ePapers Repository

Oil and water rarely mix: exploring the relative stability of nonprofit revenue mixes over time

Teasdale, Simon and Kerlin, Janelle and Young, Dennis and In Soh, Jung (2013) Oil and water rarely mix: exploring the relative stability of nonprofit revenue mixes over time. Working Paper. University of Birmingham, Birmingham.

[img]
Preview
PDF
WP99_Oil_and_water_rarely_mix_%2D_Teasdale_June_2013.pdf
674Kb

URL of Published Version: http://www.tsrc.ac.uk/Research/EconomicandSocialImpact/Stabilityofnonprofitrevenuemixesovertime/tabid/1013/Default.aspx

Abstract

This paper explores whether nonprofits are increasingly adopting mixed revenue strategies, and the sustainability of these strategies over time. We constructed a panel using NCCS (National Centre for Charitable Statistics) data from 1998 and 2007, and divided nonprofits into three groups: commercial, donative and mixed revenue. We found no evidence that nonprofits are increasingly adopting mixed revenue strategies. Mixed revenue strategies appeared less sustainable over time than predominately commercial or predominately donative strategies. Our results suggest that for most nonprofits, relying predominately on either commercial or donative revenue is a more stable equilibrium than attempting to achieve a balanced revenue mix. Exceptions may be those nonprofits, such as arts organisations, where there is a natural alliance between donors and customers.

Type of Work:Monograph (Working Paper)
School/Faculty:Colleges (2008 onwards) > College of Social Sciences
Department:Third Sector Research Centre
References:

Arellano, M. (2003) Panel data econometrics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Billis, D. (2010) ‘Towards a theory of hybrid organisations’ in D. Billis (ed.) Hybrid Organisations and the Third Sector. London: Palgrave.
Bond, S. (2002) Dynamic panel data models: a guide to microdata methods and practice. London: Cemmap Working Papers, CWP09/02.
Bowman, W. (ed.) (2011) Beyond Sustainability: Managing Revenue to Maximise Growth. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Carroll, D. A. and Stater, K. J. (2009) ‘Revenue Diversification in Nonprofit Organisations: Does it Lead to Financial Stability?’ Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 19 (4), 947-66.
Chan, T. W. (1995) ‘Optimal Matching Analysis: A Methodological Note on Studying Career Mobility’, Work and Occupations, 22 (4), 467-90.
Chang, C. and Tuckman, H. (1994) ‘Revenue diversification among non-profits’. Voluntas, 5 (3), 273-90.
Dart, R. (2004) ‘The legitimacy of social enterprise’. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, 14 (4), 411-24.
Dees, J. G., Emerson, J. and Economy, P. (2001) Enterprising Nonprofits: A toolkit for social entrepreneurs. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Eikenberry, A. and Kluver, J. (2004)’ The marketisation of the nonprofit sector: Civil society at risk?’ Public Administration Review, 64 (2), 132-40.
Evers, A. and Svetlik, I. (eds) (1993) Balancing Pluralism. Vienna: Avebury.
Fischer, R. L., Wilsker, A. L. and Young, D. R. (2011) ‘Exploring the Revenue Mix of Nonprofit Organisations – Does it relate to Publicness?’ Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 40 (4), 662-81.
Foster, W. and Bradach, J. (2005) ‘Should Nonprofits Seek Profits?’ Harvard Business Review, 83, 92-100.
Foster, W. and Fine, G. (2007) ‘How Nonprofits Get Really Big’. Stanford Social Innovation Review, Spring, 46-55.
Foster, W., Dixon, B. and Hockstetler, M. (2003) Funding: Patterns and Guideposts in the Nonprofit Sector. The Bridgespan Group, www.bridgespan.org/getattachment/bbdad5b9-8f5f-41c2-821c-a474c58cfb58/Funding-Patterns-and-Guideposts-in-the-Nonprof.aspx.
Froelich, K. (1999) ‘Diversification of Revenue Strategies: Evolving Resource Dependence in Nonprofit Organisations’. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 28 (3), 246-68.
Frumkin, P. and Keating, E. K. (2011) ‘Diversification Reconsidered: The Risks and Rewards of Revenue Concentration’. Journal of Social Entrepreneurship, 2 (2), 151-64.
Hansman, H. (1987) ‘Economic theories of nonprofit organisation’ in W. Powell (ed.) The nonprofit sector: A research handbook. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Kerlin, J. A. and Pollak, T. (2011) ‘Nonprofit Commercial Revenue: A Replacement for Declining Government Grants and Private Contributions?’ American Review of Public Administration, 41 (6), 686-705.
Kim, P. and Bradach, J. (2012) ‘Why More Nonprofits Are Getting Bigger’. Stanford Social Innovation Review, Spring, 14-16.
Markowitz, H. (1952) ‘Portfolio selection’. The Journal of Finance, 7 (1), 77-91.
McKay, S., Moro, D., Teasdale, S. and Clifford, D. (2011) The marketisation of charities in England and Wales. Birmingham: Third Sector Research Centre Working Paper No. 69.
Mullins, D., Czischke, D. and van Bortel, G. (2012) ‘Exploring the meaning of hybridity and social enterprise in housing organisations’. Housing Studies, 27 (4), 405-417.
Teasdale, S. (2012) ‘Negotiating tensions: how do social enterprises in the homelessness field balance social and commercial considerations?’ Housing Studies, 27 (4), 514-32.
Weisbrod, B. A. (1998) ‘The nonprofit mission and its financing: growing links between nonprofits and the rest of the economy’ in B. A. Weisbrod (ed) To profit or not to profit. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1–24.
Yetman, M., Yetman, R. and Badertscher, B. (2009) ‘Calibrating the reliability of publicly available nonprofit taxable activity disclosures: Comparing IRS 990 and IRS 990- T data’. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38(1): 95-116.
Young, D. R. (ed.) (2007) Financing Nonprofits. Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press.
Young, D., Kerlin, J., Teasdale, S. and Soh, J. (2012) ‘The dynamics and long-term stability of social enterprise’ in. J. Kickul and S. Bacq (eds) Patterns in social entrepreneurship research. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

Date:01 June 2013
Series/Collection Name:TSRC Working Paper Series
Keywords:Hybridity, modern portfolio theory, nonprofit, revenue, sustainability.
Subjects:H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Related URLs:
URLURL Type
http://tsrc.ac.ukOrganisation
Funders:Economic and Social Research Council, Office for Civil Society, Barrow Cadbury Trust
Copyright Holders:Third Sector Research Centre
ID Code:1795

Export Reference As : ASCII + BibTeX + Dublin Core + EndNote + HTML + METS + MODS + OpenURL Object + Reference Manager + Refer + RefWorks
Share this item :
QR Code for this page

Repository Staff Only: item control page