Center for Social Innovation

Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

A Handbook for Change

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2010

SWITCH: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath & Dan Heath

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

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What’s Next: Bite-Sized Goodness

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2010

In the time it takes to update your Facebook page, you could be making the world a slightly better place

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

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Research: Interviewer Beware

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2010

When it comes to job interviews, presentation tactics—appearance, gestures, postures, flattery, and self-promotion—go farther than you think

Corporate Social Responsibility, Nonprofit Management

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

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Money Makes People Happy, Especially If They're Paid By The Hour

Researchers find a stronger tie between money and happiness for people paid by the hour than by salary, because hourly workers are more regularly reminded of the value of their time, according to work co-authored by business school Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer.

Resource: News Article

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Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

The Wrong Risks

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Winter 2010

“By paying so much attention to managing their own risks, philanthropists are no longer attending to the marginalized people who risk so much to make change happen,” says Sheela Patel in this First Person.

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

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Creating Solidarity Through Unusual Acts of Kindness

What inspires people to act selflessly, help others, and make personal sacrifices? Unusual acts of kindness—like giving something away to someone you don’t even know and getting nothing in return—happens numerous times every day, in the form of blood donation, providing online reviews, and so on. In each case, someone provides a useful good, service, or bit of advice free of charge. In academic circles, this type of giving is referred as “generalized exchange.” Generalized exchange stands in contrast to “direct exchange,” in which payments are made or reciprocity is expected. Professor Frank Flynn and colleagues, Robb Willer and Sonya Zak, looked at these unusual acts of kindness and examined whether generalized exchange systems can create more solidarity than direct exchange systems.

Resource: News Article

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Arts, Culture, and Religion, Environment, Nonprofit Management

How Do You Encourage Recycling?

Recycling programs abound, but people are often lackadaisical about putting plastic, paper, glass, and metal into those bins. How can we get more people to recycle? An intervention recently conducted in Canada is pointing the way, and the message is all about ... well, the messaging.

Resource: News Article

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Leadership, Nonprofit Management

Why Feelings of Guilt May Signal Leadership Potential

Stanford GSB researchers find that how people respond to mistakes can be a "clue to who they are.”

Resource: News Article

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Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Development, Government, Human Rights, Leadership, Nonprofit Management

Marketing for Good

GSB Marketing Professor Jennifer Aaker says social media can help for-profits, nonprofits, and government organizations address a deficit of trust in our current culture.

Resource: News Article

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Japanese Alumni Test Their Post-Disaster Leadership Mettle

As Japan shifts from disaster relief to rebuilding, GSB alumni see opportunities for change and renewal.

Resource: News Article

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Your Nonprofit Construction Manager

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2009

The importance of finding dedicated project managers and the money to support them. —By Elisabeth D. Babcock

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Ethics and Nonprofits

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2009

Unethical behavior remains a persistent problem in nonprofits and for-profits alike. To help organizations solve that problem, the authors examine the factors that influence moral conduct, the ethical issues that arise specifically in charitable organizations, and the best ways to promote ethical behavior within organizations. —By Deborah L. Rhode & Amanda K. Packel

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

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Mission-Driven Governance

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2009

The prevailing governance model is fundamentally adversarial, pitting board members in a never-ending struggle with executives. This model may ensure that the legal requirements of oversight and compliance are met, but it does little to advance the organization’s goals. The authors propose a new and more effective framework, one where board members and executives work together to advance the organization’s mission. —By Raymond Fisman, Rakesh Khurana, & Edward Martenson

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

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Platforms for Collaboration

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2009

Some of the brightest ideas for social change grow in the spaces between organizations and sectors. Yet few organizations have systems that make collaboration happen. To foster innovation, organizations need to develop places where they can come together and work creatively—that is, platforms for collaboration. In this article, a management expert identifies three kinds of collaboration platforms—exploration, experimentation, and execution—and then outlines what organizations can do to put these platforms to work for them. —By Satish Nambisan

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

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Fundraising in Tough Times

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2009

Our economy is in bad shape and will only get worse. So what can fundraisers do to minimize the impact of this difficult period on our organizations, and at the same time maximize income? —By Mal Warwick

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

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Government, Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

The Secret Sauce

The Internet will increasingly be used to build momentum for social change.

Resource: Blog Post

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Nonprofit Leaders Need to Look in the Mirror on Election Day

Change starts at home.

Resource: Blog Post

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Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Warren Buffet’s Fundraising Advice

The only thing fundraisers have to fear is fear itself.

Resource: Blog Post

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A Trip Down Merger Lane

Thinking outside the fundraising box may involve a merger with a larger organization.

Resource: Blog Post

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Nonprofits Need Generation Y Leadership in an Uncertain Economy

The energy and talents of a new cadre of leaders may help nonprofits emerge out of the economic funk.

Resource: Blog Post

Video/Audio : All | Audio | Video

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Nonprofit Board Governance

Addressing a huge nonprofit management challenge -- boards' rampant and growing disengagement -- consultant William Ryan suggests in this University podcast a new framework that will enhance efficiency in nonprofit governance. Speaking at the 2006 Nonprofit Management Institute at Stanford University, Ryan demonstrates how the "governance as leadership" approach sheds new light on the traditional fiduciary and strategic work of the board, and introduces a critical third dimension of effective trusteeship: generative governance.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Evidence-Based Management

In nonprofit management, as in business, organizations should make decisions based on facts as well as the careful evaluation of their specific situation. So argues Stanford Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer in this University podcast. Pfeffer says that few organizations actually do it, but that those that do trump the competition. Speaking at the 2006 Nonprofit Management Institute at Stanford, Pfeffer demonstrates the benefits of evidence-based management.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Environment, Nonprofit Management

Winners Don't Take All

Nonprofit management should include negotiation in its toolkit, yet few professionals are skilled at doing it. In this University podcast, Margaret Neale, Stanford Graduate School of Business professor, explores the psychological barriers to successful negotiation and suggests a disciplined process for a rewarding negotiation experience. She delivers her talk to an audience of nonprofit executives at the 2006 Nonprofit Management Institute at Stanford.

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Resource: Audio

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Preparing Environment-Conscious Leaders

If sustainability is to be woven into all human activities, tomorrow's leaders will be required to understand how their organization interacts with its environment. In this audio lecture, Stanford Graduate School Professor Bill Barnett looks at the new leadership challenges facing executives in business, government, and nonprofit organizations with an environmental purpose. Barnett now offers the first of its kind executive education leadership program designed to advance environmental responsibility across sectors.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Nonprofit Leadership Deficit

One of the biggest challenges in nonprofit management is hiring and retaining talented executive leaders. In this conversation with Stanford Social Innovation Review managing editor Eric Nee, Thomas Tierney shares findings from the Bridgespan Group's study on the "leadership deficit." Tierney talks about how this crisis is affecting nonprofits, and what organizations can do to address the problem.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Education, Nonprofit Management

Remedying Group Disparities in School Achievement

Inequalities between socially marginalized and non-marginalized groups have led to poorer school and health outcomes for African Americans, Latino Americans, and other non-Asian ethnic minorities. Although many structural factors contribute to these inequalities, this study examines one psychological factor: concern about social belonging — a sense of having positive relationships with others.

Resource: Video

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Government, Nonprofit Management

A Behavioral Science Perspective on Why People Vote

The investigation into what messaging motivates people to vote and the effectiveness of facilitating a voting plan during a presidential election.

Resource: Video

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Arts, Culture, and Religion, Environment, Nonprofit Management

The Effectiveness of Message Framing to Influence Behavior

Most observers agree that human consumption is on a crash course with the environment. Although recycling programs have been implemented in many cities around the world, people often do not participate as often as they could. This research examines the effectiveness of messages that highlight the negative consequences of not recycling (loss frames) versus those that emphasize the positive consequences of recycling (gain frames) in influencing people's behavior.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Arts, Culture, and Religion, Health Care, Nonprofit Management

Using People's Irrationality To Do Good

Identifying effective obesity treatment is both a clinical challenge and a public health priority. Can monetary incentives stimulate weight loss? Leslie John presents a study that examines different economic incentives for weight loss during a 16 week intervention.

Resource: Video

Topic:

Know Your Sector

Nonprofits in the U.S. generate $1.1 trillion every year, which is more than the entire economies of Saudi Arabia and Sweden combined. "Know Your Sector", a video created by alum Ben Klasky (MBA '98), is intended as a resource for nonprofit employees, volunteers, and donors to better know the impact of their sector.

Resource: Video

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The Bridgespan Approach to Nonprofit Strategy

In nonprofit management, implementing organizational changes can be a huge challenge. In this audio lecture, Susan Colby shares the Bridgespan approach to nonprofit strategy by taking the example of one of her clients, the Harlem Children's Zone. Speaking at the 2006 Nonprofit Management Institute at Stanford, she walks her audience of high-level nonprofit executives through a rather challenging process to tactfully institute radical organizational changes.

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Resource: Audio

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Building a Civilized Workplace

How do you spot an asshole in the workplace--or figure out whether you might be one? Robert Sutton, author of the best-selling book, The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn't, provides a sure-fire test and offers tips for keeping your "inner jerk" from rearing its ugly head on the job. Drawing on serious research and analysis, Sutton shows his Stanford 2007 Nonprofit Management Institute audience how managers can eliminate mean-spirited and unproductive behavior.

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Resource: Audio

Topic:

Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing, Social Entrepreneurship

The Future of Philanthropy

As the boundary between the for-profit and nonprofit worlds continues to blur, how may philanthropy evolve to assist social change? In this panel discussion, academics and practitioners consider how public -- and private -- sector support may be combined in new ways in the future to fund progressive domestic and global social enterprises.

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Resource: Audio

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How to Grow a Nonprofit Big

Many nonprofits want to expand their staff and funding base so that they may serve a broader public. Until recently, little information was available about how such organizations may do so successfully. In an audio interview with Stanford Social Innovation Review managing editor Eric Nee, William Foster shares findings from the Bridgespan Group's groundbreaking research on what it takes to be in the big leagues. He discusses types of funders to pursue, how to restructure an expanding organization, and whether going big is right for everyone.

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Resource: Audio

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What Makes Great Nonprofits Great?

Now, more than ever, nonprofit leaders need to know how to maximize their social impact. Center for Social Innovation researcher Heather McLeod Grant shares some of the groundbreaking research explored in her coauthored book Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits. Drawing on her extensive study of nonprofit leaders and organizations, Grant reveals that success isn't just about "nonprofit management," but about creating larger systemic change. She shares three of the six practices for making such transformation possible.

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Resource: Audio

Case Studies : All | Academic Cases

Topics:

Breaking New Ground: Using the Internet to Scale

Commissioned by KaBOOM! and authored by Katherine Fulton and alumna Heather McLeod Grant of the Monitor Institute, this case study looks at the challenges KaBOOM! faced and lessons the organization learned while pioneering an online strategy to scale its impact. This strategy involves giving away the nonprofit model online for free to empower others to act on KaBoom's behalf.

Resource: Practitioner Case

Topics:

Environment, Nonprofit Management

Wild Salmon Center

The Wild Salmon Center was created to provide anglers access to excellent fishing in return for funding research and conservation. The case discusses the Center’s efforts to protect the pristine watersheds of the Kamchatka Peninsula by developing ecotourism to raise funds for conservation.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

John Goldman: Creating the Next Generation of Philanthropists

John Goldman established the South Peninsula Jewish Community Teen Foundation in 2003, an innovative program that teaches Bay Area Jewish teens to run their own charitable foundation by developing mission statements, raising money, and distributing funds. As of 2009, the program has scaled to four chapters and raised and distributed $178,321 in funds.

Resource: Academic Case

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Tipping Point Community

This case details the Tipping Point Community's attempts to quantify and grow its impact on poverty in local communities; while it was raising more than $14 million for organizations, it was still struggling to improve performance and outcomes.

Resource: Academic Case

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Using Social Media to Save Lives: HelpVinayAndSameer.org

This case study presents new evidence on the power of social media for social good, using the example of Sameer Bhatia, whose friends created a website to help him find a bone barrow match to fight leukemia.

Resource: Academic Case

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Social Service Mergers: HOPE Services and Skills Center

Four years after HOPE Services merged with the Skills Center, everyone considered the merger a success. But as with most for-profit and nonprofit mergers, the change was not without its costs and challenges.

Resource: Academic Case

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Healthcare, Nonprofit Management

Institute for Healthcare Improvement: The Campaign to Save 100,000 Lives

In December 2004, the president of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement challenged U.S. hospitals to reduce unnecessary deaths by 100,000 in the next 18 months. The case describes a campaign that incorporated lessons from politics and social activism.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Economic Development, Nonprofit Management, Social Entrepreneurship

As Green As It Gets

As Green as It Gets was a nonprofit economic development organization supporting small, independent producers in disadvantaged Guatemalan communities. The founder pondered how to grow and sustain the organization.

Resource: Academic Case

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Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Creating an Online Information Marketplace for Giving

The best nonprofits don’t necessarily get the most money, observed William and Flora Hewlett Foundation's Philanthropy Program officer Jacob Harold and president Paul Brest in 2007. From there they started exploring how they could improve the marketplace and how donors give their money. To that effect they hired consulting firm McKinsey & Company to explore the online information marketplace for giving space at a macro level, looking at trends and opportunities. Armed with data they then tried to figure out what to do.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Economic Development, Nonprofit Management

Endeavor

Endeavor selects promising entrepreneurs and helps them develop and grow their businesses through mentorship and guidance. In 2007, founder and CEO Linda Rottenberg looked at the organization's expansion strategy.

Resource: Academic Case

Topics:

Economic Development, Healthcare, Nonprofit Management

Riders for Health: Health Care Distribution Solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa

Riders for Health is a U.K.-based nonprofit dedicated to the improvement of transportation systems for health workers in Africa. In 2007, after 11 years in existence, the organization was at a critical point and had to decide what strategies were necessary to expand.

Resource: Academic Case

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Career Action Center

The Career Action Center started as a nonprofit to help mid-life women reenter the workforce, but due to various demands found itself catering to men and individuals in a host of age ranges. The leadership realized it needed to address the contradiction in the organization’s mission as a center for women that was open to all.

Resource: Academic Case

Research Papers : All

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Supporting Equality in Education

How can a certain kind of behavior actually contributes to inequalities? Specifically, do children’s social-class backgrounds affect when and how they seek help in the classroom, thereby teasing out children’s own role in educational stratification? We consider how teachers may use such information to correct these dynamics, and thus contribute to more equal access for all children at school.

Resource: Research Paper

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Give Them the Gift They're Expecting

When it comes to gift giving, most people are simply not paying enough attention to what others want says Professor Frank Flynn. They miss the boat by ignoring direct requests, wrongly assuming that going a different route will be seen as more thoughtful than something the recipient specifically requested.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Healthcare, Nonprofit Management

Reexploring Differences among For-Profit and Nonprofit Dialysis Providers

To determine whether profit status is associated with differences in hospital days per patient, an outcome that may also be influenced by provider financial goals.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Government, Nonprofit Management

Morally Motivated Self-Regulation

Self-regulation is the private provision of public goods and private redistribution. This paper examines the scope of self-regulation motivated by altruistic moral preferences that are reciprocal and stronger the closer are citizens in a socioeconomic distance.

Resource: Research Paper

Topics:

Corporate Social Responsibility, Government, Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy, Responsible Investing

Social Pressures Affect Corporate Strategy and Performance

Social pressure plays a major role in determining corporate strategy and performance according to an award-winning paper coauthored by Professor David Baron. The researchers find that social pressure and social performance reinforce each other, greater social pressure is associated with lower financial performance, and financial and social performance are largely unrelated.

Resource: Research Paper

Courses : All

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Strategic Management of Nonprofits: STRAMGT 368

This course surveys strategic, governance, and management issues facing a wide range of nonprofit organizations in an era of venture philanthropy and social entrepreneurship. It introduces students to core managerial issues in the nonprofit sector, such as development/fundraising, investment management, performance management and nonprofit finance.

Resource: MBA Course

Innovators : All

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Ken Saxon (MBA '88)

Nonprofit executives dedicate their lives to many of society’s most intractable problems, yet are often overstretched and under-resourced. Ken Saxon speaks about founding Courage to Lead to build support and community around nonprofit executive leaders.

Resource: Alumni

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An interview with Michael DeLapa (MBA '85)

Susan Rothstein (MBA '78)

Susan reflects on her experience volunteering with a grassroots NGO in Cambodia and how she gained a new perspective on both the developing world and herself.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Board Governance, Business, Cause Marketing, Nonprofits, Social Enterprises, Socially Responsible Business, Environment, Leadership, Nonprofit Management

Michael DeLapa is heavily involved in environmental, land use, and energy issues. He has launched several non-profits in the Bay Area as well as the California Fisheries Fund.

Resource: Alumni

Topic :

Economic Development, Education, Nonprofit Management, Social Entrepreneurship

An interview with J. Charitha ("Chari") Ratwatte (MBA '09)

One of the first two Stanford GSB Social Innovation fellows, Chari works to provide economic opportunities to farmers in Sri Lanka.

Resource: Alumni , Fellow

Topic :

Corporate Social Responsibility, Economic Development, Environment, Government, Nonprofit Management, Social Entrepreneurship

An interview with Court Gould (EPNL '06)

Court Gould is pushing for Pittsburgh to grow sustainably. He's working hard to inform decision makers about to accomplish that most effectively.

Resource: CSI Affiliates

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Corporate Social Responsibility, Nonprofit Management

Q&A: Richard Jefferson

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2011

Richard Jefferson believes that biotechnology can be used to benefit the poor and disenfranchised, but only if the R&D process is democratized so that everyone has access to critical scientific tools and technologies.

Nonprofit Management, Social Entrepreneurship

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Who Are the Change Makers?

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2011

DRIVING SOCIAL CHANGE: How to Solve the World’s Toughest Problems by Paul C. Light

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

Topic :

Arts, Culture, and Religion, Education, Nonprofit Management

Passing the Mic

Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2011

20UNDER40: Re-Inventing the Arts and Arts Education for the 21st Century Edited by Edward P. Clapp

Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article

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