Nonprofit organizations are motivated to make a difference for their participants, those individuals, families, and the communities who are central to their mission and the intended beneficiaries of their social change strategies. Whether they are referred to as “clients” or “constituents” in a social service setting, “emerging leaders” in grassroots groups, “residents” or “community” in a neighborhood development organization, “customers” in a social enterprise, or “members” in more collectivist settings, the motivation to serve participants drives a nonprofit’s strategies, informs its advocacy positions, is used to recruit volunteers, staff and donors, and, ultimately, is the basis for evaluating a nonprofit’s success.

However, being motivated to make a difference for participants is not the same thing as placing participants at the center of managing and leading. This distinction is critical because placing participants at the center requires rethinking how they are affected by the management of these organizations, not simply by the social change strategies adopted or the programs delivered. Unfortunately, we do not seem to be calling attention to this distinction and, more importantly, we are not supporting nonprofit leaders to align their management strategies to ensure participants and their experiences guide the overall operation and governance of these organizations.

This distinction became clearer to me when I started a research project that involved in-depth interviews with frontline staff in several nonprofits. It was here that I started to notice a difference between what I was teaching about managing nonprofits and what I was learning in these organizations. Participants are important actors in these organizations, playing a variety of roles that shape the work of staff, their managers, and ultimately the experience of participants themselves. Yet, in an analysis of more than 50 nonprofit management texts, I noted that full chapters were devoted to working with volunteers, boards, and staff, but not intended beneficiaries. In another analysis of 10 outcome measurement guides targeted to nonprofit organizations, I found that participants were portrayed as passive targets of program interventions. Yet in my interviews with frontline staff, a fuller picture emerged than was evident in these texts and evaluation guides: Participants are people who engage in nonprofits, not simply in programs. What they do not only shape the work of staff and managers, but also these organizations affect participants’ experience in ways that matter for impact.

What explains this limited attention to participants in management texts and this narrow conception of them in outcome measurement guides?

Read the full article about participants leading nonprofit organizations by Lehn M. Benjamin at Stanford Social Innovation Review.