Sustainability of Nonprofit Human Service Organizations in a Neighborhood Context

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nml.21264
• Date: 01 September 2017
• Published date: 01 September 2017
• Author: Wonhyung Lee

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N M  L, vol. 28, no. 1, Fall 2017 © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/nml.21264

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

Sustainability of Nonprofi t Human

Service Organizations in a

Neighborhood Context

Wonhyung Lee

University at Albany , State University of New York

Nonprofit human service organizations ( NHSOs ) carry both practical and symbolic

implications for serving local needs. Whether neighborhood characteristics influence the

existence of NHSOs is a critical inquiry, albeit with mixed results. This study examines

the relationship between neighborhood characteristics and organizational sustainability

based on the data of the capital district of New York State. Spatial analysis showed that

the largest concentration of NHSOs remains in the inner-city neighborhoods. Regres-

sion analysis identified small revenues of organizations and density of African Ameri-

can residents as significant factors that are negatively associated with the longevity of

NHSOs , controlling for neighborhood income level. These findings imply that small-

budget organizations in African American neighborhoods may experience a quick turno-

ver, which prompts a deeper understanding of how NHSOs attempt to sustain in such

neighborhoods.

Keywords: nonprofit , sustainability , human service organizations , neighborhood effects

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS SERVE a critical role in providing human services. Nonprofi t

organizations grew continuously since the 1940s as human service providers (Grønbjerg 2001 ;

Hall 2006 ; Kramer 2000 ). Between 1977 and 1992 the number of nonprofi ts that provide

human services increased by 130 percent and another 108 percent between 2002 and 2012

(Brice and Pettijohn 2014 ; Salamon 1999a ). With growing presence and signifi cance, nonprofi t

human service organizations (NHSOs) have played a key role in service delivery and social

bonding in local communities (Joassart-Marcelli and Wolch 2003 ; Putnam 2000 ; Salamon

1999b ).

What is often overshadowed by the prominent roles of NHSOs, however, is that many

NHSOs struggle and some do not survive. A longitudinal study based in Los Angeles

County found that approximately 20 percent of the nonprofits were not traceable and that

15 percent had completely disbanded since they had been surveyed ten years before (Hasen-

feld et al. 2012 ). NHSOs, like companies or other types of organizations, stop operation if

they fail in navigating the market, meeting the consumers’ standards, or managing resources.

Correspondence to: Wonhyung Lee, University at Albany, State University of New York—Social Welfare, 135 Western

Avenue, Richardson Hall 205, Albany, NY 12222. Email: whlee@albany.edu.

I thank Nurul Widyaningrum for her assistance in data collection and the anonymous reviewers and editor for their helpful comments.

Research Article