Using Business Models to Inform Non-profit Sustainability
Ellen Szarleta and Atta Ceesay
Indiana University Northwest, USA
SUNY - Buffalo State College, USA

Abstract: IThis article deals with the intersection of strategic management for collective impact. The main focus of the study is to identify the links between communities of practice focused on knowledge management and the development of collective strategies for enhancing capacity. We examine how the community of practice framework can be used to develop strategies for collective impact in the nonprofit sector and suggest that by building such collective strategies, businesses-nonprofit relationships can be strengthened. The research team studied extensively the overlap of strategic capacity development in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. We share the results of capacity assessments conducted in the nonprofit sector and map the results of those assessments into the community of practice framework. We then discuss how a better understanding of the pathways used to share and manage knowledge can enhance the development of collective capacity development. Collective strategic management in the nonprofit sector can potentially increase efficiency and provide new opportunities for business-nonprofit collaboration.

Keywords: Nonprofit, Communities of Practice, Knowledge Management, Collective Capacity, Strategic Management