California Nonprofit Studies
The Institute is dedicated to making data about the nonprofit sector
more accessible and useful to nonprofit leaders, policymakers, foundations,
the media and the general public. California Nonprofit Studies research
areas include:
Nonprofit Regional Report Series
Nonprofit Industry Report Series
Adoption of New Technology by Nonprofits
Service Areas of California Nonprofits
Board Leadership for Nonprofit Accountability
Past Reseach in California Nonprofit Studies
Nonprofit Regional Report Series
Recognizing a need for information about the size and scope of the
nonprofit sector in California’s fastest growing regions,
the Institute aims to increase knowledge about the location, importance
and capacity of the nonprofit sector by publishing regional reports
about these areas. Our goal is to improve information for decision
makers in these regions and throughout the state who can shape the
future of the nonprofit sector and philanthropy.
Our reports are distinct because we use multiple data sources and
explain information about the regional nonprofit sector under study
in its unique context. We situate the data by referencing the particular
history, demographics, and finances of the region; our research
tracks changes over time in the number of nonprofits, total expenditures
and revenues, and employment; we conduct focused interviews with
key regional public sector, academic, foundation, and nonprofit
informants who can comment on changes they have seen; and we present
the data in easily accessible maps, charts, and tables.
Regional Reports are now available for Silicon
Valley and San
Diego, and are currently underway for the Inland
Empire and San Joaquin Valley, and San
Francisco
Nonprofit Industry Report Series
Using techniques developed for the Regional Report Series, we can
also provide Industry Reports to focus on a particular field of
activity for organizations throughout the state. Analysis and comparisons
are framed by regions rather than activities. For example, a report
on the nonprofit arts industry would compare counties within the
Bay Area and between the Bay Area and Southern California regions.
Industry reports are best suited to fields where nonprofit organizations
dominate such as arts, humanities, and social services.
Reports produced under the California Nonprofit Studies program
are initiated by community partners and funders. Please contact
the Institute for more information or to commission a report about
a particular region or nonprofit industry.
Adoption of New Technology by Nonprofits
The Institute recently studied the adoption of new information technologies
by nonprofit organizations in small, grassroots nonprofit organizations.
The project produced original research by leading scholars in the
U.S. and Canada, leading to a symposium and finally the publication
of an edited book of usuable research. The Institute also carried
out additional research on technology adoption in small, California
social justice nonprofits.
Information Technology
Adoption in the Nonprofit Sector:
A Research Symposium
The Institute first commissioned research papers by leading scholars
and practitioners about multiple facets of technology adoption.
Early drafts of those papers were presented at a symposium co-hosted
by the Institute, the Community Technology Foundation of California,
and SBC Corporation. More than 50 nonprofit sector professionals
and scholars discussed the papers and contributed suggestions to
the authors. Research topics included open source software, barriers
to technology utilization by nonprofits, and the influence of technology
on productivity in community development corporations.
"Nonprofits & Technology: Emerging Research for
Usuable Knowlege"
Edited by Michael Cortez and Kevin Rafter
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This edited collection provides an empirical foundation
for usable knowledge about technology adoption in the nonprofit
sector. Each chapter presents an original research project based
on data and observations collected from nonprofits in the U.S.
or Canada. Authors include both scholars and practitioners with
first-hand experience with nonprofits and technology. This book
seeks to promote and foster growth of a new and identifiable
body of defensible knowledge about nonprofit uses of technology.
Available
now from Lyceum Books. |
The Institute also conducted original research on organizational
strategies for fostering technology use in urban and rural small,
grassroots nonprofits. The initial set of findings based on case
studies of 10 Bay Area nonprofits is included in the book mentioned
above. Additional interviews were conducted with organizations in
California’s Central Valley and the Los Angeles region, to
assess whether nonprofits outside the Bay Area face a different
set of challenges involving technology. The final report addresses
implications of successful technology adoption for nonprofit management,
funders and technology assistance providers.
Full Report
(PDF)
This work was supported by the Community Technology Foundation
of California, with additional support for case studies of small,
grassroots nonprofits in the Central Valley and Los Angeles regions
provided by the Community Partnership Committee Applied Research
Initiative.
Service Areas of California Nonprofits
Much of our understanding of the contours of the nonprofit sector
relies on aggregate data from organization tax returns (Form 990)
filed with the Internal Revenue Service. To create an accurate asset
map of the sector, it is critical to understand how well organizational
addresses recorded by the IRS indicate the actual service areas
of nonprofit organizations. The Institute analyzed responses to
a survey measuring address accuracy for a sample of nonprofit service
providers across California. Study results will help foundations
and others better understand where nonprofits actually deliver services
as well as the extent to which communities are relatively over-or
under-served by the local nonprofit sector. This analysis was supported
by The California Endowment.
Board Leadership for Nonprofit Accountability
On April 22, 2005, The Institute hosted an invitational symposium
on Board Leadership for Nonprofit Integrity attended by executives
and board chairs representing San Francisco's diverse nonprofit
sector. The goal of the symposium was to learn how different nonprofit
boards have dealt with accountability issues in the past, how they
are responding to new demands for greater accountability, and the
obstacles they face developing and implementing good governance
practices. A report based on the results of the discussions is now
available for distribution to nonprofit organizations, funders,
policy makers, and the media. The symposium and paper were supported
by the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund and Hood & Strong, LLP.
The report, Board Accountability in Action, is
available here.
Past Research in California Nonprofit Studies:
California Religious Community Capacity Study
The California Religious Community Capacity Study looks at the ability
of California religious organizations to address devolution and
other changes in the welfare system. The survey collected data from
a random sample of 1,100 of California’s 50,000 churches,
temples, mosques, synagogues, and other religious organizations.
Topics in this report include:
- a description of current social service-related activities
- the religious community’s capacity to increase these activities
- the interest of the religious community in providing social
services, funded by public dollars, to the general community.
The project was sponsored by the California Council of Churches.
The Institute for Nonprofit Organization Management collaborated
on this report with the Council and the Center for Religion and
Civic Culture at the University of Southern California under a grant
from the James Irvine Foundation. The report Can
We Make Welfare Reform Work? California Religious Community Capacity
Study and an accompanying technical report are available
online at http://www.calchurches.org/WelfareRpt.html.
A quantitative report is available here.
Marin County Nonprofit Organization Census
This project funded by the Marin Community Foundation, provides
a "snapshot" of the total number of nonprofit organizations
in one suburban Northern California County. In addition to making
the list available to local users, the study examined how far the
nonprofit world extends beyond the incorporated and IRS-registered
organizations generally identified in the literature. Although Marin
County does not have large number of social service organizations
and community action groups generally associated with central city
communities, there were almost 60% more nonprofit organizations
identified in the study than were listed on IRS and state registries.
California Survey on Public Participation
in the Arts
This project was the first statewide study of California arts audience
activity. It was conducted in conjunction with the National Endowment
for the Arts National Survey on Public Participation in the Arts.
The survey addressed attendance at live events and participation
through the media, as well as general leisure activities. The California
survey was supported by the San Francisco Community Foundation,
Grants for the Arts, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and
the Walter and Elise Haas Fund.
California Arts Organization Database
This database project is was an effort to identify and classify
all nonprofit and relevant for-profit arts organizations in California.
The list expanded the number of arts organizations currently identified
in IRS and Registry of Charitable Trust by at minimum 40 percent.
It should be recognized that the data was collected over three years
ago and an unknown number of organizations are either no longer
in existence or have moved with expired forwarding addresses. However
information on these organizations can be obtained through the California
Nonprofit Database Project. This project was funded by the James
Irvine Foundation, the San Francisco Community Foundation, the National
Endowment for the Arts, the East Bay Community Foundation, and the
Marin Community Foundation.
There are two reports available on the database project:
Survey results
Methodological report
Capital Campaign Study
In cooperation with the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, the San Francisco
Foundation and the Goldman Fund, the Institute replicated research
conducted during the early nineties. It compared San Francisco nonprofit
goals for capital campaigns to Foundation dollars allocated to such
campaigns. The full study can be obtained by contacting Talya Gould,
Public Affairs Coordinator at the San
Francisco Foundation.
Assessment of the Need for Nonprofit Statistical
Information
The Institute for Nonprofit Organization Management recently completed
a needs assessment of users of statistical information about the
nonprofit sector. Interviewees included members of the academic
research community, foundation personnel, state producers of data
and other potential users of nonprofit data. The research culminated
in a conference organized in Sacramento where ways to improve nonprofit
data were discussed. The needs assessment study was funded by the
San Francisco Community Foundation.
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