Urban congregations as incubators of service organizations

Abstract

A growing body of research has begun to describe the variety and pervasiveness of community services offered by religious congregations across the United States. This study investigated the process whereby a congregation forms a new community service entity by tracing patterns in its development from formation through emancipation. Based on a sample of twenty-three spin-off organizations engaged in housing services in three cities (Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis), this exploratory study found that religious congregations provided very limited forms of incubation for new entities. Although the congregations exhibited considerable involvement in governance, their inability to undertake management of daily spin-off operations notably contributed to the eventual separation between parent and organizational offspring.

Alternative Agencies and Feminist Organizations: Building on the Legacy of Felice DavidsonPerlmutter

“…Table 1 provides a comparative overview of characteristics identified in the works of Powell, Perlmutter, and Martin. It would be impossible in a paper of this length to fully explore all the different types of alternative agencies. One could argue that many faith-based agencies founded by wellmeaning people who addressed unmet needs are alternatives (see for example Netting & O'Connor, 2016) and that religious congregations often serve as incubators for alternative services (Kinney & Carver, 2007). Similarly, those agencies developed to advocate for specific population groups such as immigrant youth are alternative (see for example Ferrera, 2017), andJenkin's (1980) classic article on ethnic agencies focused on alternatives.…”

Examining the Role and Diversity of Fiscal Sponsors in the Nonprofit Sector

“…For example, Gronbjerg, Liu, and Pollak (2010) highlight how fiscal sponsors are one source contributing to "dark matter" of non-IRS-registered nonprofit entities. Carman (2001) describes the promise of community foundations as fiscal sponsors for community development, and Kinney and Carver (2007) discuss urban congregations as potential incubators of emerging new service organizations. However, no research has directly addressed the characteristics of fiscal sponsor organizations, which in turn has likely contributed to the notion that although fiscal sponsors exist, currently operate, and thus have an impact on the nonprofit sector, they are not well recognized or understood (Blair & Cheplick, 2007).…”

“…Although organizations serving as fiscal sponsors play an active role and are part of the nonprofit ecosystem, they remain somewhat of a scholarly blind spot. Nonprofit academics have certainly recognized their presence and role (e.g., Gronbjerg, Liu, & Pollak, 2010;Kinney & Carver, 2007), and there is an ongoing and lively practitioner conversation focusing on the process and implications of fiscal sponsorship (e.g., Blair & Cheplick, 2007;Cohen, 2012;Colvin, 2006b;Cunniffe, 2015). Nevertheless, besides two reports published by fiscal sponsor organizations (Green, Kvaternik, & Alarcon, 2006;Krivkovitch, 2003), we know of no academic research examining the fiscal sponsor industry looking closely at the organizations choosing to serve as fiscal sponsors.…”

Co‐located Nonprofit Centers

“…During recent years, charitable foundations and government in the United States and Canada have encouraged the adoption of various organizational structures to increase nonprofits’ effectiveness and efficiency. For example, some nonprofits are structured as incubators for emerging nonprofits by providing space and guidance (for example, Vinokur‐Kaplan and Connor ; Centre for Social Innovation ; also see Gerl and Associates ; and Kinney and Carver ). Others have established network structures to enhance service delivery (Chen and Graddy 2010; Eschenfelder ).…”