During the fall 2015 semester, second-year historic preservation students Joshua Bevan, Sonja Lengel, and Joseph C. Mester collaborated on a case study as part of Nonprofit Governance and Management (NPLD 786), an elective course offered by Penn’s School of Social Policy and Practice, taught by Dr. Chao Guo. Graduate student teams were challenged to research the emergence, downfall, and “reincarnation” of several notable nonprofit organizations with various missions.
Bevan, Lengel, and Mester chose to analyze the organization formerly known as Architecture for Humanity. The research included careful review of the organization’s financial statements and continual assessment of emerging information following the organization’s closure in January 2015. Additionally, the trio interviewed Alicia Breck, Transition Coordinator for the Architecture for Humanity Chapter Network, a group of former Architecture for Humanity chapters seeking a path to reorganization. Breck’s insight into the organization’s future proved valuable in the overall understanding of the challenges nonprofits experience during formation, growth, and obstacles in reorganization. Further, the case study served to inform the team’s understanding and appreciation of the complexities inherent in managing and governing nonprofit organizations, a common organizational structure of historic preservation. The team’s work was published in Nonprofit Quarterly’s Winter 2015 issue.
