A Faith‐Based Advantage?

• Published date: 01 September 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nml.21142
• Date: 01 September 2015
• Author: Michael R. Ford

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N M  L, vol. 26, no. 1, Fall 2015 © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/nml.21142

Journal sponsored by the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University.

Correspondence to: Michael R. Ford, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh—Public Administration, 800 Algoma Blvd.,

Oshkosh, WI 54901. E-mail: fordm@uwosh.edu

A Faith-Based Advantage?

COMPARING THE ACADEMIC AND FUNDRAISING

PERFORMANCE OF SECTARIAN AND NONSECTARIAN

NONPROFIT SCHOOLS IN MILWAUKEE’S SCHOOL

VOUCHERPROGRAM

Michael R. Ford

University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh

This study explored whether religiously affiliated nonprofit schools participating in Mil-

waukee’s long-standing school voucher program engage in more fundraising and perform

better on academic indicators than nonsectarian nonprofit schools. The analysis of three

years of organizational-level voucher school data reveals that a higher percentage of reli-

gious affiliated schools engage in fundraising, and that religious schools affiliated with

umbrella organizations have higher test score indicators than nonsectarian schools. The

author concludes that the religious advantage is likely in part a result of the broader

access to networks and resources available to religious schools associated with umbrella

organizations like a Catholic archdiocese or Lutheran synod. The results are relevant to

policymakers who are considering implementing a reinvented government approach to the

provision of public goods, as well as leaders of nonprofit corporations who seek to maximize

performance.

Keywords: faith-based nonprofits, vouchers, Milwaukee Parental Choice Program

OSBORNE AND GAEBLER’S (1992) GROUNDBREAKING TEXT, Reinventing Government,

recommended greater utilization of the nonprofi t and private sectors in the provision of pub-

lic goods as a means of improving public sector performance. Broadly, theories falling under

the umbrella of reinventing government, like privatization and new public management,

posit that using nongovernment organizations in the delivery of public goods can introduce

market forces that increase effi ciency, competition, accountability, and citizen satisfaction

(Frederickson et al. 2012; Kettl 2005; Savas 2000). In the area of public education, Rein-

venting Government reforms include school choice options such as charter schools, magnet

schools, and, most controversial, private school voucher programs (Witte 2000).

 e Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) is the nation’s oldest and largest urban

private school voucher program. Since its inception, the balance of MPCP research has