Transforming neighborhoods: Explaining effectiveness in community-based development organizations

ABSTRACT

Community-based nonprofits have been recognized by funders and policymakers as a vital component in the revitalization process in distressed neighborhoods. Though research on the effectiveness of these organizations has expanded in recent years, very little is yet known about what internal management characteristics and conditions in their local environments contribute to their performance. This article seeks to address this gap in the literature. Using survey data from 122 NeighborWorks nonprofit organizations in the United States, this article examines what internal management factors and external environmental factors influence the effectiveness of community-based nonprofits. The findings from an ordinary least squares regression model suggest that performance indicators, political capacity, board governance, and organizational age are important predictors of community-based nonprofit effectiveness.

Notes

1. NeighborWorks America is a congressionally chartered nonprofit corporation that serves as an intermediary to nearly 240 CBDOs across the United States. In 1978, Congress chartered Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, with the purpose of providing technical assistance to CBDOs serving urban communities through the United States. Since its inception, NeighborWorks America has provided technical assistance in the form of community development, grants, and leadership training.

2. The balanced scorecard was developed for the private sector. The scorecard method uses a more human approach, which provides a customer perspective that measures an organization’s performance with regard to customer retention, new customer acquisition, and customer profitability.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nathaniel S. Wright

Nathaniel S. Wright is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Texas Tech University. His research areas include public and nonprofit management, urban policy, and community sustainability. His previous publications focus on the role that social advocacy nonprofits play in creating sustainable neighborhoods, as well as issues related to nonprofit organizational effectiveness.