Knowledge
Welcome to our knowledge bank — over 50 pages of leading edge information on the management and governance of nonprofit organisations.
Each section includes a high level summary of key topics and details of the most important books, reports articles and academic research from the UK and the USA. All have links to sites where they can be downloaded free or ordered from publishers.
This section contains information from:
- Books
- Reports
- Presentations
- Articles
- Web sites.
Case Study: Charity Commission
To make charities more transparent, the Charity Commission requires large charities to complete a Summary
Information Return. In 2007 we were invited to review users' views, to consider whether it should continue
and to suggest improvements.
We found that members of the interested public did find it useful but that charities had many difficulties
completing the return. Respondents to our research had proposed many ways of developing the document, making
them more accessible to the public and enabling people to compare responses from different charities..
"Compass used their independent perspective to produce an interesting and thoughtful report, highlighting the
opportunities, challenges, and potential the SIR offers."
Rosie Chapman
Director of Policy
Charity Commission
The three best known general text books on the overall management of non profit organisations are listed below:
Books on Management of Non Profit Organisations
Nonprofit organizations
Theory, management, policy
Helmut Anheier, Routledge, 2005
ISBN 0 414 31419 4
Helmut Anheier is a professor at both LSE and UCLA, so he sees the nonprofit sector from both sides of the Atlantic. This excellent primer for students of nonprofit management sets out the scale of the sector, relevant management theory and includes a selection of management tools.
It goes on to look at wider international and policy issues that the sector has to address.
.
Strategic Management for Voluntary Nonprofit Organizations
Roger Courtney, Routledge, 2002
ISBN 0 415 25024 2
This thorough and well researched book was accidentally left off the first version of our web site. It sets out different approaches to strategic management, how strategy is developed and how it is implemented.
It includes nine interesting case studies including some from well known national charities.
Managing Without Profit 3rd.Edition.
Managing Without Profit, Mike Hudson, Directory of Social Change,
2009
.
This ground breaking book, now in its third edition, has sold over 16,000 copies and been translated into two other languages. It demonstrates how to:
- Establish strong and suitably constituted boards
- Strengthen strategic management and performance
- Develop a mission and clarify objectives
- Manage and inspire people as individuals and teams
- Create a learning organisation
- Manage change.