Abstract:
This nonprofit strategic planning case tells the story of the Phoenix-based National Family Legal Foundation, an anti-pornography advocacy group which, after attaining national influence during the 1980s, finds itself, in 1995, nearly bankrupt and without a clear mission. When Charles Dunlap, a local real estate developer, agrees to join the board of directors, he unknowingly takes the first step toward a central role in deciding the fate of NFLF. With little left to work with but a skeleton staff and a small group of committed board members, Dunlap, thrust into a central role, must decide whether there is any way the organization can be effective, given its now-limited resources, or whether the time has come to close up shop.
Learning Objective:
The case allows for several discussions about nonprofit organizations and management, including such topics as the life-cycle of organizations; relations between board members and staff; and the identification of new but related organizational missions. This case was written for potential, but not exclusive, use in conjunction with the book "Half-time: Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance," Robert Buford (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997. 208 pages).
