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Kiely’s Three Minute Thesis


Unrestricted Cash Windfalls and Nonprofit Operating Outcomes

Using e-filed Form 990 data, I construct a novel measure of unrestricted cash windfalls to examine the outcomes associated with windfalls for nonprofit organizations (NPOs). I find that NPOs that receive windfalls tend to focus more on program (i.e., mission-focused) spending and reduce debt. I find a delayed positive association between cash windfalls and CEO compensation and officer and director compensation, which suggests that executives may be rewarded for managing increased charitable output instead of being rewarded directly for cash windfalls. In additional analyses, I find that CEO turnover is positively associated with cash windfalls in the period after windfalls are received. I document a negative association between windfalls and future cash contributions, suggesting that windfall NPOs suffer from reduced fundraising performance, despite windfall NPOs maintaining similar fundraising efforts in the post-windfall period. Additional analyses indicate that the size of the windfall plays a role in determining operating outcomes. This study is important because it is the first to examine unrestricted cash windfalls in the nonprofit setting and it offers not only theoretical insights but also practical insights that should be of interest to the donors, directors, and executives of NPOs.

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Kiely is a 5th year PhD student in the Department of Accounting. In the fall, he will join the faculty at The University of Detroit Mercy. Kiely draws his research interests from his time as Director of Accounting for a nonprofit in Washington, DC.