Class and race can create a divide between donors and the causes they support – putting pressure on nonprofits.

When nonprofits that provide after-school programs for youngsters of color from poor families rely financially on wealthy, predominantly white donors, they might be forced to vary their priorities. Due partly to class and racial divides, these nonprofits struggle to speak the right way to address the interests of program participants while meeting donors' demands.

This was shown in a Detailed case study I wrote about it in Children & Schools, an instructional journal. The afterschool program I studied supports girls from low-income families in a northeastern city. The girls, who’re in grades 3 through 5, receive free weekly mentoring sessions.

The mentors are college students who volunteer to assist construct the women' confidence and ambition by reading and discussing stories about female athletes, film directors, politicians, human rights activists and other role models. The organization is led by a black woman who hails from the local people, and the nonprofit uses its own curriculum.

Participating in this system gives the women a secure approach to explore their “multiple identities,” a nonprofit worker told me.

But as I conducted interviews, convened focus groups, analyzed documents, and observed a virtual fundraiser, I discovered time and time again that the group's staff felt pressured to make use of corporate jargon when communicating with donors, who’re overwhelmingly wealthy white businesspeople.

The nonprofit's executive director said one in all the advantages of participating within the mentoring sessions is their playfulness. The girls can “just be free, just have fun, talk to their mentors and journal,” she said.

While she believes this system is worth it, she says she often faces disconnections when answering questions from her donors.

“It's always, 'What is your business model? And what are your key performance indicators going to be? How are you going to grow?'” She felt pressured to speak as if she were running a non-public company and to deal with goals which might be more relevant to the corporate than people who can best support the women in her care.

She was frustrated that she needed to focus a lot on donation numbers, while less tangible successes like “the joy of the program participants” weren’t resonating with donors.

Why it is necessary

Numerous Students take part in programs run by non-profit organizations throughout the varsity 12 months and throughout the holidays.

Many of those helpful opportunities profit from the participating children and young people chronically underfunded public schools.

Some of those programs are run by national organizations corresponding to the YMCA and the Boys & Girls Club of America. Others operate on a smaller scale. They may provide tutoring or teach chess, drama, martial arts, and other skills. It is common for them to have a combination of private and non-private funding. Some also charge tuition fees.

Other researchers have found that participation in community-based programs can profit children from poor families and their neighborhoods.

Because of their connection to varsities, these nonprofits must meet strict requirements set by local state, city and college regulations, while also meeting the needs and expectations of their donors or risk losing much-needed funds.

What happens next?

While I didn’t interview the donors of this nonprofit within the pilot study described here, I’m now doing so for my dissertation.

The Research Brief is a brief overview of interesting scientific papers.