Data Envelopment Analysis in the Strategic Management of Youth Orchestras

Abstract

Nonprofit arts organizations need to develop more effective mechanisms for self-regulation in response to increasing government regulation and to meet organizational expectations. In this article, I measure the management of the relative efficiency among those forty-eight youth orchestras that participated in the profile summary project of the League of American Orchestras 2009–2010. I used two steps of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in order to evaluate program service delivery and the effectiveness of these fundraising efforts. The result of this analysis enabled me to divide these groups into efficient and inefficient groups. The efficient group can use this study's results in future marketing or fundraising efforts. Inefficient groups are provided suggestions to implement that will improve their fundraising and program services.

Keywords:

• benchmarking
• data envelopment analysis
• efficiency
• performance
• youth orchestras