Organizational Effectiveness - Related Readings
PND Special Issue: Organizational Effectiveness - Related Readings
Related Readings
The body of literature on organizational effectiveness is
large and growing. The titles included in the list below
are all freely available on the Web.
Campobasso, Laura and Dan Davis, Reflections on Capacity
Building (Woodland Hills, CA: California Wellness Foundation)
http://www.tcwf.org/reflections/2001/april/
This report from the California Wellness Foundation presents
an analysis of the lessons learned from five foundation
initiatives that targeted different aspects of public
health in California. Each of the initiatives included
components intended to build the capacity of the grantees.
(18 pages, HTML)
Connolly, Paul, Building to Last: A Grantmaker's Guide to
Strengthening Nonprofit Organizations (Philadelphia: Conservation Company)
http://www.consco.com/pdfs/briefing0401.pdf
A Conservation Company principal addresses the common concerns
of grantmakers and nonprofits: how to make better use of limited
resources in the face of growing need, and how to stay the
course and reach established goals in a volatile, changing
environment. (12 pages, PDF)
David, Tom, Reflections on Strategic Grantmaking
(Woodland Hills, CA: California Wellness Foundation)
http://www.tcwf.org/reflections/2000/nov/index.htm
One in a series of thought pieces published by the California
Wellness Foundation to mark the tenth anniversary of its
establishment. In "Reflections on Strategic Grantmaking,"
Tom David, the foundation's executive vice president,
addresses the question of what is the most effective use
of a funder's philanthropic dollars and concludes that it
depends, to a great degree, on a funder's perspective. (8 pages, HTML)
David, Tom, Reflections on Sustainability (Woodland Hills,
CA: California Wellness Foundation)
http://www.tcwf.org/reflections/2002/feb/index.htm
Another installment in the "Reflections" series from the
California Wellness Foundation. This one argues that
organizations which have sustained their work "with
integrity and efficacy over time" demonstrate four qualities
in abundance: spirit, values, niche, and capacity. (10 pages, HTML)
De Vita, Carol J. and Cory Fleming, eds., Building Capacity
in Nonprofit Organizations (Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute)
http://www.urban.org/pdfs/building_capacity.pdf
This report from the Urban Institute aims to advance the
ongoing conversation about capacity building to the point
where research informs practice. The report's final section
discusses how each stakeholder in the conversation can work
to turn knowledge into action. (102 pages, PDF)
Fine, Allison, Kopf, Nancy and Colette Thayer, Echoes from
the Field: Proven Capacity-Building Principles for Nonprofits
(Washington, D.C. Environmental Support Center)
http://www.envsc.org/bestpractices.pdf
Produced by InnoNet
in collaboration with the
Environmental Support Center,
this concise report lays out nine principles of successful
capacity builiding, discusses the key skills providers need
in order to implement the principles effectively, and
concludes with some important issues and questions for
the future. (8 pages, PDF)
Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, Inaugural Conference Report,
Monterey, California, October 1998 (Washington, D.C.: Grantmakers for
Effective Organizations)
http://www.geofunders.org/main/resources/geo.pdf
Funded by the James Irvine Foundation, GEO's inaugural
conference report explores the multiple connections between
and among communications, technology, and organizational
effectiveness. (34 pages, PDF)
Hernández, Georgiana and Mary G. Visher, Creating a
Culture of Inquiry: Changing Methods — and Minds — on the
Use of Evaluation in Nonprofit Organizations (San Francisco:
James Irvine Foundation)
http://www.irvine.org/pdfs/Creating_a_Culture.pdf
Consultants Hernández and Visher describe the results of the Working
on Workforce Development (WOW) Project, a two-year experiment
supported by the Irvine Foundation to help nonprofit organizations
better use the tool of evaluation. (26 pages, PDF)
InnoNet, Nonprofit Organizational Effectiveness: A Review
of the Literature (Washington, D.C.: Innovation Network)
http://www.innonet.org/resources/lcplitReview.pdf
Prepared by InnoNet for the
Fannie
Mae Foundation, this white paper describes the
traditional elements identified in the literature that appear
to promote success in noprofit organizations, presents an
outline of barriers to success, and discusses indicators and
tools to measure excellence and promote enduring and
high-performing nonprofit organizations. (16 pages, PDF)
La Piana, David, Real Collaboration: A Guide for Grantmakers
(Piedmont, CA: La Piana Associates, Inc.)
http://www.lapiana.org/consulting/pubs/reports/collaboration.html
Prepared for the Ford Foundation by David La Piana of
La Piana Associates, this guide looks at assisting with and
evaluating collaborative efforts among nonprofits from a
grantmaker's perspective. (31 pages, PDF)
Lewin Group, The, Organizational Effectiveness Program
Literature Review for Distribution (San Francisco: Lewin Group)
http://new.geofunders.org/main/resources/Lewin-OEP%20Lit%20review.pdf
Originally written for internal use at the request of
the David and Lucile Packard Foundation's Organizational
Effectiveness Program, this overview of recent literature
related to organizational effectiveness and management in
nonprofits has been revised by the Lewin Group, a health
and human services research, policy, and management
consulting firm. (21 pages, PDF)
McKinsey & Company, Effective Capacity Building in
Nonprofit Organizations (Reston, VA: Venture
Philanthropy Partners)
http://www.venturephilanthropypartners.org/usr_doc/full_rpt.pdf
Published in August 2001, this report from Venture Philanthropy
Partners brings some common language to the discussion of
capacity building and offers insights and examples of ways
in which nonprofits have enhanced their organizational capacity.
(120 pages, PDF)
Mittenthal, Richard A., Effective Philanthropy: The Importance
of Focus (Philadelphia: Conservation Company)
http://www.consco.com/pdfs/effphil.pdf
Drawing on its nearly two decades of work with grantmaking
organizations, the Conservation Company offers a number of
suggestions on how to make philanthropic programs more
focused and, ultimately, effective. (120 pages, PDF)
Plantz, Margaret and Martha Taylor, Outcome Measurement:
Showing Results in the Nonprofit Sector (Arlington, VA:
United Way of America)
http://national.unitedway.org/outcomes/ndpaper.htm
This article from the Fall 1997 issue of New Directions for
Evaluation describes current activities in five important
key areas, offers thirty lessons learned, and discusses seven
challenges still to be overcome. (18 pages, HTML)
Venture Philanthropy Partners, Venture Philanthropy 2002:
Advancing Nonprofit Performance Through High-Engagement
Grantmaking (Reston, VA: Venture Philanthropy Partners)
http://www.venturephilanthropypartners.org/usr_doc/Venture%20Philanthropy%202002%2Epdf
Prepared for Venture Philanthropy Partners by Community
Wealth Ventures, this report features a series of essays
from funders, recipients, and leaders in the field. It
also includes comprehensive profiles of fifty national
and international organizations involved in high-engagement
grantmaking as well as a detailed analysis of survey
data tracking trends in the field. (196 pages, PDF)
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