Elizabeth A.M. Searing, PhD, CNP
Fellow, Venise Stuart Professorship
in Nonprofit Management & Leadership
Associate Professor, University of Texas at Dallas
Adjunct Research Professor, Carleton University

As climate change consequences intensify, higher education institutions (HEIs) have an opportunity and responsibility to model sustainable operations. This study examines how embracing shared knowledge and inclusion in sustainability decision making facilitates green human resource management (GHRM) efforts to invigorate organizational environmental performance. The study examines the effects of shared and inclusive governance on campus sustainability via a regression model and the mediating role of employee participation via a structural equation modeling approach. The results show that shared governance and inclusive governance positively predict the commitment of HEIs to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and campus engagement mediates these relationships, underscoring the importance of participation. These findings align with stakeholder theory in demonstrating that diverse voices in decision making can enhance commitment to organizational goals like sustainability. The findings also highlight the importance of shared and inclusive governance arrangements at college campuses not only for ethical reasons but also for achieving desired outcomes like carbon neutrality. For campus leaders striving to “green” their institutions, evaluating cross-departmental representation in governance structures and promoting inclusive cultures that make all students and staff feel welcome appear as important complements to GHRM practices.

Dragana (Dasha) Djukic-Min is a PhD candidate in public affairs at the University of Texas-Dallas. Her research focuses on the role of civil society in advancing environmental sustainability within the business and local government sectors. Previously, she worked as a practitioner in fundraising research and nonprofit development/management. Dasha was named an Oxford-Penn Social Impact Fellow in 2024 and an ASPA Founders’ Fellow in 2023.

Dr. James S. Norcross is a professor of Cybersecurity and Computer Information Technology at Dallas College. His work centers on information systems in local government, with a particular focus on security. He brings extensive experience from federal, district, and municipal public administration, including service as a senior IT administrator and CISO. His expertise includes critical infrastructure cybersecurity, with a special emphasis on water resource systems.

Dr. Elizabeth Searing is an Associate Professor of Public and Nonprofit Management at the University of Texas at Dallas and the Fellow to the Venise Stuart Professor in Nonprofit Management and Leadership. Dr. Searing’s primary research focus is the financial management of nonprofit and social enterprise organizations, but she also conducts work on comparative social economy more broadly. She is an Associate Editor and editorial board member of Nonprofit Management & Leadership, and an editorial advisory board member at VOLUNTAS and the Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management (JPBAFM). Her articles have been published in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Nonprofit Management & Leadership, and Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.

Elizabeth A.M. Searing, PhD, CNP
Fellow, Venise Stuart Professorship
in Nonprofit Management & Leadership
Associate Professor, University of Texas at Dallas
Adjunct Research Professor, Carleton University

This study modifies the traditional nonprofit and for‐profit measures of predicting organizational closure to fit the Italian social cooperative. Using logistic regression, we find the hybridity of the corporate form reflected in the ideal predictors of vulnerability. Some of the traditional nonprofit measures prove important (such as operating margin), but others do not; likewise, only some for‐profit predictors (such as the warranty ratio) prove significant. Further, there are several variables that improve the model that are not common in the models for the nonprofit and for‐profit sectors. We consider this evidence that hybrid purpose organizations worldwide should develop hybrid measures and models of financial vulnerability and resilience.

Dr. Elizabeth Searing is an Associate Professor of Public and Nonprofit Management at the University of Texas at Dallas and the Fellow to the Venise Stuart Professor in Nonprofit Management and Leadership. Dr. Searing’s primary research focus is the financial management of nonprofit and social enterprise organizations, but she also conducts work on comparative social economy more broadly. She is an Associate Editor and editorial board member of Nonprofit Management & Leadership, and an editorial advisory board member at VOLUNTAS and the Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management (JPBAFM). Her articles have been published in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Nonprofit Management & Leadership, and Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.

Sarah L. Young
Professor of Public Administration
Director of Research, KSU CARES
Kennesaw State University

Elizabeth A.M. Searing, PhD, CNP
Fellow, Venise Stuart Professorship
in Nonprofit Management & Leadership
Associate Professor, University of Texas at Dallas
Adjunct Research Professor, Carleton University

Kimberly K. Wiley
Assistant Professor
University of Florida

On January 22, 2025, 21 minutes before the scheduled start of a two-day federal grant orientation for 50 nonprofits who had just received the Specialized Services for Abused Parents and Their Children Demonstration Grant, the recipients received an email from the director of the US Office of Family Violence Prevention and Services, under the federal Department of Health and Human Services.

The email informed the nonprofits, which provide critical intervention services for family, domestic, and dating violence, that the grant orientation was canceled, effective immediately with no reason given, and that the government office had been instructed to “refrain from public speaking engagements,” including communication with the nonprofits.

The nonprofits, many of which were already starting to draw down these critical funds, were stunned: While the letter did not address the recent attempted freeze in federal funding by executive order of the president, the nonprofits worried their federal grant funds were at risk—and what the cryptic messaging meant.

The bizarre incident was one of hundreds of similar scenes of confusion, fear, and uncertainty across the nonprofit world after the attempted federal funding freeze. The nonprofit world must prepare for seismic events like this, as more are sure to come.

This moment presents a crucible for the nonprofit sector. Nonprofits and the communities they serve cannot afford to be passive casualties of political shifts. They must prepare to wield their strongest weapons—advocacy, strategic planning, and collaboration—to fight back and defend their missions.

Dr. Sarah L. Young, Professor of Public Administration at Kennesaw State University, serves as the Director of Research for CARE Services, a campus support program for students who have experienced foster care or unaccompanied homelessness. Her research uses systems-based approaches to study the intersection of nonprofit, public management, and equity, especially during periods of crisis. Dr. Young earned her Ph.D. from Florida State University’s Askew School of Public Administration and Policy and her M.B.A. in nonprofit management from the University of Tampa Sykes College of Business. She is the co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Public Affairs Education and serves on the editorial board of Teaching Public Administration.

Dr. Elizabeth A. M. Searing is an Associate Professor of Public and Nonprofit Management at the University of Texas at Dallas. Dr. Searing’s primary research focus is the financial management of nonprofit and social enterprise organizations, but she also conducts work on comparative social economy more broadly. She is an Associate Editor and editorial board member of Nonprofit Management & Leadership, and an editorial advisory board member at VOLUNTAS and the Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management (JPBAFM). Her articles have been published in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Nonprofit Management & Leadership, and Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.

Dr. Kimberly Wiley researches the relationship between nonprofit organizations and their public funders as well as qualitative methodology. She is particularly interested in domestic violence advocacy organizations serving families and youth. Though, she also enjoys testing new qualitative methods on data like social media and television. She won several awards for her work on faculty sexual misconduct and nonprofits in crisis. Her scholarship has been published in Nonprofit Management & Leadership, Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Public Administration, Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work, and Public Policy & Administration.

Sarah L. Young
Professor of Public Administration
Director of Research, KSU CARES
Kennesaw State University

Kimberly K. Wiley
Assistant Professor
University of Florida

Dr. Elizabeth A. M. Searing
Assistant Professor of Public and Nonprofit Management
School of Economic, Political, and Policy Sciences
University of Texas at Dallas

This study empirically evaluates the relationships between the state and human service nonprofits’ human resources during a crisis. We employ qualitative content analysis to critically assess the experiences of 31 nonprofits that experienced the 2015 to 2017 Illinois Budget Impasse. We evaluated the nonprofits’ strategic human resource management implications through a resource dependency lens at three levels: micro-, meso-, and macro-. Human service nonprofits pull from a toolbox of strategies in surprising ways. Strategy choices were intrinsically linked to the impacts experienced by the individual workers (micro-) and organization (meso-). Micro-level impacts included additional emotional labor and reduced benefits, while meso-level impacts included loss of capacity and short-term planning changes. Finally, the sector-level impacts included a multipronged brain drain of the nonprofit human resource industry. The findings are helpful for nonprofit employees, managers, policymakers, and anyone concerned about the delivery of social services by nonprofits during crises.

Dr. Sarah L. Young, Professor of Public Administration at Kennesaw State University, serves as the Director of Research for CARE Services, a campus support program for students who have experienced foster care or unaccompanied homelessness. Her research uses systems-based approaches to study the intersection of nonprofit, public management, and equity, especially during periods of crisis. Dr. Young earned her Ph.D. from Florida State University’s Askew School of Public Administration and Policy and her M.B.A. in nonprofit management from the University of Tampa Sykes College of Business. She is the co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Public Affairs Education and serves on the editorial board of Teaching Public Administration.

Dr. Kimberly Wiley researches the relationship between nonprofit organizations and their public funders as well as qualitative methodology. She is particularly interested in domestic violence advocacy organizations serving families and youth. Though, she also enjoys testing new qualitative methods on data like social media and television. She won several awards for her work on faculty sexual misconduct and nonprofits in crisis. Her scholarship has been published in Nonprofit Management & Leadership, Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Public Administration, Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work, and Public Policy & Administration.

Dr. Elizabeth A. M. Searing is an Assistant Professor of Public and Nonprofit Management at the University of Texas at Dallas. Dr. Searing’s primary research focus is the financial management of nonprofit and social enterprise organizations, but she also conducts work on comparative social economy more broadly. She is an Associate Editor and editorial board member of Nonprofit Management & Leadership, and an editorial advisory board member at VOLUNTAS and the Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management (JPBAFM). Her articles have been published in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Nonprofit Management & Leadership, and Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly.