THE IMPACT OF REPRESENTATION IN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR POSITIONS IN SOCIAL SERVICE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

Abstract

This qualitative research project used a comparative analysis methodology to analyze and compare current executive directors in active social service nonprofit organizations in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. This study was designed to investigate how their views on the importance of diverse representation within their own organizations’ leadership and other social service nonprofit affect the services these organizations provide. Interviews were conducted with two executive directors of nonprofits that provided social services to the Oklahoma City community. This study highlights and discusses five major themes: representation of the people served was considered a strength for the organization, diverse representation in leadership was an aid to provide better services, lack of candidates for the board as a challenge to bring representation to the organization, lack of qualified diverse board member prospects, and having board members who represented the nonprofit well but did not represent the people served. A link between diverse representation in social service nonprofits in Oklahoma City and the type of programming that said nonprofits offered to the public was found.