Mirae Kim

Impact of Government Funding on Donations to Arts Organizations A Survey Experiment

Many nonprofits rely on private donations and government grants, but it is still unclear how these sources of funding may interact or even influence each other. To examine the behavioral aspect of the crowding-out hypothesis, we conducted an online survey experiment (n = 562) to test if government funding of a hypothetical nonprofit would influence donations. Our results show that a nonprofit with government funding, compared to an identical hypothetical organization without government funding, received 25% less in average donations (US

Socioeconomic Diversity, Political Engagement, and the Density of Nonprofit Organizations in U.S. Counties

35 vs. US

Characteristics of Civically Engaged Nonprofit Arts Organizations: The Results of a National Survey

47) and was about half as likely (21% vs. 38%) to receive all the money in a forced-choice scenario. However, the crowding-out effect of government funding appears much weaker for those who are arts patrons or who have previously contributed to the arts. Interestingly, this crowding-out effect seems insensitive to the amount of government funding and to labeling the government funding as coming from a prestigious source (e.g., National Endowment for the Arts [NEA]).

The Relationship of Nonprofits’ Financial Health to Program Outcomes Empirical Evidence From Nonprofit Arts Organizations

This study examines the hypothesis that a community’s heterogeneous demands for public service, represented by a community’s income inequality and racial-ethnic diversity, together with its level of political engagement, help explain the density of nonprofits in a local area. Using data on more than 3,000 U.S. counties, empirical analyses reveal that communities with a higher level of income inequality and political engagement tend to have more nonprofits per resident than otherwise similar communities. This pattern holds for the nonprofit sector overall and for 6 of the 10 major subsectors examined. These findings suggest that nonprofit organizations may fill a gap in the delivery of public services, especially when a community has a great variety of social and economic needs. This study thus highlights the role of income inequality as a factor in explaining the density of nonprofit organizations at the local level. Implications for public policy and administration are discussed.

Do Donors Care About Results? An Analysis of Nonprofit Arts and Cultural Organizations

Nonprofits face increasing pressure to compete in the market, while they must maintain their civic commitment. Focusing on the arts and cultural sector, this study conducts the first large-scale, comprehensive empirical measurement of nonprofits’ engagement in various roles. The article uses a previously validated 18-item role index to categorize nonprofits as primarily engaged in either civic or market functions, so that a subsequent regression analysis can identify the common characteristics of civically active nonprofit arts service organizations. The data come from (a) qualitative interviews with leaders of arts nonprofits, (b) a random national sample of more than 900 arts nonprofits, and (c) Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax returns of the sample nonprofits. The findings suggest that civically active arts nonprofits have diverse networks, recognize civic engagement as the industry norm, and are consciously aware of their nonprofit status. The results suggest how nonprofits can balance their equally important market- and civic-oriented functions.

Assessing the strength and weakness of the dataarts cultural data profile in comparison with the nccs 990 data

Financial measures are routinely used as a proxy for nonprofit organizations’ capacity to serve, but the link between financial indicators and program outcomes has been largely unexamined. This study examines empirically whether, and to what extent, financial measures predict program success. The analysis draws on a unique data set from the Cultural Data Project (2004-2012) that covers nearly 5,000 nonprofit arts and cultural organizations. The empirical results confirm that financial attributes are indeed linked to program outcomes. Yet, some of the factors that contribute to financial stability and efficiency have no or negative relationships with program outcomes; this finding suggests that some efforts to maintain financial strength may be made at the expense of program performance. This study also draws attention to the inconsistent way revenue diversification is being measured and calls attention to the value in focusing on the primary funding mechanism of a nonprofit organization.

The Scale of Mission-Embeddedness as a Nonprofit Revenue Classification Tool Different Earned Revenue Types, Different Performance Effects

ABSTRACT: Nonprofits are facing increasing pressure to measure and demonstrate their performance outcomes. However, we know little about the relationship between a nonprofit’s performance and its ability to attract donations. Do donors value an organization’s performance information when making giving decisions? We find that organizations that are more successful (i.e., attract larger audiences to their programs and more visitors to their websites) tend to receive fewer contributions. Despite a growing culture of performance measurement, the empirical evidence does not provide strong support of its relevance among donors. A plausible theoretical reasoning is that better performance outcomes create the image of success, making organizations look less needy. These results call for more research on the link between performance outcomes and philanthropy.

Representation and Diversity, Advocacy, and Nonprofit Arts Organizations:

The DataArts dataset, although it covers mostly arts organizations, has emerged as an alternative source of data for nonprofit research. Most existing studies use the IRS 990 data, which is considered a reliable source for research. We evaluate the reliability of the DataArts dataset by comparing the consistency of the values reported to the DataArts Cultural Data Profile (CDP) and to the 990 forms. We: 1) examine correlations between the same measures in each dataset, 2) assess the cumulative distribution of differences between the two datasets and 3) compare the results of the same empirical model conducted with the DataArts dataset and 990 data, respectively. We conclude that the DataArts dataset is an adequate and reliable source of financial and performance information, but researchers should be aware of a few limitations.

Do Mission Statements Matter for Nonprofit Performance

Nonprofits rely on earned revenue to remain sustainable. Prior studies have generally aggregated all earned revenue and evaluated its influence on financial sustainability. Our study takes a different approach, assessing the effects of three different types of earned revenue on an immediate program outcome. We use Cultural Data Project data from 2,000 arts and culture nonprofits from 2004-2012. We find that embedded and integrated earned revenue are linked to better program outcomes while external earned revenue is related to poorer program outcomes. Results depend on type (performing vs. visual arts) and funding structure (donative vs. commercial).

Nonprofit Leader Perceptions of Operating Reserves and Their Substitutes

In recent years, arts and culture nonprofits have sought to make themselves more relevant to community issues by engaging in advocacy. Based on survey data drawn from a national sample of arts nonprofits, this study compares the different levels of advocacy carried out by all arts nonprofits and by minority-led arts nonprofits. To explain the varying levels of advocacy, this study focuses on the diversity of an organization’s constituents and its surrounding community, as well as the ethnic or racial identity and the professional background of its leader. Our results indicate that constituent and community racial and ethnic compositions are associated with the level of advocacy at arts nonprofits. Also, arts nonprofits with leaders who have been in the arts industry for a significant time are more likely to be engaged in advocacy than otherwise similar organizations. We discuss the implication of diversity and professional leadership on arts nonprofits’ advocacy.