What Do We Know About Nonprofit Entrepreneurs?: Results from a Large-Scale Survey

41 Pages Posted: 27 Dec 2016

See all articles by Jesse D. Lecy

Jesse D. Lecy

Arizona State University (ASU) - School of Public Affairs

David Van Slyke

Syracuse University - The Maxwell School

Nara Yoon

Syracuse University - Department of Public Administration and International Affairs, Students

Date Written: December 01, 2016

Abstract

While the academic fields of entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship have grown rapidly, nonprofit entrepreneurship has remained a minor field of inquiry, even though 50,000 nonprofits are started each year. Using a survey of 7,000 nonprofit founders, we provide baseline data on key dimensions of nonprofit entrepreneurship. We find that typical nonprofit entrepreneurs are distinct from for-profit entrepreneurs in several ways; they have bigger founding teams, are wealthier, older, more educated, and are less driven by self-employment. These differences inform a research agenda for the field. This study represents the first large-scale empirical analysis of entrepreneurship in the nonprofit sector.

Keywords: nonprofit entrepreneurship, nonprofit startups, social entrepreneurship

Suggested Citation

Lecy, Jesse D. and Van Slyke, David and Yoon, Nara, What Do We Know About Nonprofit Entrepreneurs?: Results from a Large-Scale Survey (December 01, 2016). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2890231 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2890231

Jesse D. Lecy (Contact Author)

Arizona State University (ASU) - School of Public Affairs ( email )

Farmer Building 440G PO Box 872011
Tempe, AZ
United States

David Van Slyke

Syracuse University - The Maxwell School ( email )

900 S. Crouse Avenue
Syracuse, NY 13244-2130
United States

Nara Yoon

Syracuse University - Department of Public Administration and International Affairs, Students ( email )

NY
United States

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