Factors of Effectiveness in KY Nonprofit Social Welfare Organizations

This dissertation is an exploratory, mixed
methods study using grounded perspective to examine how
stakeholders (including consumers, administrators, and,
practitioners) in social welfare organizations perceive
effectiveness in the nonprofit social welfare sector. The
study utilized the Concept Mapping research methodology to
access and analyze data. A theoretical framework of
nonprofit social welfare organizational effectiveness
emerged from the data indicating that the five most
significant factors identified by stakeholders as
constituting effectiveness in the nonprofit social welfare
sector in Kentucky were (a) client services, (b)
organizational structure (c) workplace environment, (d)
staff efficiency, and (e) organizational funding.
Thirty-five statements emerged under these five categories
highlighting the activities that are considered most
important to an effective non-profit social welfare
organization in Kentucky. The sub- categories culminated
into a grant application and an evaluation tool for use by
the philanthropic group to judge if an organization is
effective and deserves to be funded.