Date of Conferral

5-22-2025

Date of Award

May 2025

Degree

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

School

Management

Advisor

Michelle Preiksaitis

Abstract

Muslim-led nonprofit organizations experience high levels of organizational failure during the startup phase, often failing to operate beyond 4 years of existence. Muslim nonprofit founders, funders, and community leaders are concerned with this lack of sustainability, often attributed to strategic planning and talent management missteps. Grounded in the entrepreneurial value creation theory, this qualitative pragmatic inquiry explored strategies successful Muslim-led nonprofit organizations used to sustain operations beyond 4 years. Data collection occurred through semistructured interviews with six expert consultants who have supported Muslim-led nonprofits operating across the United States. Data were triangulated with publicly accessible U.S. Muslim-led nonprofit website data and with peer-reviewed and academic journal articles. Participants’ narratives were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify consistent patterns and strategies revealing four dominant themes: (a) investment in business-minded leadership; (b) development of sustainable and mission-aligned revenue, often termed “good money;” (c) alignment of mission with community needs, or mission-market fit; and (d) implementation of agile and accountable governance structures. A key recommendation is that founders should use monetization stages from their funders to build resilient, community-focused, and thus, sustainable organizations. The implications for positive social change include the potential for Muslim organization leaders to enhance long-term sustainability, improve social services, and challenge Islamophobia and other stereotypes through visible, credible community leadership.

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