Studying How 501(c)(3)-(c)(4) Hybrid Organizations Build Community Leadership and Strengthen Democratic Processes that Improve Community Well-Being

Establishing and sustaining locally-rooted, civic institutions that equip community members with civic skills and the power for effective participation in the policy arena can promote a healthier democracy. However, little attention has been paid to the multi-entity nonprofit form, including a focus on how their governance structures and activities produce outcomes consistent with their missions of widening civic participation and generating changes that benefit local communities. This project seeks to fill the gap in what is known about the structure, function, and impacts of those organizations that combine nonprofit structures to achieve these goals by adding capacity for advocacy, lobbying, and other forms of political and civic engagement. Specifically, the research examines how 501(c)(3)-(c)(4) hybrid organizations: a) mobilize grassroots participation, b) impact policy, and c) influence economic and governing structures through the engagement of communities that have experienced chronic disinvestment, economic inequality, and isolation. The project’s goal is to explain how this form of a nonprofit organization with related entities can advance public good and community well-being by fostering community leadership and engaging with governing bodies.