Abstract

This thesis studies impact, sustainability, and dependency in the nonprofit sector. Empower Playgrounds, Inc. (EPI) is a nonprofit organization working to improve educational conditions in Africa through educational recreation, lighting for education, and hands-on science labs. A social impact assessment I performed for EPI in 2008 creates the context for discussion of EPI's sustainability. Dependency results from a lack of sufficient conditions for sustainability—resources, capability, and opportunity—which I elucidate in a framework of corresponding theories of capital. Using this sufficiency framework I analyze the resources, capabilities, and opportunities required for EPI program sustainability, determine unmet conditions, and propose solutions to improve sustainability. This thesis contributes to the nonprofit sustainability literature by combining problem-driven (as opposed to solution-driven) design processes with theories of capital to assess nonprofit program sustainability. This framework is a powerful planning and assessment tool for both business model generation and program design.

Degree

College and Department

Family, Home, and Social Sciences; Sociology

Rights

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