Date of Award

12-2021

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Interdisciplinary Health Sciences

First Advisor

Dr. Rob Lyerla

Second Advisor

Dr. Kieran Fogarty

Third Advisor

Dr. Linda Schmidt

Keywords

Nonprofit management, charitable contributions, philanthropy, nonprofit organizations, community health

Abstract

Reported data suggest there has been an increase in charitable giving and the number of charitable organizations in communities nationwide over the last 20 years. It is widely believed that growth in nonprofit organizations would be a valuable asset for a community, but limited research evaluates the return on investment in these organizations. To ensure these organizations are good stewards of resources, various forms of accountability have been established, including websites like “Charity Navigator™,” which provide rankings and scores to charities nationwide. Data repositories like these make it possible to investigate variations in these organizations' funding, growth, and impact. This study considers how philanthropic giving has changed compared to the average income in the county, as well as the overall impact on health and human services associated with increases in nonprofit funding. This study also considers compensation structure over an eight-year period. A previous study (Smith et al., in press) found that mental health organizations in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, reported statistically significant differences in annual budgets and funding growth over an eight-year period. However, this growth was not predictive of specific health outcomes. This study attempts to further quantify the benefit from increased revenue and contributions to all health and human service nonprofit organizations in Kalamazoo County. Data considered was obtained from the Form 990s that nonprofit organizations submitted to the Internal Revenue Service from 2012-2018.

Access Setting

Dissertation-Open Access

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