Abstract
This study was a scholarly leadership project that used a particularistic case study to examine the historical roots of Jesuit fundraising and presented the collaborative process between secular and religious nonprofit organizations. The Jesuit Academy and the Boys and Girls Club of the Midlands are both located in Omaha, Nebraska and serve a similar clientele: low-income, urban youth. The two organizations worked closely together to establish a relationship between the respective boards, CEO’s, and benefactors in order to provide a positive learning environment for school aged, urban poor during the summer months. The collaborative effort led to the establishment of a new summer camp that would be shared by Jesuit Academy and the Boys and Girls Club of the Midlands. |It is rare to find religious and secular nonprofit institutions working closely together. This project offers a blueprint that other nonprofit organizations across the United States may follow in order to facilitate similar projects. The key focus of this professional practice dissertation was building relationships across constituencies in order for the collaborative fundraising process to take place. Another focal point of this project was the concept that benefactors who would not regularly give to one organization could focus on a common mission regardless of the religious or non-religious affiliation of the missions. The research revealed that when the camp project was presented as beneficial to society as a whole, benefactors were more willing to fund the project. The successful partnership and fundraising effort allowed the organizations to continue to break the cycle of poverty through education for the young men and women of North Omaha.