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Keywords

nonprofit entrepreneurship, nonprofit founder, founder attribution

Abstract

Who counts as a founder in nonprofit organizational emergence? Although founders are widely treated as central actors in nonprofit entrepreneurship, prior research rarely specifies how founder status is defined or attributed. This conceptual ambiguity is particularly problematic given that nonprofit creation is typically a multi-actor process involving fluid participation over time. Drawing on survey data from 56 individuals engaged in the early stages of nonprofit formation, this study examines how participants themselves demarcate founder status. The findings reveal a consistent distinction between general participation and founder attribution: while an average of over six individuals were involved in the start-up process, only about two were considered founders. Qualitative analysis identifies three criteria underlying founder attribution: (1) implementation prime mover, (2) early resource commitment, and (3) founding authority. Together, these dimensions suggest that founder status is not merely a temporal designation based on early involvement, but a socially constructed and evaluative category grounded in action, commitment, and responsibility under uncertainty. The study contributes to nonprofit entrepreneurship research by offering a more precise depiction of the founder construct.

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