Winter 2015 – Digital Issue

When the Show Must Go On: Nonprofits & Adversity

Features

• Welcome
  
  
• The Nonprofit Ethicist
  The unparalleled Nonprofit Ethicist weighs in on conflict-of-interest questions. by Woods Bowman
  
  
• Making the Most of Stakeholder Revolt: The Recapturing of the San Diego Opera and Sweet Briar College
  This article about stakeholder uprisings looks at how two organizations with very similar situations transformed their modes of governance and engagement with their networks. by Ruth McCambridge
  
  
• Staging a Comeback: How the Nonprofit Arts Sector Has Evolved since the Great Recession
  The arts sector took a huge hit during the recession, and has been slow to recover. Why is this so, and what does it say about the future of artmaking organizations? by Eileen Cunniffe and Julie Hawkins
  
  
• A City in Remission: Can the “Grand Bargain” Revive Detroit?
  In this comprehensive analysis of the state of Detroit, the unmatchable Rick Cohen unpacks the city’s past, present, and future challenges through the lens of the “grand bargain.” by Rick Cohen

Special Section: Nonprofits on the Edge

• Saving the August Wilson Center
  The August Wilson Center seems cursed by a failure to launch, yet has managed so far to stay (barely) afloat. What lies ahead for this troubled organization? by Anne Ferola, Jennifer Ginsberg, and Martice Sutton
  
  
• Rebirth of a Birth Center
  Holy Family Services has been stuck in the first stage of organizational development for over three decades. Can it evolve? by Sara Grawe and Shujia Gu
  
  
• Network as the Form: Reconfiguring Architecture for Humanity
  When AFH folded, its chapters stepped up to carry the mission forward. Can this newly formed multihub organization maintain its resilience? by Josh Bevan, Sonja Lengel, and Joseph C. Mester

Departments

• Why Funding Overhead Is Not the Real Issue: The Case to Cover Full Costs
  This article is a call to arms to nonprofits and funders alike to banish the overhead ratio and embrace the concept of full costs. by Claire Knowlton
  
  
• Movement-Building Opportunities for Change: Perspectives on Criminal Justice Reform Today
  Based on findings from key interviews with grassroots organizers and national leaders in the criminal justice reform movement, this article describes the state of the movement to end mass incarceration. by Margaret Post and Sian Ófaoláin
  
  
• The Public’s Trust in Nonprofit Organizations: The Role of Relationship Marketing and Management
  What defines public trust, and how do you restore that trust once it has been damaged? This article identifies core nonprofit-public transactions, offers methods for restoring trust that has been impaired, and includes a guide to managing transactional relationships commonly conducted with the public. by Herrington J. Bryce