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A CASE STUDY OF ONE NONPROFIT’S EXPERIENCE WITH SERVANT-LEADERSHIP
AND COMMUNICATION: PERSEPCTIVES FROM STAFF AND VOLUTNEERS
Megan Freehan
COML 680 – Thesis Proposal
February 11, 2008
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Table of Contents
Abstract iii
Chapter 1: Introduction
Introduction to the Spokane Hoopfest Association
Purpose of this Study
Significance of this Study
Overview of Research Design and Method
Definition of Key Terms
Organization of Remaining Chapters
Chapter 2: Literature Review
Leadership in Non-profit Organizations
Servant-Leadership
Ten Characteristics of a Servant-Leader
The Role of Communication in Servant-Leadership
Retaining Employees and Volunteers
Limitations of Current Research
Chapter 3: Scope and Methodology
Introduction and Research Questions
Qualitative Research
Study Participants and Data Collection
Data Analysis
Researcher Bias
Trustworthiness
Chapter 4: Data Analysis
Participants and Perceptions of Servant-Leadership
Motivations to Remain with SHA
Discussion of the Major Findings
Chapter 5: Summaries and Conclusions
Limitations and Ethical Concerns
Suggestions for Future Research
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A CASE STUDY OF ONE NONPROFIT’S EXPERIENCE WITH SERVANT-LEADERSHIP
AND COMMUNICATION: PERSEPCTIVES FROM STAFF AND VOLUTNEERS
Spokane Hoopfest Association
Spokane Hoopfest Association (SHA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in
Spokane, Washington. According to its mission statement, the organization is committed to
organizing and operating the best outdoor 3-on-3 basketball tournament in the country that
celebrates athleticism, fair play, and community involvement. Every June, SHA coordinates
Hoopfest, a street basketball tournament that has grown to the largest of its kind in the world.
Most recently, the event drew 6,200 teams and over 150,000 spectators from across the country
bringing an estimated $20 million economic boost to the region. As a nonprofit organization, the
Spokane Hoopfest Association has contributed close to one million dollars to area charities since
its inception in 1990 and built outdoor basketball courts in low-income neighborhoods. It has
won numerous awards including the Spokane Chamber of Commerce AGORA Award for
Business Excellence and been featured in regional and national publications. The
accomplishments of the Spokane Hoopfest Association are exceptional by most organizational
standards, but noteworthy due to the limited resources on which the company operates.
To keep operational overhead low, the Spokane Hoopfest Association employs six fulltime staff members who are overseen by a 10-person volunteer Board of Directors. As such, the
organization relies heavily on the efforts of hundreds of volunteers to coordinate the logistics of
the tournament. The volunteers are organized in a hierarchical structure with 26 committee
chairs, known as Operating Committee members, overseeing approximately 100 committee
members and 3,000 general volunteers. The Operating Committee interacts regularly with the
SHA staff members in the five months leading up to the tournament to manage the details of key
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event areas including security and tournament scheduling. A majority of the Board of Directors,
staff, and Operating Committee members have worked or volunteered for the organization for at
least five years. Several have spent over a decade serving SHA, with a few members having been
a part of the organization since the inaugural event. Turnover by both staff and the volunteer
members has been minimal in the last five years; a significant feat considering the prevalence of
turnover in nonprofit organizations. While no statistics are currently available on the turnover
rate of nonprofit workers, the national average turnover rate for nonprofit workers tends to be
higher than that of employees in for-profit organizations due to lower salaries or lack of benefit
plans, stress due to the nature of the work, or limited advancement opportunities (Peters et al.,
2002). Additionally, over thirty percent of volunteers leave an organization after one year of
service (Peters et al.). This high level of turnover can significantly impact a nonprofit
organization’s ability to maintain a consistent quality service level and fulfill its mission (Peters
et al.).
Organizational success is difficult to define, but easy to identify. While being successful
is the goal of every organization, the challenges of obtaining success in the nonprofit sector are
exacerbated by limited funding and high rates of employee and volunteer turnover. The Spokane
Hoopfest Association can be considered a successful nonprofit organization based on its
sustained ability to fulfill its organizational mission while retaining many long-term employees
and volunteers. While there may be several reasons that the Spokane Hoopfest Association has
achieved this high level of success, this study focuses on the organization’s leadership as a
primary cause.
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Servant Leadership and the Role of Communication
The term “servant leader” was coined by Robert Greenleaf in 1977 and has since been
gaining in prominence over the past few decades. According to Spears (2005), many nonprofits
are currently making a rapid shift away from hierarchical models of leadership and toward
servant-leadership. Drury (2004) notes that adopting the servant-leadership model appeals to
today’s leaders because it is a structure that enables people, and therefore organizations, to
develop quickly. In order for an organization to be identified as a servant-organization, however,
it must have a leader who also utilizes the principles of servant-leadership in the organization.
From Greenleaf’s initial work on servant-leadership, Spears (n.d.) identified ten
characteristics which have been accepted as fundamental qualities of a servant-leader: listening,
empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment
to the growth of people, and building community. The development of many of these servantleadership characteristics relies upon communication between a leader and his or her followers
within the organization. As defined by Northouse (2004), “communication is the vehicle through
which leaders and subordinates create, nurture, and sustain useful exchanges. Effective
leadership occurs when communication is . . . characterized by mutual trust, respect, and
commitment” (p. 155). Therefore, an organization that displays servant-leadership characteristics
must also be one in which there is open and effective communication.
As noted, leaders in nonprofit organizations are moving away from traditional models of
leadership and toward the qualities of servant-leadership. Graham (1998) ascertains that this shift
may be attributed to the appeal of a servant-leader’s predisposition to use their resources to serve
others’ interests. As many nonprofits are founded on the principles of service to others, qualities
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of servant-leadership may resonate with nonprofit leaders focused on the development of human
capital.
Methodology and Research Questions
The purpose of this study is to identify and describe experiences of servant-leadership in
the Spokane Hoopfest Association from the viewpoint of members of the organization.
Additionally, this study will uncover any relationship between experiences of servant-leadership
and the low employee and volunteer turnover in the Spokane Hoopfest Association. More
specifically, I will respond to the following Research Questions:
1. According to the volunteers and employees, does the Spokane Hoopfest Association
demonstrate qualities of a servant-leadership organization?
2. Do the employees’ and volunteers’ experiences of the SHA leadership reflect in their
commitment to continue working or volunteering for this organization?
In order to conduct this particular type of study, I will use a qualitative case study
approach. A case study is considered the appropriate methodology because this study is focused
on a specific phenomenon bound by time and place (Creswell, 1998). Data will be collected
through individual interviews with the SHA Executive Director and two members of the Board
of Directors, staff, and Operating Committee, respectively. All participants will be interviewed
in-depth using a semi-structured interview format. Board members, staff, and Operating
Committee participants will be selected according to a minimum criterion of five (5) consecutive
years of working or volunteering for the Spokane Hoopfest Association. Additionally, I will ask
the staff and Executive Director for recommendations of members of the Board of Directors and
Operating Committee who they believe to be “information-rich key informants or critical cases”
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(Patton, 2002, p. 237). This approach is identified as snowball or chain sampling and increases
the likelihood of finding participants who can provide a more in-depth account of the
phenomenon being studied (Patton). After all the interviews have been conducted, I will begin
analysis of the data.
The process of qualitative data analysis has several steps, but the ultimate goal of the
analysis is to make sense of the data, indentify patterns, and communicate the essence of what
the data reveal (Patton, 1990). Initially, the ten (10) interviews will be transcribed and the data
organized. After a reading of all the data to obtain a general sense of the material, it will be
analyzed using a coding process which organizes the data into clusters (Creswell, 1998). By
organizing the material into clusters, it can be examined further for emerging patterns and
themes. Finally, these patterns will be examined for significance to the case being studied.
Importance of Topic Exploration
Between 1996 and 2006, the number of organizations filing as not-for-profit businesses
in the United States increased by over thirty-six percent (National Center for Charitable
Statistics, n.d.). Additionally, a study conducted by Johns Hopkins University in 2003 found that
in the United States, nonprofit employees and volunteers account for approximately 10% of
America’s work force (Greene, 2003). Although nonprofit organizations are one of the fastest
growing sectors of our economy, review of current literature provides minimal information on
organizational challenges beyond funding solicitation. While there are a few studies that discuss
nonprofit employees and volunteers, the focus is often limited to ways to attract new workers
instead of methods to retain current workers. Nonprofit leadership methods are also noticeably
absent from current literature although this sector faces unique challenges in obtaining success.
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A few have suggested that servant-leadership as defined by Greenleaf and expanded upon by
Spears is becoming an increasingly more prominent leadership style, especially for nonprofit
organizations that have a higher inclination to focus on human capital over the bottom line.
The Spokane Hoopfest Association offers a unique example of a successful nonprofit
organization that has been able to retain long-term employees and volunteers. By examining the
reasons behind this particular organization’s success as described by its employees and
volunteers, practical strategies or methods for nonprofit organizations may be uncovered. These
strategies may provide a guide to help other organizations reach the type of success in their
respective industries that the Spokane Hoopfest Association has obtained.
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