Non-profit expert discusses industry trends, new role
Brandt Urban, MBA 2
Issue date: 12/5/05 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
On Wednesday, November 30, Georgia State University Professor Dennis Young visited the RSB to discuss developments in the non-profit sector. While Young's current research focuses on the changing nature of non-profit financing, he also discussed trends in the sector that included incorporating more private-sector management practices and how MBA students can take advantage of that in the recruiting process.
Young, explaining the overall goal of his current research project, said, "In terms of theory, if not hypotheses, we're moving toward understanding what type of benefits a non-profit might produce with a given type of service, who would benefit from those services, and what that implies about the funding mix."
One trend that is having an impact on his research is the shift to more of "an investor-style" approach to non-profit funding, according to Young.
"I don't know of any good research that shows [that non-profits showing high return on investment are more successful raising capital], but I think there is a belief that that's the case and it's what you have to do these days to continue attracting donations or qualify for government programs," Young said. "I think it is moving toward a benchmarking regime, which ultimately will be more sophisticated and we'll be able to say, 'here's an organization with these characteristics and it should be in this band [based upon its peers],' and those type of comparisons are much more useful" in determining an organization's performance.
Young added, "I think there are systematic principals and ways of thinking about these issues…but I don't think there are any formulas…and I don't think you can evaluate any non-profit without looking at a lot of the details."
This trend on the funding side has also impacted the management practices being used in the non-profit sector, according to Young. As such, MBAs and the skill sets they bring are becoming increasingly more important to the non-profit sector. "There has been a very general, broad movement within the non-profit sector to understand the importance of management, of good management, and of people educated in management who are able to address resource allocation decisions," Young said.
According to Young, the main challenge to breaking-in to the non-profit sector is convincing hiring managers that there is a genuine interest to join the organization and that they are aware of the major differences between non-profits and private sector firms.
Dennis R. Young is the Bernard B. and Eugenia A. Ramsey Professor of Private Enterprise in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University where he directs the school's nonprofit studies program. He is also President and founding CEO of the National Center on Nonprofit Enterprise, and has authored many books on the non-profit sector, and was also named to the Nonprofit Times Power and Influence Top 50 List in 2004.
Young, explaining the overall goal of his current research project, said, "In terms of theory, if not hypotheses, we're moving toward understanding what type of benefits a non-profit might produce with a given type of service, who would benefit from those services, and what that implies about the funding mix."
One trend that is having an impact on his research is the shift to more of "an investor-style" approach to non-profit funding, according to Young.
"I don't know of any good research that shows [that non-profits showing high return on investment are more successful raising capital], but I think there is a belief that that's the case and it's what you have to do these days to continue attracting donations or qualify for government programs," Young said. "I think it is moving toward a benchmarking regime, which ultimately will be more sophisticated and we'll be able to say, 'here's an organization with these characteristics and it should be in this band [based upon its peers],' and those type of comparisons are much more useful" in determining an organization's performance.
Young added, "I think there are systematic principals and ways of thinking about these issues…but I don't think there are any formulas…and I don't think you can evaluate any non-profit without looking at a lot of the details."
This trend on the funding side has also impacted the management practices being used in the non-profit sector, according to Young. As such, MBAs and the skill sets they bring are becoming increasingly more important to the non-profit sector. "There has been a very general, broad movement within the non-profit sector to understand the importance of management, of good management, and of people educated in management who are able to address resource allocation decisions," Young said.
According to Young, the main challenge to breaking-in to the non-profit sector is convincing hiring managers that there is a genuine interest to join the organization and that they are aware of the major differences between non-profits and private sector firms.
Dennis R. Young is the Bernard B. and Eugenia A. Ramsey Professor of Private Enterprise in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University where he directs the school's nonprofit studies program. He is also President and founding CEO of the National Center on Nonprofit Enterprise, and has authored many books on the non-profit sector, and was also named to the Nonprofit Times Power and Influence Top 50 List in 2004.
