Abstract
Finding a textbook for a graduate-level nonprofit management class is difficult. The book needs to strike the right balance of intellectual rigor and hands-on practicality. It should weave a cohesive story and serve as a springboard for discussion, but not spoon-feed lessons and insights. And the combination of authors Martha Golensky and Mark Hager, each of whom brings a wealth of academic and nonacademic experience to the table, has produced a book that nearly perfectly strikes that balance.
The book is divided into four sections. The first section focuses on the nonprofit sector writ broadly. The authors engage in the nomenclature debate (such as the appropriateness of the term “nonprofit”), and then they summarize and analyze the existing literature on the nonprofit form. Beyond this technical discussion, the authors provide insights on the history and underlying mechanics of how and why the U.S. nonprofit sector came about. The authors’ discussion of the public, corporate, and nonprofit sectors serves to introduce the framework of the three societal sectors and the ways in which they may share commonalities but differ in attitude, intention, and whom they serve. Their historical overview also touches briefly on the attributes of charitable organizations and member-serving nonprofits that were impacted throughout U.S. history not only by the wealthy and politicians but also by points of societal needs and social policy. There is probably room for more discussion around the interpretation of what constitutes modern philanthropy (and why the authors consider it absent from the fledgling U.S context in the 17th and 18th centuries); however, given the current exceptionalism that the United States grants its houses of worship in terms of financial transparency, it is understandable that tithing may be considered a separate phenomenon. Chapter 3 is especially noteworthy as it discusses the various stakeholders in an organization and how each can impact its operation and success. The authors suggest that the boundary spanning role necessary for the leader is influential to the organization’s embrace of change, fiscal management, policies, and practices, in addition to the organization’s engagement with competitors and collaborators. The authors do a heroic job of distilling the different possible relationships between the sectors, which is a large field of study that has been summarized nicely in this section’s three chapters.
The second section is split between leadership and studies of decision and change processes within nonprofit organizations, with Chapters 4 and 5 focused on leadership. This is one of the few areas where it feels like there was much more to be said and that perhaps things were condensed down to a level that was manageable rather than ideal. Whole books have been dedicated to the nature of power in organizational relationships and what transformational leadership is, so their brief mentions not only serve as a summary but also hint at larger areas yet to be explored. However, Golensky and Hager’s discussion of the types of leadership and how each might impact the success and failures of the nonprofit is useful. The managerial level of any type of organization is important in engagement and interconnectivity, especially for quantifying goals and success. By defining leadership using the historical perspective and examining how an organization’s leadership style works to motivate employees and outcomes, the authors offer insight into employee motivation and autonomy. Chapter 6, which focuses on decision-making, is one of the most richly detailed in the book. If anything, this chapter makes the reviewers wish the book was twice the price and had large color illustrations (especially for content such as Table 6.1 and 6.3, which contain summaries of different approaches and theories). Chapter 7 on organizational change is both well-written and timely, although we did expect a little more attention to be paid to collaborations given how important networks and working together are in navigating periods of crisis.
The third section explores the quest to secure material resources of various types. The authors walk through several philosophies of and approaches to strategic planning in Chapter 8. This chapter offers one of the very few examples where the exhibits may be so detailed as to be unnecessary, with the search conference agenda being something that could have been omitted and gained the authors the space for an additional page on how to increase uptake. Chapter 9 covers a lot of ground in program development, with considerable time dedicated to the needs assessment (although we are unsure how popular formal hypothesis development is outside of academia). Chapter 10 tackles the entire spectrum of financial resources, providing a great introduction while also offering very useful templates for items such as the sample proposal letter. We are torn on whether the Glossary of Selected Resource Generation Terms (Appendix 10A) is necessary because most readers will know what a donor is, but we appreciate the inclusion of the Sample Proposal Letter in Appendix 10B and suspect many nonprofits will use this as a template. Chapter 11 should have been named “Financial Management” rather than “Financial Performance Indicators” because it also covers topics such as budgeting. However, the content is solid, and the authors make effective use of the space they have in a survey text (although we would spend a bit more time on financial statements and the importance of watching cash, especially in accrual accounting). Finally, what is most appreciated in this section is the chapter dedicated entirely to technology, which often receives minor attention at the end of the semester despite its crucial importance in service delivery. We also respect the remark at the beginning of the chapter (that it will be obsolete at publishing), and it deepens our respect for the authors that they included it anyway.
The final section, which is devoted to human resources, is where the textbook truly shines. Both Golensky and Hager have spent considerable time on questions related to human resources in their research careers, and the enthusiasm and knowledge shown. In Chapter 12, the authors emphasize the importance of strategic human resource management (HRM) in nonprofits for the sustainability of the organization, its mission valence, and both human and social outcomes. They offer relevant but wide brush strokes about how policies and procedures can link to HRM and individual behaviors while also helping managers to manage. Included are issues relating to diversity and HRM with both paid staff and volunteers. These are brief discussions that can be supplemented with the vast and growing amount of new literature on these timely topics. In Chapter 13, Golensky and Hager circle back to the subject of leadership in nonprofit organizations and the roles that leaders play in not only achieving the organization’s goals but also the accountability and responsibility that they have for its outcomes. The authors discuss leadership by example, including the moral and ethical issues in which the organization exists. They also speak to the fairness and equity that an organization’s executive must demonstrate to create the best organizational culture for not only staff but also clients, board members, and employees. The solid discussion of HRM in Chapter 14 is one of the strongest chapters in the book. It was comprehensive, but the sections flow logically and hit the high points. This chapter starts at extrinsic/intrinsic motivation and goes through volunteerism and sample policies. The sample policies are especially useful because we have found, in practice, that this is something nonprofits often need and are intimidated to put together on their own. Chapter 15, which covers the governing board, is similar to the previous chapter with its thoroughness, with the insights on recruitment and job descriptions being especially useful. Our sole concern in this section is Chapter 13, which almost feels like a potpourri of subjects that did not fit elsewhere. For example, we are not sure we would have put risk management in “Leadership by Example,” but we are glad it was included in the text.
Overall, the book is immensely practical. This presents both opportunities and challenges. On the positive side, one of the most appreciated components of the book are the numerous samples and worksheets. The sample job descriptions for staff and board members and the example for the conflict-of-interest policy have both been used extensively by students after the course was over. Throughout the book, the authors provide useful appendices and examples that will help a variety of stakeholders to increase the value of their organizations. The generalist approach will not be specific to all aspects of nonprofit administration, but the authors attempt to incorporate different lessons for a wide range of nonprofits.
The book is also very accessible to both graduate students and practitioners—both practical examples and research are used, but without the copious literature review seen in other handbooks. On the one hand, this means practitioners (and those planning to become practitioners) are able to read the guide from cover to cover. However, for those who are accustomed to other handbooks that are weighty tomes of surveyed literature, it can potentially feel too practical. As the authors mention in the preface, the content strives to be more direct and less expansive than other texts on this level.
There are also numerous pedagogical elements in the text which are a boon to instructors looking to incorporate a text into a course or formal training series. Unlike current fashion, there are discussion questions (“Questions to Consider”) at the end of each section to spur those reading into deep thought. There are also lists of both references and selected readings for further study—an important distinction that many books meld. There is also a case study that runs throughout the entire text, providing a cohesive and useful example, particularly for those who are applying the book’s insights to their own situation. Although it currently appears in the interstitial areas between sections, the authors might also consider more directly applying each chapter to the situation (and not leaving us with a cliffhanger!). With the lack of a formal conclusion and the abrupt ending of the case study, we briefly thought that we were missing pieces of the text. Bringing both the case study and the overall text to a conclusion would be a welcome close to an excellent text.
