In response to the challenges nonprofits in the region face, the Center for Civil Society has developed case studies and a compendium of ‘good practices’ featuring Southern California nonprofits.  Based on themes of innovation, sustainability, resource management and other critical issues, these locally relevant case studies are meant to guide nonprofit managers and boards in responding to organizational change.

• “The Expansion Challenge” which presents how Chrysalis, a nonprofit that serves the homeless population through a model that includes a revenue generating program, deals with the decision to expand to San Francisco—which included a $1 million dollar commitment from that city.
• “The Actors Gang” which looks at the arts’ role in redevelopment, specifically through one performing arts group’s innovative income stream as a response to the challenge of relocation.
• “Koreatown Youth and Community Center” spurs debate about whether this nonprofit’s growth is a case of mission creep or just an organization adapting to its changing environment.
• “Leadership Succession:  Community Coalition”  focuses on an advocacy nonprofit established as a result of the economic development policies that were quickly put together after the city’s 1992 Civil Unrest.  The case examines the transition challenges it faced when the founding director was elected to state office.
• “The Perfect Storm:  The Case of the Los Angeles Women’s Foundation” presents the fiscal management and oversight challenges one organization faced as a consequence of overreach.

If you are interested in purchasing any of these case studies, please contact Jocelyn Guihama.