Examine the effect of compassionate leadership on donor attraction and retention between faith-based and secular nonprofit organizations
Faculty Advisor Name
Yoon, Nara
Department
School of Strategic Leadership Studies
Description
Research studies reveal that donors not only have preferences for the causes they wish to donate to but often shift between subsectors and among different nonprofit organizations (Schmitz, 2021). How to attract new donors and retain the existing ones has been a running topic among scholars, leaders, and practitioners of nonprofit organizations, as it is essential to ensure the sustainable effectiveness of nonprofit program deliveries for societal benefits especially to the marginalized populations in low-income communities.
Numerous research studies offer valuable insights into the research questions of how to attract new donors and retain the existing ones (Bekkers & Wiepking, 2011). In addition, many research studies claim that social identity is critical in shaping charitable giving among donors (Ralph et al., 2022; Nelson & Nelson, 2021). For example, faith-based nonprofits remain the largest recipients over decades compared to secular nonprofits (National Philanthropic Trust). However, how leadership nudges relationships in fundraising to attract and retain donors and influence donors’ selection of charitable organizations remains understudied.
Compassionate leadership, which aligns with the ethical values of servant leadership, transformational leadership, and authentic leadership, is adept at fostering trust and creating a culture of care, support, respect, and togetherness, has garnered increasing attention for its effectiveness in driving organizational performance (Khalid & Parveen, 2024). As nonprofit organizations face inherent resource constraints and rely heavily on external resource supporters, it is necessary to understand the key research questions: 1) What is the effect of compassionate leadership on donor attraction and retention? 2) Is there a significant difference in compassionate leadership influencing donor attraction and retention in terms of distinct social identity between faith-based and secular nonprofits?
Drawn on the compassionate leadership theory proposed by Shuck et al. (2019), this paper aims to investigate the effect of compassionate leadership on donor attraction and retention, as well as the extent of compassionate leadership exercised between faith-based and secular nonprofit organizations. Data will be collected through survey questionnaires developed through the scale instrument of the Compassionate Behavior Index (Shuck et al., 2019) from 500 faith-based and non-faith-based nonprofit organizations. Subsequently, data will be analyzed using multivariate regression analysis and multilevel modeling. The hypotheses generated from the compassionate leadership theory and literature review are as follows.
Hypotheses
H1a: Empathy has a positive relationship with compassionate leadership.
H1b: Integrity has a positive relationship with compassionate leadership.
H1c: Presence has a positive relationship with compassionate leadership.
H1d: Dignity has a positive relationship with compassionate leadership.
H1e: Authenticity has a positive relationship with compassionate leadership
H1f: Accountability has a positive relationship with compassionate leadership
H2: Compassionate leadership has a positive relationship with donor attraction and retention
H3: Organization social identity (faith-based) as a predictor significantly affects the relationship between compassionate leadership and donor attraction and retention.
Methodology
Phase -1: Hypotheses H1a H1f will be testedthrough multivariate regression analysis.
Independent variables:
Six constructs of compassionate leadership (Compassionate Behavior Index)
Dependent variable:
Compassionate leadership
Phase-2: Hypotheses H2 - H3 will be tested through multivariate regression analysis.
Independent variables:
- Compassionate leadership
- Organization identity
faith-based/secular human service nonprofit organizations
- Organization size
- organization location
Dependent variables
- Donor attraction
- Donor retention
Statistical analyses:
- Descriptive analysis
- Correlation analysis
- Multivariate regression analysis
- Multilevel modeling
Selected References
Bekkers, R., & Wiepking, P. (2011). A literature review of empirical studies of
philanthropy: Eight mechanisms that drive charitable giving. Nonprofit and
voluntary sector quarterly, 40(5), 924-973.
Khalid, K., & Parveen, M. (2024). Compassionate Leadership: As a Support to
Enhance Employees’ Core Self-Evaluation, Retention, and Subjective Career
Success. International Journal of Organizational Leadership, 13(3), 507-528.
Nelson, P. J., & Nelson, P. J. (2021). Faith-Based Identities. Religious Voices in the
Politics of International Development: Faith-Based NGOs as Non-state Political
and Moral Actors, 41-69.
Ramachandran, S., Balasubramanian, S., James, W. F., & Al Masaeid, T. (2024).
Whither compassionate leadership? A systematic review. Management Review
Quarterly, 74(3), 1473-1557.
Ralph, A. K., Fulton, B. R., & Allen, S. (2022). Faith-based public foundations:
Identifying the field and assessing its impact. The Foundation Review, 14(1), 6.
Shuck, B., Alagaraja, M., Immekus, J., Cumberland, D., & Honeycutt‐Elliott, M. (2019).
Does compassion matter in leadership? A two‐stage sequential equal status
mixed method exploratory study of compassionate leader behavior and
connections to performance in human resource development. Human Resource
Development Quarterly, 30(4), 537-564.
Schmitz, J. (2021). Is charitable giving a zero-sum game? The effect of competition
between charities on giving behavior. Management Science, 67(10), 6333-6349.
Examine the effect of compassionate leadership on donor attraction and retention between faith-based and secular nonprofit organizations
Research studies reveal that donors not only have preferences for the causes they wish to donate to but often shift between subsectors and among different nonprofit organizations (Schmitz, 2021). How to attract new donors and retain the existing ones has been a running topic among scholars, leaders, and practitioners of nonprofit organizations, as it is essential to ensure the sustainable effectiveness of nonprofit program deliveries for societal benefits especially to the marginalized populations in low-income communities.
Numerous research studies offer valuable insights into the research questions of how to attract new donors and retain the existing ones (Bekkers & Wiepking, 2011). In addition, many research studies claim that social identity is critical in shaping charitable giving among donors (Ralph et al., 2022; Nelson & Nelson, 2021). For example, faith-based nonprofits remain the largest recipients over decades compared to secular nonprofits (National Philanthropic Trust). However, how leadership nudges relationships in fundraising to attract and retain donors and influence donors’ selection of charitable organizations remains understudied.
Compassionate leadership, which aligns with the ethical values of servant leadership, transformational leadership, and authentic leadership, is adept at fostering trust and creating a culture of care, support, respect, and togetherness, has garnered increasing attention for its effectiveness in driving organizational performance (Khalid & Parveen, 2024). As nonprofit organizations face inherent resource constraints and rely heavily on external resource supporters, it is necessary to understand the key research questions: 1) What is the effect of compassionate leadership on donor attraction and retention? 2) Is there a significant difference in compassionate leadership influencing donor attraction and retention in terms of distinct social identity between faith-based and secular nonprofits?
Drawn on the compassionate leadership theory proposed by Shuck et al. (2019), this paper aims to investigate the effect of compassionate leadership on donor attraction and retention, as well as the extent of compassionate leadership exercised between faith-based and secular nonprofit organizations. Data will be collected through survey questionnaires developed through the scale instrument of the Compassionate Behavior Index (Shuck et al., 2019) from 500 faith-based and non-faith-based nonprofit organizations. Subsequently, data will be analyzed using multivariate regression analysis and multilevel modeling. The hypotheses generated from the compassionate leadership theory and literature review are as follows.
Hypotheses
H1a: Empathy has a positive relationship with compassionate leadership.
H1b: Integrity has a positive relationship with compassionate leadership.
H1c: Presence has a positive relationship with compassionate leadership.
H1d: Dignity has a positive relationship with compassionate leadership.
H1e: Authenticity has a positive relationship with compassionate leadership
H1f: Accountability has a positive relationship with compassionate leadership
H2: Compassionate leadership has a positive relationship with donor attraction and retention
H3: Organization social identity (faith-based) as a predictor significantly affects the relationship between compassionate leadership and donor attraction and retention.
Methodology
Phase -1: Hypotheses H1a H1f will be testedthrough multivariate regression analysis.
Independent variables:
Six constructs of compassionate leadership (Compassionate Behavior Index)
Dependent variable:
Compassionate leadership
Phase-2: Hypotheses H2 - H3 will be tested through multivariate regression analysis.
Independent variables:
- Compassionate leadership
- Organization identity
faith-based/secular human service nonprofit organizations
- Organization size
- organization location
Dependent variables
- Donor attraction
- Donor retention
Statistical analyses:
- Descriptive analysis
- Correlation analysis
- Multivariate regression analysis
- Multilevel modeling
Selected References
Bekkers, R., & Wiepking, P. (2011). A literature review of empirical studies of
philanthropy: Eight mechanisms that drive charitable giving. Nonprofit and
voluntary sector quarterly, 40(5), 924-973.
Khalid, K., & Parveen, M. (2024). Compassionate Leadership: As a Support to
Enhance Employees’ Core Self-Evaluation, Retention, and Subjective Career
Success. International Journal of Organizational Leadership, 13(3), 507-528.
Nelson, P. J., & Nelson, P. J. (2021). Faith-Based Identities. Religious Voices in the
Politics of International Development: Faith-Based NGOs as Non-state Political
and Moral Actors, 41-69.
Ramachandran, S., Balasubramanian, S., James, W. F., & Al Masaeid, T. (2024).
Whither compassionate leadership? A systematic review. Management Review
Quarterly, 74(3), 1473-1557.
Ralph, A. K., Fulton, B. R., & Allen, S. (2022). Faith-based public foundations:
Identifying the field and assessing its impact. The Foundation Review, 14(1), 6.
Shuck, B., Alagaraja, M., Immekus, J., Cumberland, D., & Honeycutt‐Elliott, M. (2019).
Does compassion matter in leadership? A two‐stage sequential equal status
mixed method exploratory study of compassionate leader behavior and
connections to performance in human resource development. Human Resource
Development Quarterly, 30(4), 537-564.
Schmitz, J. (2021). Is charitable giving a zero-sum game? The effect of competition
between charities on giving behavior. Management Science, 67(10), 6333-6349.
