College of Business and Economics
The Institute for Nonprofit Management Studies
The Institute for Nonprofit Management Studies

  1. College of Business and Economics (CoBE)
  2. The Institute for Nonprofit Management Studies
  3. Who We Are

Who We Are

In preparing our students to contribute meaningfully to society, the UW-Whitewater Institute for Nonprofit Management Studies provides a forum for the promotion of nonprofit management studies at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and within the larger community. Its aim is to encourage research, expand educational opportunities, and grow technical assistance capacity to support the nonprofit sector in the region. The Institute contributes to the College of Business and Economics (COBE)'s nonprofit management studies program in its support of community engagement, student development, and faculty research.


Faculty

Ruth Hansen, Assistant Professor, Nonprofit Management, and Director of the Institute for Nonprofit Management Studies

Ruth K. Hansen is an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater's College of Business and Economics, and director of the Institute for Nonprofit Management Studies. She teaches classes in nonprofit organizations, fundraising, organizational behavior, and research methods. Her research focuses on the theory and practice of fundraising, and equity and inclusion in resource mobilization. Dr. Hansen has more than 20 years' professional experience as a fundraiser, and is a former board member of AFP-Chicago. Recent publications include "Applying a stakeholder management approach to ethics in charitable fundraising," published in the Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing and "Gary Neighborhood House: Managing mission and uncertainty in the Civil Rights era," in the edited volume Hoosier Philanthropy. She contributed the chapter "Theory in Fundraising," to the new edition of Achieving Excellence in Fundraising, which was featured on Bill Stanczykiewicz's First Day Podcast from The Fundraising School. Her research with Dr. Lauren Dula on fundraising appeal letters, supported by the AFP Foundation, is the subject of a recent article in Advancing Philanthropy. 

 

Megan Matthews, Senior Lecturer, Business and Society

Megan Matthews earned her Master of Arts in Community Arts Management from the University of Illinois-Springfield.  She has worked in the nonprofit arts and government sectors for more than 20 years, in project management, community assessment, strategic planning and board development.  She currently teaches the Organization & Management class, and manages the Internship experience for the Nonprofit program.  Research focuses on creativity and curiosity in business.  She has presented at the Association of Arts Administration Educators (AAAE) and United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) Conferences on entrepreneurship and mingling arts and business in a curriculum, and co-edited the book “Business & Society: Building skills and awareness for the workplace”, also authoring the book’s chapter on Business & Society. 

Publications

Hansen, R.K. & Dula, L.A. (2023). What do you value? Examining gendered responses to fundraising appeals. Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing, 28(2), 1-14. DOI: 10.1002/nvsm.1776

Alborough, L.J., & Hansen, R.K. (2023). Reframing fundraising research: The challenges and opportunities of interpretivist research practices and practitioner researchers in fundraising studies.  Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing, 28(1), 1-11. DOI: 10.1002/nvsm.1775

Brunt, C., Hansen, R.K., & Matthews, M.  (2022).  Recognizing the plural sector: Nonprofit studies in a business school environment.  Journal of Nonprofit Education & Leadership, 12(3), 78-98. DOI:10.18666/jnel-2021-10184

Hansen, R.K. (2021). Applying a stakeholder management approach to ethics in charitable fundraising. Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing. DOI:10.1002/nvsm.1731

Brunt, C., N. Dolch, T. Freeman, R. Mirabella, Peter Weber and M. Woodell. (2020) “Undergraduate nonprofit education: Between Institutionalization and Recruitment”, Invited Essay, Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership. 10:1, 2-24.

Bhati, A. & Hansen, R.K.  (2020).  A literature review of experimental studies in fundraising. Journal of  Behavioral Public Administration. 3(1).  DOI: 10.30636/jbpa.31.129

Hansen, R.K. (2020).  Stories of strangers:  Writing donor acquisition letters in the human services.  Nonprofit Management & Leadership.  DOI: 10.1002/nml.21414

Matthews, M. , Werner, J., Schnaedter, J., Woletz, J., Barber, K., Baskin, D., Buchholz, R., Douglas, S. & DuPree, L.  (2019). Business and Society:  Building Skills and Awareness for the Workplace.  156 pp.

Book Chapters

Hansen, R.K., & Witkowski, G.R. (2024, in press). Sector theorists should consider how social values determine unmet needs. In Reimagining nonprofits: Sector theory for the 21st century (E. Witesman & C. Child, eds.). Cambridge.

Hansen, R.K.  (2022).  Gary Neighborhood House: Managing mission and uncertainty in the Civil Rights Era.  In Hoosier Philanthropy (G. Witkowski, ed.), pp 368-392.  Indiana University Press.

Hansen, R.K.  (2022).  Theory in Fundraising.  In Achieving Excellence in Fundraising, 5th edition (G. Shaker, S. Nathan, E. Tempel, W. Stanczykewicz, eds.), pp 35-43.  John Wiley & Sons.

Practice-focused Publications

Hansen, R.K., & Dula, L.A. (in press - 2023, October). Demystifying the Donors in Checkout Charity. Advancing Philanthropy.

Dula, L.A., & Hansen, R.K. (2023, April). Do Your Acquisition Letters Appeal to New Donors? Evidence from the field examines how personal values and gender play a role. Advancing Philanthropy, 30(2). https://afpglobal.org/advancing-philanthropy/advancing-philanthropy-april-2023

Hansen, R.K. (2023). Giving by bequest. In Giving USA 2023: The annual report on philanthropy for the year 2022. Giving USA Foundation. 111-123.

Hansen, R.K. (2022). Giving by bequest. In Giving USA 2022: The annual report on philanthropy for the year 2021. Giving USA Foundation. 108-120.

Hansen, R.K. (2021). Giving by bequest. In Giving USA 2021: The annual report on philanthropy for the year 2020. Giving USA Foundation. 132-144.

Public Outreach:

Subject of article: “AFP ICON 2023 Spotlight: A Stakeholder Management Process for Ethical Fundraising.” AFP Daily newsletter. Sent December 1, 2022.

Subject of article: “AFP Wilson C. “Bill” Levis Grant -Funded Research Report: Interaction of Gender and Personal Values in Donor Response to Appeals.” AFP Daily newsletter. Sent November 2, 2022. https://afpglobal.org/interaction-gender-and-personal-values-donor-response-appeals-first-levis-fundraising-research

Guest on episode: “The Why Behind the How in Fundraising.” First Day Podcast from The Fund Raising School, Bill Stanczykiewicz, host. https://soundcloud.com/thefundraisingschool/the-why-behind-the-how-in-fundraising/s-yU4n5J7Vcg0?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing Aired on May 31, 2022.

Subject of article: “Surprise – Men, Women Differ in Reaction to Direct Mail Fundraising.” The NonProfit Times, May 10, 2022. https://thenonprofittimes.com/fundraising/surprise-men-women-differ-in-reaction-to-direct-mail-fundraising/

Blog post author: Meanings of “Community” in Fundraising. Lilly Family School of Philanthropy blog. https://blog.philanthropy.iupui.edu/2022/04/18/meanings-of-community-in-fundraising/ Posted on April 18, 2022.

Subject of article: “Where Do Gender and Values Fit Into Direct Mail Appeals?” by Megan Venzin, in Successful Fundraising, March, 2022.

The Nonprofit Institute Advisory Committee provides leadership and guidance in curriculum development and internships in our nonprofit management studies program as well as programming for the Institute. Committee members engage with program staff on a regular basis, that is at least monthly to provide input on program development and promotion, ongoing collaborative research projects, and funding opportunities. Membership in the Advisory Committee includes community leaders from the nonprofit sector, and faculty and administrators from nonprofit management and philanthropic studies programs across the USA.  Our 2022 Advisory Committee members are:

  • Ann De Tienne, UW-W Alumni, former Food Distribution Manager, Second Harvest Food Bank
  • Payton Jones, UW-W Alumni, Coordinator, Resource Development, United Way Dane County
  • Anne Katz, Executive Director, Arts Wisconsin
  • Katharine Kuznacic, UW-W Alumni, Executive Director, Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
  • Bryce Lord, Associate Director, Helen Bader Institute
  • Kevin O'Leary, President and CEO, O'Leary and Anick
  • Kristin Plessel, Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
  • Christine Rebout, Executive Director, Janesville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau
  • Ozalle M. Toms, Associate Professor, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Student Diversity, Engagement, and Success, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
  • Peter Weber, Assistant Professor, Auburn University 
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