Date of Conferral

3-4-2024

Date of Award

March 2024

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.)

School

Management

Advisor

Meridith Wentz

Abstract

Nonprofit leaders’ ability to establish and sustain effective awareness of their mission-oriented work with organizational stakeholders affects performance and sustainability. The failure to implement community awareness strategies and obtain capital funding through donations and contributions can adversely affect nonprofit leaders’ ability to ensure that their organizations can provide services and support to communities. Grounded in stakeholder theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies that nonprofit organization leaders use to increase community awareness to catalyze capital funding. The participants were three senior leaders of a nonprofit organization in the mid-Atlantic region that successfully obtained funding for a minimum of 5 years. Data were collected using semistructured interviews, review of organizational documents and reports, analysis of financial records and reports, and social media posts and annual reports. Through thematic analysis, five themes were identified: (a) strategic partnerships, (b) alignment of stakeholder needs and strategic objectives, (c) strategic stakeholder communication, (d) community engagement, and (e) communication feedback loop between the organization and customers (recipients). A key recommendation is for nonprofit leaders to regularly perform strategic planning, process improvement, performance management, and strategies such as scenario planning and what-if analysis to identify opportunities to increase their community awareness and capital funding needs. The implications for positive social change include the potential to provide more programs, services, and employment opportunities to individuals, customers (recipients), communities, and society.

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