Transforming Neighborhoods: Explaining Effectiveness in Community Based Development Organizations

Community-based nonprofits have been recognized by funders and policymakers as a vital component in the revitalization process in distressed neighborhoods. Though research on the effectiveness of these organizations has expanded in recent years, very little is yet known about what internal management characteristics and conditions in their local environments contribute to their performance. This article seeks to address this gap in the literature. Using survey data from 122 NeighborWorks nonprofit organizations in the United States, this article examines what internal management factors and external environmental factors influence the effectiveness of community-based nonprofits. The findings from an ordinary least squares regression model suggest that performance indicators, political capacity, board governance, and organizational age are important predictors of community-based nonprofit effectiveness.