Secondary Research On Non-profits

Eda Memik

Why it is so Important to Understand how Non-profit Organizations Operate:

An Annotated Bibliography

Though there is a common understanding of what a non-profit organization is, it is important to understand just why they are so important to the communities they provide for. To work with an organization such as Envision unlimited, it could help to understand how that organization functions and takes its role as a part of Evanston. The documents below help pinpoint exactly why charitable organizations are so important, and what issues they are currently facing. Boiling down the specific topic of research to one sentence, an important question appears; what makes the operations of a non-profit so important, and what issues do they currently face that set them apart from other entities? A main focus of the research was also analyzing how data was gathered and how various organizations were studied, as that could offer insight in how to learn about Envision Unlimited.

Banskota, Bibek, et al. “Unlocking Potential: Innovative ‘Private-Non-Profit’ Partnership for Empowering Children with Disabilities in Resource-Limited Settings in Nepal.” Frontiers in Public Health, vol. 13, Feb. 2025. Frontiers, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1438992.

Many disabled children in Nepal are unable to receive the proper care that they need. In fact “only 20% of children [in Nepal] with severe physical disabilities attended school due to mobility challenges and stigma.” (Banskota et al.). To suggest a possible solution, researchers analyzed the relationship between a non-profit called HRDC and B&B hospital, which is not a charitable organization. Many aspects of their relationship are analyzed, their governance mechanisms, operational protocols, resource sharing agreements, and more. The researchers looked at “ four key components: identification through mobile camps and community outreach, comprehensive medical treatment, rehabilitation services, and social reintegration programs.” to determine the effectiveness of the partnerships (Bankota et al.). Using these criteria they had specific ways to measure the successes of these organizations more quantitatively. Additionally, 40 years worth of documents were analyzed for quantitative data such as the number of surgeries performed, beneficiaries, or distributed assistive devices. All of this analysis showed the immense benefit that HRDC brought to the disabled children of Nepal, with more than 116,000 children getting treatment; 1.5 million people were also reached out to, helping to lower the stigma around physical disabilities. HRDC has published over 150 articles in various scientific journals and trained over 700 rehabilitation therapists. The document ends by describing how this model of non-profit private hospital collaboration can be applied in other countries.

This document shows how through collaboration and through a charitable organization real good can be done for those with disabilities. This reflects how Northwestern is partnering with Envision Unlimited to better the care that can be given to those in need. The document also outlines how this system is not something that only has to stay in Nepal, and could instead be used to help kids all around the world. So despite not being an exact one to one analogue to our design project, with HRDC being an organization focusing mainly on physical disability rather than intellectual disabilities as well, this research still helps highlight the importance of the collaborations between non-profit and private entities. It should also be noted that HRDC has a much grander scale operation, being across a whole country; however, that should not discount the work done by a smaller organization such as Envision Unlimited, and rather it should show the diversity in how care can be given. One aspect that was also important was the fact that private organizations would not provide service in rural areas. Charitable organizations however can fill that service gap, and bring needed care to places that would otherwise not have it or to those who would not be able to afford it. That again shows the vital role that such organizations take.

Helmig, Bernd, et al. “Challenges in Managing Nonprofit Organizations: A Research Overview.” Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, vol. 15, no. 2, 2004, pp. 101–16. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27927901. Accessed 23 Sept. 2025.

This paper analyzes the unique challenges non-profit organizations face, using many other sources to bring that point across. Profit driven organizations have more ways of acquiring funding than those who were not created to make a profit; in fact, a major issue charitable organizations must avoid is becoming indebted. Additionally, the theory that every organization no matter how big or small is dependent on the key resources that help it run is interesting. In the case of non-profits, their situation is quite precarious, with them having a large reliance on donors. The document describes how resources are power, and charitable organizations do not have the same power to control what happens to them. For a government run organization, they gain resources and power from the government at the cost of operational freedoms, but for private organizations they have not made the same tradeoff. Another issue faced by non-profits is the question of whether to market themselves or not. Their service has to appeal to a wide range of people, yet marketing costs money that could be better used helping rather than spreading awareness. For a profit seeking company marketing is a means to more profit, to a non-profit and those running it, marketing is a cost that takes away from the work that they could be doing. Non-governmental and non-profit organizations differ in how they consider their future choices which affects how they are managed.

This paper outlines how the forces organizations like Envision Unlimited are affected by their goal and their resources. This mindset can also help collaborations go in the direction they need to; the goal is not to help create as much paper as possible, or as efficiently as possible, it is to help the members of Envision Unlimited get more enjoyment out of the activity. Being aware of the way partner organizations such as Envision Unlimited operate is useful information. The paper is quite broad and has more of a general focus on NGOs rather than just non-profit organizations, however much of what is written is still applicable to Envision Unlimited. This paper also does not have a focus on any specific type of organization, may that be food banks or groups that help those with mental and physical disabilities. Yet, the goal of looking into this paper was not to gain insight into one specific organization, but rather to learn about the systems that they are in. The section of the paper highlighting how resources are analogous to power and the different ways it can be gained show a framework to see the interconnected world of various organizations and entities. In the end, it is still important to understand this framework, and can change the mindset used to find a solution in a given project.

Johnson, Michael P. Community-Based Operations Research: Decision Modeling for Local Impact and Diverse Populations. Springer New York, 2012. International Series in Operations Research & Management Science 167.

This book starts off by covering the importance of community based organizations. Johnson writes that a majority of people care more about their local community pointing out that “we may care more about the quality of our local school than ones across the city; we want emergency medical services to respond quickly to calls from our neighborhood first and foremost” (Johnson). This book is about the various ways researchers can find out how to solve a given community’s problems while also communicating with said group of people. And so, community based operational research, or CBOR, takes into account the perspectives of those experiencing an issue first hand. For a long time there were, and still are, debates about how much weight should be put on qualitative data compared to quantitative data. Yet CBOR has a focus on both without losing sight of what is important. CBOR has four main steps; first someone must identify the problem and ask what parts of a system should be changed. The next step is problem formulation, getting the perspectives of those affected by a problem and sending analysts to get a deeper understanding of the evidence. This step should also look into fairness and ethics, to make sure that a solution is best for the community. The next step is problem solving, bringing together all the data and creating a plan that can, in the fourth and final step, be implemented.

This book is interesting because it is a bit removed from the project with Envision Unlimited and instead lets one see the mindset of trying to find solutions for a bigger group. Yet, all the steps still could be applied to a smaller scale project such as helping make a papermaking activity safer and more enjoyable. What this document really highlights is the importance of being thorough and finding the perspectives of those who will implement the solution. The solution could put a focus on the numbers, the milliliters of water spilled and the hours it takes for a piece of paper to dry, however, the solution could also take into account the wants and needs of the community making the paper. This type of analysis is useful to think about and good at highlighting different perspectives on how to solve a solution, however may not be feasible to implement for a small group. In fact, CBOR is more geared towards entire neighborhoods rather than one specific group of people. Yet, what is important about this document is being able to understand the viewpoint of Envision Unlimited and being reminded of the importance of not being overly focused on the numbers.

Rosenau, Pauline Vaillancourt, and Stephen H. Linder. “A Comparison of the Performance of For-Profit and Nonprofit U.S. Psychiatric Inpatient Care Providers Since 1980.” Psychiatric Services, vol. 54, no. 2, Feb. 2003, pp. 183–87. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.54.2.183.

This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of Non-profit psychiatric inpatient care providers and for profit ones. In fact, “A total of 149 peer-reviewed journal articles [that] qualified for inclusion in [their] final population of studies” were used to determine the effectiveness of both types of organizations (Rosenau et al.). Researchers searched for data regarding the access to care, quality of care, and cost effectiveness. For a type of organization to be considered as having superior access to care they must provide for medicare and medicaid patients or patients who require costly treatments. Quality of care was determined by low mortality rates, adverse effects from treatment, patient education, and various other aspects that provided better treatments for patients. Cost effectiveness was determined by the per patient costs or profitability. The study also considered the amount of charity care given, or care given to those without an expectation to be paid back. Though the term In-patient care was used, many different types of mental health care providers were considered, including mental health care hospitals and facilities, specialty hospitals, general hospitals with units for mental health treatments, or mental health care facilities. Some studies were across the entire United States while others focused on single states. However, all the picked studies were used to determine how well each type of organization was able to do in the four given criteria. The study concludes, finding that for-profit care was not substantially better than non-profit care, and that in fact, a majority of studies found that non-profit organizations ranked higher in the criteria given compared to their for-profit counterparts.

This study was imperative in showing a more broad view on how non-profit organizations provide important services. The health and wellbeing of those in need of mental health care is extremely important, and so through helping a non-profit, one can help an organization that offers better access to quality, cost effective and charitable care. It also covers a major issue facing non-profits, the danger of being replaced by for-profits. Over time according to the document, inpatient facilities around the country have switched to a for profit model, presenting a wider cultural shift towards a preference for that model of running an organization. However, it is important to realize the value of charitable organizations and the fact that they are not inherently worse or less effective. One major caveat in using this study to reflect on how Envision Unlimited Operates is that the study covers inpatient care rather than outpatient services. The type of care provided and the facilities available vastly differ between that of what Envision Unlimited provides and what the organizations covered in the study have. This study also does not delve into exactly why charitable organizations can perform better than for profit organizations. Still, this study is a good baseline in understanding the different ways a non-profit can provide better care and also what exactly defines good care. It is important to keep in mind that the goal of an engineering project for Envision unlimited should be in service of bettering the care they provide.

Srinivasan, Varadharajan, et al. “What Innovative Practices and Processes Are Used to Deliver Psychosocial Care in India? A Qualitative Case Study of Three Non-Profit Community Mental Health Organisations.” SSM – Mental Health, vol. 4, Dec. 2023, p. 100220. ScienceDirect, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2023.100220.

Through comparing different case studies of non-governmental organizations in India that help those with mental health issues, this study tried to find the operational practices that made these organizations unique. The three studied organizations are called Burans, Iswar Sankalpa, and Mental Health Action Trust. The way data was collected was each of the three authors would go to a different organization and do interviews, collect documents, and start to make ethnographic observations. Once a more specific focus and theme was determined each author then went back for a week long observation of each organization on site. The histories of each organization was carefully cataloged and a typical week in the operations of the organization was outlined. The different methods of helping those in need were also noted. Each organization focused on helping marginalized groups that would otherwise have trouble assessing care, and tended to engage with the community through advocacy, use of public spaces, and involvement of family and peers. Non-governmental organizations were uniquely able to connect with the groups who needed the most help, and were able to find resources such as rent free venues, bro-bono expertise and drugs, and community donations. By bringing a community together they were able to provide the necessary help, and by seeing first hand their operations, researchers were better able to understand how these groups worked.

These organizations mirror Envision unlimited in some of the strategies they use such as using community outreach; Envision Unlimited also has the option of taking advantage of the way a non-governmental entity operates compared to one that is part of the government. The study shows the differences between how the government would support the health of people compared to how a separate entity would. The way that this study was conducted is also important, as each author went and really took the time to catalog all parts of what was going on in each organization. Though there most likely will not be a weeklong observation period at Envision Unlimited, there will be opportunities to see how day to day operations occur. In fact, it would be very useful to document the details of what happens in a day at the Rose Center. The way that the researchers split up the work could also be useful to note. However, these three organizations are quite different from Envision Unlimited in the sense that they only treat mental health, and not also physical or mental disabilities. That means that the strategies they employ may not reflect those that Envision Unlimited does. Yet still this study is an important opportunity to see how case studies are done and how those strategies can be implemented for the Design Classes at Northwestern.