Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-1-2001
Abstract
This research began with the two premises. The first is that stronger, healthier, more vibrant communities more effectively support pregnant women, their infants and the families. The second premise is that private independent foundations in the United States are engaged in a multitude of activities designed to help distressed communities and have significant tacit knowledge about how to do this work. I reviewed the literature on the concept of theories in use and discovered that the literature asserted that they exist and that they can be found through a dialogical interview process. I posited that discourse analysis of categories of meaning would lead to theories in use. I conducted interviews with 9 people who work in 7 regional foundations and 1 national foundation scattered across the country. The interviews focused largely on the relationships that foundations have with the nonprofit organizations that they fund to work with distressed communities. I extracted a theory in use of community that all the interviewees shared and three theories in use of intervention into a community. All of the interviewees start from a core belief in the importance of promoting human connections in communities. They use one of three theories in use of intervention to pursue these goals. I have described these theorieis in use as being focused on nonprofit organizations, being focused on projects that nonprofit organizations can carry out, or begin focused on creating networks of reltionships with members of a community.
Keywords
community development
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Tom, Sally Austen, "More Than Directing Money: Theories in Use for Helping Distressed Communities as Practiced by Independent Foundations" (2001). Student Scholarship. 310.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/310