Perceptions of Nonprofit Funding Decisions: A Survey of Local Public Administrators and Executive Directors of Community-Based Housing Organizations (CBHOs)

This article compares how local public administrators and executive directors of community-based housing organizations (CBHO) perceive nonprofit funding decisions. The article’s findings suggest that both groups shared perceptions about the scope of affordable housing and factors influencing its funding. Yet, important differences existed. Public administrators were ambivalent about nonprofit capacity and affordable housing outcomes. They also underestimated the importance of networks, partnerships, and minority leadership. Professionals in the nonprofit sector underestimated fair housing concerns and overestimated the importance of promoting homeownership. These insights improve our understanding of the connection between funding patterns, public-nonprofit sector relations, local governance, and administrative structures.

Robert Mark SilvermanEmail:

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Robert Mark Silverman   is an Associate Professor of Urban and Regional Planning and a Senior Research Associate in the Center for Urban Studies at the University at Buffalo. His research focuses on the role of community-based organizations in urban neighborhoods, the nonprofit sector, and inequality in inner-city housing markets. His work has been published in Urban Studies, Urban Affairs Review, the Journal of Social History, the Journal of Black Studies, Action Research, the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Community Development Journal, and other journals.