Principles Of Project Management Applied To Non Profit Organizations

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify the characteristics of successful project management within nonprofit organizations in Alaska. This study includes a wealth of existing literature surrounding both project management as well as nonprofit organizations. This research is intended to add to the existing body of knowledge as well as fill the gap in the existing literature on project management within nonprofit organizations. The use of a qualitative approach to this research allowed the researcher to explore participants' thoughts, beliefs, and feelings surrounding their organizations' methods. The findings, consisting of seven themes present the experiences of four organizations as related to project manager selection and professional development of existing project managers. The findings indicate a strong delineation between the perceived private sector responses with that of the nonprofit organization responses. Additionally, a faith element was strongly introduced into this study as deeply held beliefs impacted the answers of every participant, and thus must not be ignored. This study, in addition to adding to the body of knowledge, offers recommendations to leaders, nonprofit organizations, consultants, volunteers, politicians, and researchers.