Tactics and Strategies

Creative assets, people, and places: Rural art action practices of US nonprofit organizations

Influencing public policy through advocacy is an essential strategy used by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA) to achieve its health impact goals and programmatic objectives, which include helping all Americans lead healthier lives and reducing the incidence and consequences of cardiovascular disease and stroke. This advocacy work involves and engages the association's national officers, researchers, volunteer advocates, staff, and the general public and is a core strategy and key work process of the AHA/ASA. The organization's strategic approach to influencing public policy and leveraging its science and evidence base is not well known. This article provides the historical context of AHA advocacy, the organizational and legal structure under which these activities are carried out, the process used to develop the association's public policy positions and goals, the approaches used to achieve these goals, and the methods that have been developed to evaluate progress. This statement also examines the various tools and tactics that advocacy organizations use to influence public policy and specifically how the AHA/ASA conducts policy research, legislative and regulatory lobbying, coalition building and grassroots mobilization, and media advocacy. Finally, the ways that AHA/ASA evaluates the impact of its advocacy efforts are discussed, highlighting specific case studies and a brief summary of the association's 2010 to 2013 public policy agenda. The AHA's efforts to translate the science of cardiovascular disease and stroke into meaningful public policy began in earnest in the early 1980s. The association established a full-time office in Washington, DC, in early 1981 that was initially focused on increasing federal research funding administered by the National Institutes of Health.1 Other early policy priorities included tobacco control and support for programs that increased access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs), new clinical preventive benefits in the Medicare program, and nutrition policy. The commitment and involvement of …

Although online consumer privacy has been an important issue in the commercial realm for more than a decade, nonprofit organizations (NPOs, or nonprofits, for short) have just begun to address the topic recently. No published scholarly research has examined the online information practices of the largest NPOs with regard to privacy and security issues. The absence of data leaves one unable to empirically gauge the extent of NPO compliance with the Federal Trade Commissions (FTCs) suggested information practices. Such an investigation would be useful not only to US nonprofits but also non‐US nonprofits that are reaching US donors via their web sites. This study examines the online information practices of The Nonprofit Times 100 web sites and compares their practices to that of their commercial counterparts. The NPO web sites were found to collect just as much, and in some cases even more, personally identifying information as the commercial sites. The NPO web sites were more likely to display a privacy disclosure and privacy seal. Of critical concern, and not assessed in the commercial samples, is that nearly all of the NPO sites post personally identifying information (of individuals who are not employees). The current study provides benchmarks useful for assessing security issues pertaining to the collection, use, and even posting of personal information for NPO web sites. It also proposes actions for improving online security and privacy with the hope of encouraging more discussion of these important issues within the NPO community. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This chapter addresses many of the legal issues involved in creating and operating a nonprofit organization that is capable of conducting an international radiology project. In general, a nonprofit organization that operates overseas must be aware of and comply with the domestic laws that govern its US activities; the foreign and domestic laws that govern the international transfer of money, goods, and workers; and the laws of the foreign countries in which the nonprofit organization operates. This chapter describes many of the most important laws that affect US nonprofit organizations operating overseas and suggests strategies that nonprofit organizations can pursue to help minimize liability risks and effectively carry out their projects.

The work of US nonprofit housing organizations can be viewed as involving a commitment to meet the Quadruple Bottom Line—the financial demands of developing and maintaining affordable housing while serving resident groups and neighborhoods, in an environmentally responsible manner. Nonprofit organizations may be categorized into three major groups, based on their primary areas of concern—‘people’, ‘places’ and ‘projects’. This article outlines the components and approximate size of the US social housing sector and presents examples of how housing nonprofits have, both historically and currently, evolved to incorporate multiple roles. With declines in federal funding for affordable housing, nonprofits have become increasingly hybrid in their operations. Examples are given regarding how nonprofits attempt to mediate the private market; how the various components of the Quadruple Bottom Line often compete with one another; and how hybridity of the nonprofit social housing sector creates additional challenges for these groups. The final section presents policy directions for supporting nonprofits.

Policy advocacy is an increasingly important function for many nonprofit organizations, yet their advocacy activities have largely escaped theoretical grounding. The literature on nonprofits has described how they engage in policy advocacy, without linking them to theories of policy change. The policy studies literature, on the other hand, has explained how various forms of influence result in policy change, but has largely ignored organizational perspectives on those processes. These two literatures remain largely disconnected. Drawing upon interviews with a purposive sample of policy advocacy directors at 31 nonprofit organizations, this study applies Q‐methodology to identify and describe six distinct policy advocacy strategies employed by the organizations, and their resonant theoretical views of policy processes. These findings suggest strategic approaches for nonprofits seeking to influence policy processes. They also enhance the academic literature on policy processes by adding the advocates’ views and expectations. Implications for further research are also identified.

In‐kind (nonmonetary) donations are a popular form of philanthropy that have received much less scholarly attention than monetary gifts. This study documents the prevalence of types of in‐kind giving and associated organizational practices, then explores links between the perceptions of nonprofit managers, organizational practices, and prevalence of in‐kind gifts. Using phone survey data, we conduct a mixed‐method cross‐sectional analysis of 240 US nonprofit organizations. Findings indicate a wide variety of in‐kind donations and ways in which they are solicited. Charity managers ascribe a variety of motivations to donors for giving in‐kind, with more offering positive reasons (such as donors believing such donations are useful) than negative reasons (such as donor convenience). Using theoretical insights from contracting as a guide, we find that practices regarding in‐kind donations stem from monetary and nonmonetary (such as time or usefulness) considerations, though with differing effects depending on whether there are perceived challenges or opportunities.

Efforts to improve surgical safety and outcomes have traditionally placed little emphasis on intraoperative performance, partly due to difficulties in measurement. Video-based assessment (VBA) provides an opportunity for blinded and unbiased appraisal of surgeon performance. Therefore, we aimed to systematically review the existing literature on the association between intraoperative technical performance, measured using VBA, and patient outcomes. Major databases (Medline, Embase, Cochrane Database, and Web of Science) were systematically searched for studies assessing the association of intraoperative technical performance measured by tools supported by validity evidence with short-term (≤ 30days) and/or long-term postoperative outcomes. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Results were appraised descriptively as study heterogeneity precluded meta-analysis. A total of 11 observational studies were identified involving 8 different procedures in foregut/bariatric (n = 4), colorectal (n = 4), urologic (n = 2), and hepatobiliary surgery (n = 1). The number of surgeons assessed ranged from 1 to 34; patient sample size ranged from 47 to 10,242. High risk of bias was present in 5 of 8 studies assessing short-term outcomes and 2 of 6 studies assessing long-term outcomes. Short-term outcomes were reported in 8 studies (i.e., morbidity, mortality, and readmission), while 6 reported long-term outcomes (i.e., cancer outcomes, weight loss, and urinary continence). Better intraoperative performance was associated with fewer postoperative complications (6 of 7 studies), reoperations (3 of 4 studies), and readmissions (1 of 4 studies). Long-term outcomes were less commonly investigated, with mixed results. Current evidence supports an association between superior intraoperative technical performance measured using surgical videos and improved short-term postoperative outcomes. Intraoperative performance analysis using video-based assessment represents a promising approach to surgical quality-improvement.

This study investigates whether the public perceives nonprofit organizations as different from private for-profit and public organizations and whether introducing new performance management systems would provide positive credits to the organization. Using two randomized survey experiments on US hospitals (one with an adult sample and the other with a student sample), we replicate the study of Hvidman & Andersen (2016) in Denmark with an extension of adding a nonprofit organization cue. The results show no sectoral differences among the hospitals and no positive feedback for adopting a new performance management system.

Short-term and long-term outcomes in living donors for liver transplantation: Cohort study

Higher cardiac troponin is associated with worse outcomes in patients with acute heart failure. The significance of repeat measurements over hours remains unclear. We assessed whether a repeat measurement and the Δ between measurements of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) were associated with outcomes in hypervolemic patients with acute heart failure without acute coronary syndrome. We analyzed 582 individuals from AKINESIS (Acute Kidney Injury Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin Evaluation of Symptomatic Heart Failure Study) with hs-cTnI measured ≤12 hours from admission and repeated ≤6 hours thereafter. Associations between hs-cTnI levels and their Δ with short-term (death, intensive care unit admission, receipt of inotropes, or positive pressure ventilation during hospitalization) and long-term (death or heart failure readmission within 1 year) outcomes were assessed. The average age was 69±13 years, 62% were men, 65% were White, 46% had coronary artery disease, and 22% had chest pain. Median hs-cTnI levels were 27 (interquartile range [IQR], 13-62) ng/L initially and 28 (IQR, 14-68) ng/L subsequently, with a Δ of 0 [IQR, -2 to 4] ng/L over 3.4±1 hours. Only the second measurement was associated with short-term outcomes (odds ratio, 1.14 per 2-fold higher [95% CI, 1.02-1.28]). Both individual measurements and the Δ were associated with long-term outcomes (hazard ratios, 1.09, 1.12, and 1.16 for first, second, and Δ, respectively). Associated risk for the first and second measurements were not constant over the year but highest early after being measured and decreased over 1 year. Repeat measurements of hs-cTnI over hours can identify individuals with acute heart failure without acute coronary syndrome at risk for short- and long-term outcomes.

The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) predicts short-term and long-term outcomes in gastric cancer patients

RT, EPA share testing filter media cost

Open versus percutaneous release for trigger digits: Reversal between short-term and long-term outcomes

P437 Supporting mental health for people with CF in Jordan through quality improvement partnerships with US CF centers and nonprofit organizations