Denise L. Gammal is managing director of the Stanford Project on the Evolution of Nonprofits (SPEN) at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She joined Professor Walter W. Powell to launch SPEN at the Center for Social Innovation in August 2002. She received her AB in politics from Princeton University and her doctorate in social and political sciences from Cambridge University (UK). Her research interests include public and social sector management, crisis management, media relations, and fundraising. She is currently analyzing SPEN data on nonprofits and the economic downturn. Gammal has worked previously in political consulting and corporate public relations. She serves on the board of Stanford Arboretum Children’s Center.

Resources

Download the first report from the Stanford Project on the Evolution of Nonprofits, Managing Through Challenges, which profiles the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, and national nonprofit sectors, and examines critical management issues facing nonprofits.

Websites

• www.qual990.org : hosted by Urban Institute to improve the quality of IRS Form 990 reporting by nonprofit organizations for fiscal accountability and transparency
• http://www.charitychannel.com/forums/cyb-acc/resources/ : “cyber-accountability” uses information technology and the internet to enhance nonprofit accountability
• http://www.ombwatch.org/article/archive/49 : OMB Watch covers numerous nonprofit topics including accountability with updates on legislation, IRS enforcement, and more
• www.npgoodpractice.org/accountability : links to hundreds of resources including articles and cases on accountability and evaluation

Watchdog and Ratings Groups

• Philanthropy Roundtable: interesting and cautionary discussion about the differences among nonprofit evalution/ratings organizations
• “The Ratings Game: Evaluating the Three Groups that Rate the Charities,” by Stephanie Lowell, Brian Trelstad, and Bill Meehan, in Stanford Social Innovation Review, Summer 2005, v.3, n.2, 38-45.
• American Institute of Philanthropy, www.charitywatch.org
  Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance, www.give.org
  Charity Navigator, www.charitynavigator.org
  Guidestar/Philanthropic Research, Inc., www.guidestar.org
• Several newspapers and magazines now publish annual “best” lists including: Nonprofit Times, Chronicle of Philanthropy, Worth, and Forbes
  

Technology

• http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/content/eval/issue27/harris_table.pdf : list of 16 available software packages for nonprofit evaluation

Articles, Books and Cases

• Bridgespan Group (2003). “Greater Kansas City Community Foundation: A Case Study in Helping Donors Make a Difference,” www.bridgespan.org
• Cunningham, K. and M. Ricks (2004). “Why Measure? Nonprofits use metrics to show that they are efficient, but what if donors don’t care?” in Stanford Social Innovation Review, Summer 2004, v.2, n.1, 44-51.
• Frumkin, P. (2001). “Balancing Public Accountability and Nonprofit Autonomy: Milestone Contracting in Oklahoma,” Working Paper No. 6, The Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, Harvard University.
• Giudice, P. and K. Bolduc (2004). “Assessing Performance at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: A Case Study,” Center for Effective Philanthropy, www.effectivephilanthropy.org
• Grossman, A.S., and D.F. Curran. “EMCF: A New Approach at an Old Foundation,” Harvard Business School Case 302-090.
• Hall, M.H., S.D. Phillips, C. Meillat, and D. Pickering (2003). “Assessing Performance: Evaluation Practices and Perspectives in Canada’s Voluntary Sector,” Canadian Center for Philanthropy, www.ccp.ca
• Lara-Cinisomo, S. (2005). “The Cost of Meeting Compliance: A Case Study of Challenges, Time Investments, and Dollars Spent,” Tropman Fund for Nonprofit Research at the Forbes Fund, www.forbesfunds.org
• Light, P.C. (2004). Sustaining Nonprofit Performance: The Case for Capacity Building and the Evidence to Support It.
• Panel on the Nonprofit Sector (2005). Strengthening Transparency, Governance, and Accountability of Charitable Organizations: A Final Report to Congress and the Nonprofit Sector. Washington DC: Independent Sector.
• Salamon, L.M. (ed.) (2002). The State of Nonprofit America.
  Urban Institute (2004). “Analyzing Outcome Information: Getting the Most from Data,” Series on Outcome Management for Nonprofit Organizations, www.urban.org
• Urban Institute (2005). “Nonprofit Disclosure: The Answer to Accountability?” from a panel discussion, http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=900780
• Woodwell, W.H. Jr. (2005). “Evaluation as a Pathway to Learning,” in Current Topics in Evaluation for Grantmakers series, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, www.geofunders.org