FROM THE ARCHIVES: There is generally nothing sacrosanct about organizational boundaries among nonprofits, and piercing them for purposes of a merger can be seen more as an act of curation than desperation.
Deaths, Near Deaths, and Reincarnations: Part 3 of 5
This is the third part of NPQ’s mini–case studies on the death, near death, or reincarnation of five organizations. This article examines the closure of the Otto Schiff Housing Association (OSHA), a nonprofit organization located in London that serves survivors of the Holocaust and their families residing in the United Kingdom.
Along the trajectory of an organization’s death are signs of decline—and even of antecedents of decline—that can be pulled out and used as a kind of morbidity and mortality analysis in aid of interpreting what went wrong. To that end, this special collection presents mini–case studies on the death, near death, or reincarnation of five organizations.
This article presents the authors’ top picks for how best to destroy your organization. Of course, if you want your nonprofit to thrive, you should avoid the pitfalls described in these pages. But, the authors warn, this won’t be easy to do, as, “Killing a nonprofit takes less effort than making one really effective.”
Along the trajectory of an organization’s death are signs of decline—and even of antecedents of decline—that can be pulled out and used as a kind of morbidity and mortality analysis in aid of interpreting what went wrong. To that end, this special collection presents mini–case studies on the death, near death, or reincarnation of five organizations: Hull House; the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education; the Otto Schiff Housing Association; the International Museum of Women; and ACORN.
Ruth McCambridge | There are historic moments when a whole new field of nonprofits appears in response to social realities—and this kind of phenomenon poses both challenges and opportunities. The challenges are developmental, as the organizations establish themselves, work out their leadership mix and decision-making processes, establish relationships, and set up systems; a primary opportunity is for a well-placed infrastructure to support the whole field through these challenges. This article about new nonprofit journalism sites is based on interviews with the Knight Foundation and the Investigative News Network.
AN NPQ CLASSIC:
An organization’s risk of dying is highest at the point of its founding and decreases with age. So it is essential for new nonprofits to understand the challenges that they face if they are to survive—and, more importantly, have significant impact. This article reviews the life cycle–related threats and opportunities that await the young nonprofit.
There is no exactitude in the relationship between the number of registered nonprofits and the number of nonprofits that actually exist, but these are the figures that inform analysis of the parameters of the sector. In this article, Chuck McLean, vice president of research at GuideStar, outlines the numbers and some of the issues and questions that they raise.
