Theses on Nonprofit Organizational Effectiveness

Abstract

This article draws from the general literature on organizational effectiveness and the specialized literature on nonprofit organizational effectiveness to advance six theses about the effectiveness of public benefit charitable nonprofit organizations (NPOs). (a) Non-profit organizational effectiveness is always a matter of comparison. (b) Nonprofit organizational effectiveness is multidimensional and will never be reducible to a single measure. (c) Boards of directors make a difference in the effectiveness of NPOs, but how they do this is not clear. (d) More effective NPOs are more likely to use correct management practices. (e) Nonprofit organizational effectiveness is a social construction. (f) Program outcome indicators as measures of NPO effectiveness are limited and can be dangerous. The article concludes by considering three possible futures for NPO effectiveness research.