Board Member Perceptions of Nonprofit Organization Effectiveness

Board Member Perceptions of Nonprofit Organization Effectiveness by Laura Levy Maurer MA, New York University, 1973 BS, Cornell University, 1970 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Human Services Walden University August 2014 Abstract In contemporary American society, the nonprofit board is accountable for ensuring that an organization has sufficient resources to carry out its mission. Filling the gap between demands for services and the resources to meet them is often a struggle for small, local nonprofit organizations. This hermeneutic phenomenological study examined how boardIn contemporary American society, the nonprofit board is accountable for ensuring that an organization has sufficient resources to carry out its mission. Filling the gap between demands for services and the resources to meet them is often a struggle for small, local nonprofit organizations. This hermeneutic phenomenological study examined how board members of small, local nonprofits in the focal community perceive organizational effectiveness. Understanding the nature of nonprofit organization effectiveness according to board members contributes to understanding how those accountable meet their organizational objectives. A review of the literature revealed that nonprofit effectiveness involves the action of contributing and the motivation behind the action, both of which are associated with trust and reciprocity. Guided by social constructivism, this study employed a qualitative analysis of repeated iterations of semiotic data from board members (n = 30) and text analysis of organizational mission statements (n = 21), generating thick descriptions of the board members’ understanding of effectiveness. Findings were derived from successive coding iterations starting with the raw data, through locating text related to specific codes, to verifying relationships among codes, and incorporating researcher reflection. The analysis revealed that strategies focused on developing reciprocity and mitigating mistrust among board members contribute to board members’ perceiving their organizations as effectively achieving their objectives. The study’s findings support positive social change by informing social scientists and members of local nonprofit boards of the perceived gap between services demands and the resources to meet them among board members. Board Member Perceptions of Nonprofit Organization Effectiveness by Laura Levy Maurer MA, New York University, 1973 BS, Cornell University, 1970 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Human Services Walden University August 2014 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106 1346 UMI 3637335 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. UMI Number: 3637335 Dedication I dedicate this document to my father, Barnett Levy and to my grandmother, Doris Kirschenbaum Grogan. Acknowledgments I acknowledge the invaluable contribution of my dissertation committee of Walden Faculty, Drs. Pamela Denning, Barbara Benoliel, and Andrew Garland-Forshee. I also gratefully acknowledge the unwavering support of my husband, Gary Maurer.