Nonprofit Entrepreneurship: Gender Differences in Strategy and Practice

There is evidence of meaningful gender differences in behaviors, resources, and outcomes for traditional and social entrepreneurs. We examine if these differences exist among nonprofit entrepreneurs—those who found organizations in a sector where women outnumber men and the activities of many nonprofits are perceived as feminine. Using survey data from 667 nonprofit founders, we investigate human, social, and financial capital differences between men and women. We find no gender differences in human capital before starting a nonprofit. We find gendered differences in founding approaches—women are more likely to take on full-time roles during the start-up phase and utilize volunteers, while men take on more financial debt. Although gender differences between nonprofit founders are not as extensive as those found among traditional and social entrepreneurs, our findings indicate more equitable opportunities for female nonprofit entrepreneurs. These findings highlight the opportunities for interrogating the gendering of nonprofit development.

Necessity Nonprofit Entrepreneurship: A Study of Extrinsically Motivated Nascent Nonprofit Entrepreneurs

Individuals creating new nonprofit organizations are often viewed as being driven by intrinsic and altruistic motives pulling them into becoming a nonprofit entrepreneur. However, individuals can also be pushed towards self-employment in the nonprofit sector because of negative external forces, a phenomenon labeled necessity nonprofit entrepreneurship. This article explores necessity nonprofit entrepreneurs to illustrate how they differ from those not explicitly driven by necessity in starting up a new nonprofit, and what policy implications and questions necessity nonprofit entrepreneurship raises for nonprofit stakeholders.