the Foundation for the Protection of the Environment (FPCN), founded by a group of Peru's leading biologists, becomes a vehicle through which international environmental organizations act to protect the diverse and unspoiled world of Peruvian Amazonia. FPCN convinces a government troubled by more immediate threats that this non-governmental organization should effectively take on the management of many of the country's more than 40 protected areas. But when a new Peruvian government, led by President Alberto Fujimori, makes clear that it wants to take back such traditional public roles, FPCN must find a new role for itself. Its task is complicated by a lack of overhead funds from its donors which has led to a substantial deficit. Its leadership examines its board structure and membership as part of the strategic planning which it undertakes. HKS Case Number 1376.0