Comparative Case Study of Financial Sustainability and Social Impact in Grassroots Organizations

Abstract

Grassroots organizations (GROs) are vital to address complex social and environmental problems, yet they face a common challenge: how to become financially sustainable while steadfastly adhering to their social mission. The literature has dealt with fundraising strategies or social impact assessment separately and has focused on large nonprofit organizations, devoting less attention to the intrinsic challenges faced by community-based organizations in resource-scarce and unstable environments. This study proposes a comparative multi-case study design to offer a detailed exploration of the different strategies employed by GROs to balance their twin objectives. It will create an integrated "finance-mission" analytical framework based on Hybrid Organizing Theory, Resource Dependence Theory, and Institutional Theory to investigate systematically organizations with divergent revenue structures. Employing qualitative methods of semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis, the study aims to ascertain how different financial strategies influence organizational mission conformity or drift, uncover the key organizational competencies and exogenous conditions for successful straddling of the twin missions, and investigate the process of strategic adaptation amidst internal and external pressures.